ment he sailed in the Theseus, accompanied by a small squadron, for Teneriffe. In the pliant but unsuccessful attempt upon this island Oldfield commanded the force of royal marines which effected a landing from the squadron. His boat was swamped, but he swam to shore, and on landing received a contusion in the right knee. He materially contributed to the saving of the British detachment, whose temerity in attacking with so inferior a force was only equalled by the gallantry with which they carried the attack into execut ion. Its failure may be attributed to the loss of the cutter Fox, 10 guns, which was sunk by the enemy's fire, with a considerable part of the force destined for the enterprise. It was in this affair that Nelson lost his arm. In a private letter, written after the battle of the Nile, Oldfield said that 'it was by no means so severe as the affair at Teneriffe, or the second night of the bombardment of Cadiz.'
Until the Theseus was detached to join Nelson (who had shifted his flag to the Vanguard, and gone in pursuit of the French squadron up the Mediterranean), Oldfield remaining with the fleet under the orders of the Earl of St. Vincent. At the battle of the Nile Oldfield was the senior officer of royal marines in the fleet, and obtained the rank of major for his services, his commission dating 7 Oct. 1798. Oldfield relates in a private letter how, after the disappointment of not finding the French fleet at Alexandria, the Zealous made the signal at midday on 1 Aug. that it was in the bay of Aboukir. At half-past three the French fleet was plainly seen, and an hour afterwards Nelson bade the Theseus go ahead of him. Oldfield in the Theseus was alongside the Guerrier at a quarter to seven o'clock, and having poured in a broadside which carried away ner main and mizen masts, he passed on to the Sparticle and anchored abreast of her, the admiral anchoring on the other side ten minutes later. After the action Oldfield was sent with his marines on board the Tonnant, and from 1 to 14 Aug. he only occasionally lay down on deck. Upwards of six hundred prisoners were on board, of whom 150 were wounded. Nelson sent word to Oldfield that nothing would give him greater pleasure than to serve him; but Oldfield replied that he wanted nothing.
The Theseus remained for some time at Gibraltar and Lisbon to repair damages. Early in the spring of 1799 she sailed to join Sir Sidney Smith off the coast of Syria, and Oldfield took part in the defence of St. Jean d'Acre. On 7 April, at daybreak, a sortie in three columns was made, Oldfield commanding the centre column, which was to penetrate to the entrance of the French mine. The French narrative of General Berthier, chef d'état-major of the French army in Egypt, relates how Oldfield's column advanced to the entrance of the mine and attacked like heroes ; how Oldfield's body was carried off by their grenadiers and brought to the French headquarters. He was dying when taken, and breathed his last before he reached headquarters. 'His sword,' says Berthier, 'to which he had done so much honour, was also honoured after his death. . . . He was buried among us, and he has carried with him to the grave the esteem of the French army.' His gallant conduct was eulogised in the official despatch of Sir Sidney Smith, and Napoleon, when on passage to St. Helena, spoke of Oldfield's gallantry to the marine officers on board the Northumberland.
Oldfield was of middle stature and dark complexion. He was of a social and generous disposition, and had a strong sense of religion. A tablet in his memory has been erected in the garrison chapel at Portsmouth.
[Despatches; Memoirs printed for private circulation.]
OLDFIELD, THOMAS HINTON BURLEY (1755–1822), political historian and antiquary, born in 1755, was according to the 'Gentleman's Magazine,' 1822, pt. ii. p. 566, 'an attorney of great celebrity.' His name, however, is unknown to the 'Law List.' He died at Exeter on 25 July 1822.
Oldfield was a zealous pioneer of parliamentary reform, and the author of (1) 'An Entire and Complete History, Political and Personal, of the Boroughs of Great Britain, together with the Cinque Ports; to which is prefixed an original Sketch of constitutional rights from the earliest Period until the present Time,' &c., London, 1792, 3 vols. 8vo; 2nd ed. 1794, 2 vols. 8vo. (2) 'History of the Original Constitution of Parliaments from the Time of the Britons to the present Day; to which is added the present State of the Representation,' London, 1797, 8vo.
Both works were subsequently reprinted under the title 'A Complete History, Political and Personal, of the Boroughs of Great Britain, together with the Cinque Ports; To which is now first added the History of the Original Constitution of Parliaments,' &c., London (no date), 3 vols. 8vo. A final edition, revised and amplified, entitled 'The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland; being a History of the House of Commons, and of the Counties, Cities, and Boroughs of the United Kingdom from the earliest Period,' appeared in 1816, London,
