Cheney had for many generations been in possession of the family, whose position in the county was improved in the sixteenth century by a marriage into the St. John family of Lydiard Tregoze. Old pedigrees and tradition claim descent of the family from the De Richmonds, constables of Richmond, and lords of Burton. Webb lost his mother in 1669; his father, who had commanded a regiment during Monmouth's rebellion, a prominent man in Wiltshire, long member of parliament for Cricklade and afterwards for Ludgershall, lived to see his son a distinguished soldier, and was buried beside his wife in the family vault in Rodbourne Cheney church on 19 Dec. 1705. The general's elder brother, Serjeant Thomas Richmond Webb (1663–1731) of Rodbourne Cheney, a well-known lawyer and recorder of Devizes in 1706, died in November 1731, aged 68.
John Richmond Webb obtained a commission as a cornet in the queen's regiment of dragoons (now the 3rd hussars) in November 1687, and in the November following was wounded at Wincanton in a skirmish between a small detachment of the king's army under Clifford and Sarsfield and a still smaller body of the prince of Orange's regulars (Boyer, William III, pp. 143–4). On 26 Dec. 1695 he was appointed colonel of the 8th regiment of foot (Dalton, iv. 76). Two years later we hear of his duel with Captain Mardike, in which both combatants were dangerously wounded. In 1702 he distinguished himself at the storming of Venloo (Cannon, Hist. Rec. 8th Reg. p. 110). He served in the campaigns of Flanders under Marlborough from 1703, was promoted brigadier-general on 11 April 1704, and major-general on 1 Jan. 1706. As a brigadier he displayed great gallantry in an attack on the village of Blenheim on the evening of 13 Aug. 1704, and in forcing the French lines at Helixem (17 July 1705). He commanded on the left of the English line at Ramillies on 23 May 1706, and distinguished himself greatly at Oudenarde on 11 July 1708. In the month following the victory last named Webb was one of the commanders of the force of twelve battalions, with cavalry and grenadiers, which raided Picardy and put the country under contribution. Near Lens the detachment under Webb fell in with a force of eight hundred cavalry, whom they pursued into the town. Early in September he was recalled to Thourout in Brabant. The circumvallation of Lille had been completed by the allies by the end of August, but as September advanced their communications were threatened on all sides by the French, and supplies were running short. The only route by which the requisite stores could now reach the besieging army was that between Ostend and Menin. The hasty preparation of a convoy of between seven and eight hundred wagons soon reached the ears of the French generals, and Vendôme and Berwick were both desirous to attempt its destruction; but the task was finally confided to Comte de Lamothe, whose local knowledge was expected to be of special service, and a corps amounting to twenty-two thousand men was concentrated under his command at Bruges. The convoy set out from Ostend some hours before daybreak on 28 Sept., escorted by Brigadier Landsberg with a force of about 2,500 men. Webb, with a force of about four thousand foot and three squadrons of dragoons, had received orders on the previous day to cover the convoy in the neighbourhood of Thourout, where it was most liable to attack. As the wagons were defiling through Cochlaer news was brought to Webb that the enemy had been observed at Ichteghem. He immediately advanced towards that place, but came upon the French in an opening between a dense coppice on the one hand and the wood and castle of Wynendaele on the other. Posting his grenadiers in these woods, Webb kept the enemy in play with his small force of cavalry while he formed his infantry in the intervening space. It was nearly dark before De Lamothe, after a long cannonade which did very little execution, ordered a general advance. He had an advantage in point of numbers of three to one; but his infantry were dismayed by the crossfire of the two ambuscades, and, after three attempts to force the position, they retired in the utmost confusion, having suffered a loss of between two and three thousand men; the allies lost 912 in killed and wounded. While the engagement was in progress the convoy pushed on to Rousselaere and reached Menin safely the next day. Major-general William Cadogan [q. v.], having seen the convoy safely through Cortemark, spurred to Wynendaele with a few squadrons of cavalry, arriving about dusk, and offered to charge the broken ranks of the French infantry; but the proposal was prudently negatived by Webb, who was the senior in command. Cadogan thereupon rode through the night to carry the news of the affair to Marlborough at Ronce, and on 29 Sept. the commander-in-chief wrote to Webb to congratulate him on the success, ‘which must be attributed chiefly to your good conduct and resolution’ (Despatches, ed. Murray, iv. 424). In writing home to Godolphin, Marl-
