John Bernardi facts for kids

John Bernardi (1657 – 20 September 1736) was an English soldier and a supporter of King James II, known as a Jacobite. Bernardi is famous for being involved in a plot against King William III. He was then held in Newgate prison for nearly forty years without a proper trial.

Growing Up and Early Military Career

Bernardi was born in Evesham into a wealthy family that originally came from Genoa. His grandfather and father had both served as representatives for the Republic of Genoa. However, after a disagreement, his father settled permanently in Evesham.

John Bernardi was described as having a "restless" personality. He also said his father treated him "harshly." Because of this, he ran away from home when he was just 13 years old. He later wrote that as he left, he "kneeled down protesting and praying that he might never return, whilst his father lived."

After staying with Sir Clement Fisher for a while, Bernardi joined the army as a common soldier. He served King William of Orange and later transferred to the English army. He was very brave and talented, which helped him rise to the rank of Captain. He was wounded in 1674 during the Siege of Grave. He got another wound while stopping a duel. At the Siege of Maastricht, he lost sight in one eye and was shot through the arm. He was left for dead on the battlefield but was rescued.

Supporting King James II

In 1677, Bernardi married a Dutch woman from a wealthy family. King James II called him back from Holland in 1687. However, during the Glorious Revolution in 1688, James II was replaced by William of Orange. Bernardi remained loyal to James II, so he had to leave England again. When he arrived in France, he was given command of a group of Jacobite soldiers.

After the Battle of Killiecrankie, Bernardi was sent to Scotland to help organize Jacobite supporters in the Highlands. But King James's efforts in Ireland failed. Bernardi then tried to escape south towards London. He was arrested near London while trying to board a ship to Holland.

He was first accused of serious disloyalty to the king. However, the accusation was rejected, and he was temporarily released to Holland. He soon returned to England and lived quietly near Brentford for some time.

Accusations and Long Imprisonment

Around 1695, Bernardi started visiting coffee houses in London. There, he met other Jacobite figures, including his former commander Sir John Fenwick and Ambrose Rookwood. In 1696, he was arrested in a tavern. He was accused of being involved in a plot against King William. Bernardi later claimed he didn't know about the plot and was just with Rookwood by chance when he was arrested. However, his name had been mentioned in a government announcement before, suggesting the authorities had information about his involvement.

The main people involved in the plot were executed. But Bernardi and five others (Robert Blackbourn, Robert Cassills, James Counter, Robert Meldrum, and James Chambers) were held without ever having a trial. At first, they were held for a year to gather more evidence. However, their imprisonment continued to be allowed by special laws, even after King William III died. James Counter was later released by Queen Anne. This was the last time the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, which usually protects people from being held without trial.

In 1727, Bernardi, Cassels, and Blackbourn asked to be released. Meldrum and Chambers had already died. But they were never brought to trial and never released. Bernardi, believed to be the last surviving person from the plot, died at the age of eighty after almost forty years in prison. However, a notice of Bernardi's death mentioned that Blackbourn was still alive in Newgate at that time. Later, it was said that Blackbourn was moved to the more comfortable King's Bench Prison out of kindness.

Bernardi and the other prisoners at Newgate were written about in a pamphlet called The History of the Pressyard in 1717. It described them in a positive way. In one scene, "Mr. B[lackbour]n" and "the Major" (Bernardi) are shown discussing battle plans using a map. Their long detention without trial was very unusual for that time. Some people later suggested that Bernardi might have known some important government secrets that he refused to share, out of loyalty to King James.

Life in Prison

Life in prison was hard for Bernardi because of the old wounds he had received in the 1670s. He also complained that being held in the "dismal and loathsome" prison cost him a lot of money for his lodging.

Surprisingly, in 1712, when he was sixty-eight years old, he married again while still in Newgate. His new wife was about forty-eight years younger than him. His first wife had died many years before. Even more surprisingly, he and his new wife had ten children together. What happened to his family after his death is not known.

Bernardi was described as a "little brisk man" with a cheerful personality. He was said to have handled his imprisonment with great strength of mind. He even published his autobiography, A Short History of the Life of Major Bernardi by Himself, in 1729. This book is considered mostly accurate, though a bit boastful. It includes an engraved portrait of him and copies of the requests for release made by him and his wife, Abigail Bernardi.

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