Ferdinand, FitzRoy was present at the Battle of Minden on 1 August, described by the historian Piers Mackesy as "an excited and breathless youth of twenty-two". Towards the end of the battle FitzRoy was tasked with giving an order from Ferdinand to the commander of the British contingent of the army, Lieutenant-General Lord George Sackville, that would have seen the British cavalry make a decisive charge. Sackville was unusually slow in understanding and responding to the order, and argued with FitzRoy over what he was meant to be doing before halting the cavalry and riding away to speak with Ferdinand. A court martial was held over the incident by the request of Sackville who wanted to clear his name. FitzRoy gave evidence during the event, the result of which was Sackville's disgrace in March 1760. Sackville's attempts to defend himself included the publication of An Answer to Colonel FitzRoy, in which he replied to FitzRoy's testimonies. FitzRoy was named by Ferdinand after the battle as one of those "whose behaviour he especially admired". In the same year he was appointed a Groom of the Bedchamber. He continued to serve in the army during this time, fighting at the Battle of Vellinghausen on 15 July 1761. Returning to England in 1762, FitzRoy was promoted to colonel, commanding the 119th Regiment of Foot, but this regiment was disbanded in 1763. Political career Like his brother Grafton, an established politician, FitzRoy was a Whig, part of a political faction that was often brought together more by kinship than by shared ideology. While serving in the Seven Years' War, he was elected as a member of parliament (MP) for the constituency of Orford in August 1759. The election was organised by the prime minister Lord Newcastle, who in December also provided a secret-service pension for FitzRoy. Still serving in Germany, FitzRoy did not actively enter politics but was elected as MP for Bury St Edmunds in 1761. Having returned to England in 1762, he began to play a part in politics. While initially FitzRoy followed the political leads of Newcastle and Grafton, in May Newcastle was dismissed as prime minister and FitzRoy refused to support him in opposition. Despite this FitzRoy still voted against the new prime minister, Lord Bute, on the peace preliminaries in December that were to end the Seven Years' War. For this Bute had FitzRoy removed from his position as