British officer and Member of Parliament John Vaughan (ca.1731-1795) was the second son of Wilmot Vaughan, third Viscount Lisburne, and Elizabeth Watson. Vaughan saw duty in the Seven Years' War in England, Scotland, and Germany before raising his own light infantry regiment, the Royal Welsh Volunteers, for service in America. After the capture of Martinique in 1762, his regiment was disbanded and Vaughan took command of the 46th Regiment of Foot; he remained in America until the regiment returned to Ireland in 1767. In 1774, he entered Parliament representing Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in 1776 represented St. Johnstown in the Irish Parliament. Promoted to colonel, he accompanied the reinforcements sent to America under Cornwallis in 1775. Vaughan led the British grenadiers in the Battle of Long Island, participated in the Battle of Fort Hills, and saw action at Fort Clinton, Fort Montgomery, Verplanck's Point, and Stony Point. At the end of 1779, he returned to England and shortly after accepted a commission as commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands. His influence covered all of the British-controlled islands in the Lesser Antilles. Vaughan participated in several military excursions during his tenure in the West Indies (1779-1782). He failed to take St. Vincent's Island from the Dutch in 1881, but assisted George Brydges Rodney in the taking of St. Eustatius later that year. After the war, Vaughan retired from the military and resumed his seats in the English and Irish parliaments. He returned to the West Indies in 1794 and died at Martinique in 1775.
From the guide to the John Vaughan papers, Vaughan, John papers, 1779-1781, 1784, 1789, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
