He appears in the Dictionary of National Biography, which gives his date of death as 1701. ref for Baptism: PR of St Martins in the Fields: IGI ref 6901249. Betham's Sketch pedigree of Richards of Solsborough (Vol VIII page 53) wrongly makes him a son of Col Solomon Richards. Account of siege of Derry He wrote a journal about his part in Kirke's expedition to relieve the siege of Derry (1689). According to Macrory he was there as a Captain and an engineer. His journal was published by Professor Thomas Witherow as "Two Diaries of Derry in 1689" Printed by Wiliam Gailey, Waterloo Place Londonderry, 1888. Witherow called it "The Diary of the Fleet". The diary is part of the Stowe manuscript and is anonymous. Witherow deduced it was the diary of a Col Richards. It is Macrory who says he was a captain. Macrory never saw the book and relied on extracts quoted elsewhere. I have a photocopy of it. In the diary he mentions a Col R, which was probably him because all the officers are named in full. Extract from "The Richards Brothers" by F.J.Hebbert in the Irish Sword 1975 Jacob (1660?-1701) had joined the army some years before this (his father's problems in 1689). He was appointed as engineer in 1685 and was instructed 'to improve himself in foreign parts beyond seas, to be employed on his return as one 0f His Majesty's engineers in England'. This agreeable commission took him to Hungary, with instruction 'to keep an exact journal of every day's proceeding'. The Richards brothers were natural diarists and men of exact and, at times, amusing powers of observation, and this diary and numerous other papers are in the Stowe MSS in the British Museum. He served at the siege of Buda, under Francis (late 4th Viscount) Taaffe and other volunteers from these islands, including' Mr . FitzJames' (i.e., the duke of Berwick). On his return he was appointed third engineer of Great Britain with effect from 25 March 1686, and was employed on home defence projects such as the modernisation of the defences of Hull) which were originally built under Henry VIII. Later in the same year he was appointed to the ordnance train in the army raised to oppose William III, but we find him among the many officers whose commissions were signed by William III in December of that year, and in January 1689 he was under Kirke's command in Ireland. On 2 August 1689 he was in Derry, to congratulate Walker, and he served at the siege of Carrickfergus where he was wounded, and with Schomberg's army later the same year. In 1690-1 he was 'chief engineer in Ireland with the train of artillery', serving at the Boyne and Limerick, and later under Marlborough and Ginkel in the concluding campaigns in Ireland. He was given an independent company of fusiliers by Kirke in 1691. As lieutenant-colonel of the artillery train in Flanders in 1692 and 1693 he took part in the battles of Steinkirk and Landen, keeping his accustomed record of his services. In 1693-4 he was 'colonel with the bomb and machine vessels in the channel fleet', taking part in bombardments of the French seaports. He was personally responsible for a number of improvements in design of mortars and the equipment of bomb vessels. the esteem in which he was held may be noted in an order by Lord Romney, 21 July 1694, to report on these coastal operations 'to give a more particular account to Her Majesty'. After the treaty of Ryswick it was decided to retain a train of artillery on the peace establishment, and Richards was appointed colonel. However, before this appointment was made, we find passes issued on 7 March 1697 for 'Colonel James (sic) Richards, superintendent of artillery to the Republic of Venice, John Richards, engineer', and others to proceed to Venice. He had visited Venice and seen some service in Greece during his travels in 1686, and must have applied to re-join that service as hostilities drew to a close. The brothers set out up the Rhine on Easter Sunday of that year, travelling in some style and being met at Frankfurt by Mr. Stepney, the British ambassador at the Imperial Court. The source for this journey is John's diary, referred to below, and it is sufficient to note that they arrived in Venice by way of Augsburg and Trent, sailing for the Morea on 17 June, to arrive at Corinth on 15 July and Argos on 19 August. Their duties took them to all parts of this newly acquired territory, one of the results being elegant reports by 'Giacomo Riccardi Inglese', one including a plan to settle Irish catholic soldiers as a military colony in the Venetian service in Greece. They returned to Venice in 1698, and in April set out on an extended tour of Italy during which Jacob was ill with malaria. They were back in Corinth by August, and routine defence matters occupied them until the peace of Carlowitz led to some demobilization, Jacob returning to Venice in 1699. It seems from some subsequent observations of John's, that there were some difficulties with the Venetian higher command, and Jacob transferred his services to Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony and king of Poland. Presumably, since he was third engineer of England at this time, it was his ultimate intention to return to these islands. At this date Frederick Augustus, allied with Peter the Great, was at war with Sweden, and Jacob's personality and experience served him well 'to that degree yt.. in 5 or 6 months he had gained so much upon the king that he could not be without him', in John's words. Jacob was in attendance on the king at an interview with the 'Czar of Muscovy', and admitted to- the Teutonic Order possibly, John thought, in order to retain his services since the Czar had taken a liking to him. All this led to John's being sent for to join Jacob in February 1701. After a period together , the brothers parted at Warsaw , John going to Saxony to supervise the casting of cannon and mortars, and Jacob to Dantzig and Koenigsburg, where he died after a brief illness. John wrote, in a touching letter to Michael: 'Thus lost we, dear Mickey, our Bro, the most honest :and best natur'd of men, tho sometimes Mistaken in his Measures when he was to judge of Men, which he could never think ill of, if they spoke but well of him, which credulity has been equally hurtful to him and me. He was found when opened [i.e. there was a post-mortem] as sound as when borne, and yet during the little time he was in Poland he committed such disorders as are scarcely credible to us yt. knew him before and in effect most people attributed his Death unto them, for confiding in that good Constitution and perceiving that Drinking was a Kingly vice, he set up to outdrink them and did it, to which he added sitting up late and in effect it was lighting the candle at both ends wh. soon consumed' Extracts from Notes on the early history of the Royal Artillery Cleaveland: Notes on the early history of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. extracts made by Francis Augustus Richards (1873-1955). p 109 30 Oct 1688 To Jacob Richards for his own use in the train of Artillery by order of the board: silk armour, one suit. p 111 Mr Jacob Richards Eng £1.0.0 p.diem pp 116,177 Train for Ireland including Jacob Richards 1st Eng 15s 0d p.d his clerk 4s 0d p.d p119 1689 Col Richards wounded in trenches at the siege of Carrickfergus p 126 6 Mar 1693 Jacob Richards in train of Artillery for Flanders Lt Col Richards £1.5.0 per diem p 135 1694 Letter from Henry, Earl of Romney, Master General of the Ordinances to Col Sir Martin Beckman, chief engineer: St James's 21 July 1694 Sir, I have received yours of the 17th from before Hane(?) de Grace and am glad to find by it that our bombs have had so good effect, as well upon the town as upon Diep (sic) and that you have escaped the dangers which you have been exposed to upon those occasions. I have by this post writ to Colonel Richards [Jacob] to come up to town with all possible haste to give a more particular account to her majesty of those actions & believing this may find you at St Helen's......