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Birth of James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde

James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, KG, Irish statesman and soldier, is born into a Protestant family on April 29, 1665, at Dublin Castle. He is the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom of Ormond. He serves in the campaign to put down the Monmouth Rebellion, in the Williamite War in Ireland, in the Nine Years’ War and in the War of the Spanish Succession but is accused of treason and goes into exile after the Jacobite rising of 1715.

Butler is the second but eldest surviving son, and one of eleven children, of Thomas Butler by his wife Emilia van Nassau-Beverweerd. His father is known as Lord Ossory. His father is heir apparent of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond but predeceases him and so never becomes duke. His father’s family, the Butler dynasty, is Old English and descends from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177. His mother is Dutch. She descends from a cadet branch of the House of Nassau.

Butler is educated in France and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford. On the death of his father on July 30, 1680, he becomes Baron Butler in the peerage of England and the 7th Earl of Ossory in the peerage of Ireland.

Butler obtains command of a cavalry regiment in Ireland in 1683 and having received an appointment at court on the accession of James II, he serves against the Duke of Monmouth at the Battle of Sedgemoor in July 1685. Having succeeded his grandfather as 2nd Duke of Ormonde on July 21, 1688, he is appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter on September 28, 1688. In 1688, he also becomes Chancellor of the University of Dublin and Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

In January and February 1689, Butler votes against the motion to put William of Orange and Mary on the throne and against the motion to declare that James II has abdicated it. Nevertheless, he subsequently joins the forces of William of Orange, by whom he is made colonel of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards on April 20, 1689. He accompanies William in his Irish campaign, debarking with him in Carrickfergus on June 14, 1690, and commands this troop at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. In February 1691 he becomes Lord Lieutenant of Somerset.

Butler serves on the continent under William of Orange during the Nine Years’ War and, having been promoted to major general, he fights at the Battle of Steenkerque in August 1692 and the Battle of Landen in July 1693, where he is taken prisoner by the French and then exchanged for the Duke of Berwick, James II’s illegitimate son. He is promoted to lieutenant general in 1694.

After the accession of Queen Anne in March 1702, Butler becomes commander of the land forces co-operating with Sir George Rooke in Spain, where he fights in the Battle of Cádiz in August 1702 and the Battle of Vigo Bay in October 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). Having been made a Privy Councillor, he succeeds Lord Rochester as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1703. In 1704, he leases and rebuilds a property that becomes known as Ormonde Lodge in Richmond outside London.

Following the dismissal of the Duke of Marlborough, Butler is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Forces and colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards on January 4, 1712, and Captain General on February 26, 1712. In the Irish Parliament he and the majority of peers support the Tory interest.

Butler plays a dramatic role at the notorious meeting of the Privy Council on March 8, 1711, when Antoine de Guiscard, a French double agent who is being questioned about his treasonable activities, attempts to assassinate Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford, against whom he has a personal grudge for drastically cutting his allowance, by stabbing him with a penknife. Harley is wounded, but not seriously, due largely to the fact that he is wearing a heavy gold brocade waistcoat in which the knife gets stuck. Several Councillors, including Butler, stab Guiscard in return. Guiscard implores Butler to finish the deed, but he replies that it is not for him to play the hangman. In any case, he has the sense to see that Guiscard must be kept alive at least long enough to be questioned, although as it turns out Guiscard’s wounds are fatal, and he dies a week later.

On April 23, 1712, Butler leaves Harwich for Rotterdam to lead the British troops taking part in the war. Once there he allows himself to be made the tool of the Tory ministry, whose policy is to carry on the war in the Netherlands while giving secret orders to him to take no active part in supporting their allies under Prince Eugene. In July 1712, he advises Prince Eugene that he can no longer support the siege of Le Quesnoy and that he is withdrawing the British troops from the action and instead intends to take possession of Dunkirk. The Dutch are so exasperated at the withdrawal of the British troops that they close the towns of Bouchain on Douai to British access, despite the fact that they have plenty of stores and medical facilities available. Butler takes possession of Ghent and Bruges as well as Dunkirk, in order to ensure his troops are adequately provided for. On April 15, 1713, he becomes Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk.

