page_title: William Loftus (British Army officer)
section_title: Rebellion in Ireland
hierarchical_section_title: William Loftus (British Army officer) / Rebellion in Ireland
caption_attribution_description: English: The keys of Cork City were presented to General William Loftus in 1798
context_page_description: General William Loftus was a British Army officer and Member of Parliament.
context_section_description: Loftus was appointed as ADC to successive Lords Lieutenant of Ireland from 1778 until 1783.  He forged life-time friendships in this office, seen as "a good officer and so respectable in his character and connexxions".  Loftus returned to active duty in the 3rd Regiment of Guards purchasing a company  in 1784, and served as Lt-Colonel  based in London.  He moved his family to Norfolk in 1790 (ibid.) and in 1794, raised the 24th Light Dragoons, appointed Brevet Colonel of that regiment(portrait left). In 1796, Loftus was made a Major General on the English staff and was sworn in as a Member of the Irish Parliament for Lord Ely and returned to Westminster as member for Great Yarmouth for Lord Townshend in the same year.  Loftus was removed to the Irish staff in 1797 at the request of Lord Camden  and appointed to be Commander in Chief in Munster based in Cork.  He reported back to Camden that the Catholics of Munster were in favour of "good order and government" and that if he wanted to root out sedition, he should look at "Dublin or the North". Loftus left the grateful citizens of Cork in 1798 to take command of Laughlinstown camp.  In the same year, he commanded a brigade at the battle of Vinegar Hill  and  presided over a military court at the trial of Wolfe Tone.  In 1800 Loftus was transferred back to the staff in England but retained both Irish and Parliamentary seats to see the Act of Union through.
caption: Freedom of the City
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