Ormonde’s position as Captain-General makes him a personage of much importance in the crisis brought about by the death of Queen Anne and, during the last years of Queen Anne, he almost certainly has Jacobite leanings and corresponds with the Jacobite Court including his cousin, Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye, who keeps barrels of gunpowder at Kilkenny Castle. King George I, on his accession to the throne in August 1714, institutes extensive changes and excludes the Tories from royal favour. Butler is stripped of his posts as Captain-General, as colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards and as Commander in Chief of the Forces with the first two posts going to the Duke of Marlborough and the role of Commander-in-Chief going to John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair. On November 19, 1714, Butler is instead made a member of the reconstituted Privy Council of Ireland.

Accused of supporting the Jacobite rising of 1715, Butler is impeached for high treason by Lord Stanhope on June 21, 1715. He might avoid the impending storm of Parliamentary prosecution, if he remains in England and stands trial but instead, he chooses to flee to France in August 1715 and initially stays in Paris with Lord Bolingbroke. On August 20, 1715, he is attainted, his estate forfeited, and honours extinguished. The Earl Marshal is instructed to remove the names and armorial bearings of Butler and Bolingbroke from the list of peers and his banner as Knight of the Garter is taken down in St. George’s Chapel.

On June 20, 1716, the Parliament of Ireland passes an act extinguishing the regalities and liberties of the county palatine of Tipperary; for vesting Butler’s estate in the crown and for giving a reward of £10,000 for his apprehension, should he attempt to land in Ireland. But the same parliament passes an act on June 24, 1721, to enable his brother, Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran, to purchase his estate, which he does accordingly.

Butler subsequently moves to Spain where he holds discussions with Cardinal Giulio Alberoni. He later takes part in a Spanish and Jacobite plan to invade England and puts James Francis Edward Stuart on the British throne in 1719, but his fleet is disbanded by a storm in the Bay of Biscay. In 1732, he moves to Avignon, where he is seen in 1733 by the writer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. He dies at Avignon in exile on November 16, 1745, but his body is returned to London and buried in Westminster Abbey on May 22, 1746.

On July 20, 1682, Butler, then called Lord Ossory, marries Lady Anne Hyde, daughter of Laurence Hyde, who is then Viscount Hyde of Kenilworth but becomes Earl of Rochester in November. The couple has a daughter, Mary, who dies young in 1688.

Following the death of his first wife in 1685, Butler plans to marry again in order to secure a male heir. He gains permission from the House of Lords for the arranging of a jointure for another marriage in May 1685, and in August of that year, he marries Lady Mary Somerset, daughter of the Duke of Beaufort and Mary Capel. The couple has a son, Thomas (1686–1689), and two daughters, Elizabeth (1689–1750) and Mary (1690–1713). His second wife is a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Anne. Their younger daughter, Mary, marries John Ashburnham, 1st Earl of Ashburnham.

(Pictured: Portrait of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, by Michael Dahl, National Portrait Gallery)


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Irish Regiments Fight with Spain in the Battle of Villaviciosa

Three Irish regiments in the service of Spain fight in the Battle of Villaviciosa on December 10, 1710, during the War of the Spanish Succession. The regiments are commanded by Colonel Don Demetrio MacAuliffe, Colonel Don John de Comerford, and Colonel Don Reynaldo Mac Donnell. This last becomes known as the Hibernia Regiment.

The Battle of Villaviciosa is a battle between a Franco-Spanish army led by Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme, and Philip V of Spain and a Habsburg-allied army commanded by Austrian Guido Starhemberg. The battle takes place one day after a Franco-Spanish victory at Brihuega against a British army under James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope. Both Philip V of Spain and the Archduke Charles of Austria claim victory, but the number of dead and wounded, the number of artillery and other weapons abandoned by the Allied army and the battle’s strategic consequences for the war confirm victory for Philip.

The battle is largely determined by the Spanish dragoons commanded by the Marquis of Valdecañas and the Count of Aguilar, which far exceeds the opposing forces. The Austrian forces retreat, pursued by Spanish cavalry, and the allied army is reduced to 6,000 or 7,000 men when it reaches Barcelona, one of the few places in Spain still recognizing Charles’ authority, on January 6.

After victories in the Battle of Almenar on July 27 and the Battle of Saragossa on August 20, the Habsburg allies supporting Archduke Charles capture Madrid for the second time and Charles enters Madrid on September 21. The 1710 invasion is a repetition of the one in 1706, and the 23,000-strong allied army is reduced at Almenara and Saragossa and in skirmishes with the Spanish-Bourbon militia. The allied troops are unable to maintain an occupation.

The allied position in Madrid is dangerous. On November 9, the city is evacuated and the retreat to Catalonia begins, pursued by Spanish cavalry led by the Marquis of Valdecañas. The archduke leaves the army with 2,000 cavalry and rushes back to Barcelona, while the rest of the army marches in two detachments. Austrian general Starhemberg and the main body of 12,000 men are a day’s march ahead of the 5,000 British troops under Lord Stanhope. The British force, surprised, is defeated at Brihuega on December 9, 1710. The British are taken prisoner, including Stanhope, who finally surrenders.

When General Starhemberg is informed of the attack on the British column, he moves his troops to help Stanhope’s army, unaware that the latter had capitulated. The next morning, December 10, the Franco-Spanish army is waiting on the plain of Villaviciosa. Compared to the Austrian general’s 14,000 troops, the Duke of Vendôme deploys about 20,000 men, including King Philip and other troops who had joined the duke that morning. The armies deploy in two lines on parallel ridges.

The battle begins during the afternoon, lasting until midnight. Each army has 23 pieces of artillery, deployed in three batteries. The artillery fire begins simultaneously, damaging both armies. The Marquis de Valdecañas, commanding the cavalry in the Bourbon right wing, begins the attack. Valdecañas sends his cavalry against the allied left wing, composed of German infantry and Portuguese and Spanish cavalry under Imperial General von Frankenberg. The German infantry and Portuguese cavalry try to stop the Bourbon charge before yielding, and the left wing is destroyed. The Spanish capture the artillery pieces, killing the Anglo-Dutch troops sent to aid the left wing. With the allied left wing defeated, the archduke’s infantry advances toward the Franco-Spanish center and drives back the Bourbon infantry. The Marquis of Toy tries to prevent losses in the center and avoid the division of the army, but most of his men are taken prisoner by the Portuguese.

Although the Bourbons in the center are in difficulty, the Count of Aguilar throws his cavalry against the archduke’s right wing, commanded by General Starhemberg and comprising the best grenadiers and cavalry squadrons of the allied army. The allies are unable to stop the Count of Aguilar’s cavalry. The archduke’s right wing is saved from disaster by support from the center, led by the Spanish general Antoni de Villarroel. Starhemberg regroups his forces, repulses the Count of Aguilar’s cavalry and charges the Bourbon left wing. After capturing the left-wing cannons, Starhemberg launches his army against the center.

The Bourbon center and left wing begin to retreat, and the right-wing cavalry pursues the allied left wing. The Count of Aguilar then attacks against the archduke’s right wing with his dragoons. Although the German and Portuguese cavalry, under Pedro Manuel de Ataíde, 5th Count of Atalaya, resist the first charge, Aguilar’s cavalry breaks the allied right wing. Valdecañas’ cavalry also deals a severe blow to the allied army, and Lt. Gen. Mahony and Field Marshal Amezaga’s troops charge from the right wing. Starhemberg in return launches three cavalry charges against them. During the fighting, Amezaga is wounded in the face. Starhemberg’s forces retreat to a nearby forest to escape the Franco-Spanish cavalry, and the allied forces begin their withdrawal under cover of night. The British regiments suffer heavy losses. Brigadier-General Lepell, the senior British officer, reports two regiments have been cut off while over 107 men are missing from his own and he has only two squadrons still available.

Although Philip V of Spain and the Archduke Charles both claim victory, the number of dead and wounded, the weapons abandoned by the allied army, and the strategic consequences in the war confirm French domination.

Starhemberg continues his retreat, harassed by Spanish cavalry. His army is reduced to 6,000 or 7,000 men by the time he reaches Barcelona. The Spanish throne is finally secured for Philip when Charles leaves Spain in April 1711 to become Holy Roman Emperor after the death of his older brother.

(Pictured: “Battle of Villaviciosa, December 10, 1710,” oil on canvas by Jean Alaux, Museum of the History of France)


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Irish Regiments Fight at the Battle of Saragossa

Irish regiments in service of Spain fight at the Battle of Saragossa, also known as the Battle of Zaragoza, on August 20, 1710, during the War of the Spanish Succession.

A Spanish Bourbon army loyal to Philip V of Spain and commanded by Alexandre Maître, Marquis de Bay, is defeated by a Grand Alliance force under Guido Starhemberg. Despite this victory, which allows Philip’s rival Archduke Charles to enter the Spanish capital of Madrid, the allies are unable to consolidate their gains. Forced to retreat, they suffer successive defeats at Brihuega in November and Villaviciosa in December, which effectively end their chances of installing Archduke Charles on the Spanish throne.

The 1710 Spanish campaign opens on May 15 when the Spanish Bourbon army commanded by Philip V in person and Francisco Castillo Fajardo, Marquis of Villadarias, advance on the town of Balaguer. Guido Starhemberg, commander of the Allied forces in Catalonia, halts this attempt by preventing the Spanish from fording the Segre River, a success in which the officers of the British contingent have a leading role.

Having received reinforcements, in June Philip makes another attempt upon Balaguer with 20,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry but is defeated at Almenar on July 27. The allied troops take up a strong defensive position and repel the Spanish attacks until the British commander, James Stanhope, leading their vanguard, breaks the Spanish lines. Philip is forced to withdraw to Zaragoza, capital of Aragon, while Villadarias is replaced by the French general Alexandre Maître, Marquis de Bay.

On August 9, the Spanish army reaches Zaragoza and de Bay positions his troops with the river Ebro on his left and the Torrero heights to the right. On August 15, an Allied cavalry attack is repulsed, followed by five days of minor skirmishes before the Allies cross the Ebro in force on August 19 and are allowed to deploy during the night.

The two forces are roughly equal in strength, the allies having thirty-seven battalions of infantry and forty-three squadrons opposed to the Spanish-Bourbon army of thirty-eight battalions and fifty-four squadrons. The Allied left, composed of Catalonian and Dutch troops, is led by Pedro Manuel de Ataíde, 5th Count of Atalaia, the right by Stanhope, made up of British, Portuguese and Austrian cavalry, with Starhemberg in charge of the centre, mainly German, Austrian and Spanish infantry.

On August 20 at 8:00 a.m., an artillery-duel starts which lasts four hours before Stanhope charges the Bourbon-Spanish left. At first the Spanish and Walloon troops of the Bourbon army seem to gain the advantage, having defeated a body of eight Portuguese squadrons, which they chased from the field. This opens a gap in the Bourbon lines, which opens a gap for Stanhope who scatters the disorganized Spanish soldiers, while at the centre and the right their attacks are repulsed.

The battle follows the same pattern as at Almenar, with the allies repulsing fierce Bourbon cavalry charges before counter-attacked with their infantry and pushing the Spanish back. In less than three hours, the Allies army wins a comprehensive victory, capturing the Bourbon artillery along with 73 standards. Between 5,000 and 6,000 Spanish soldiers are killed or wounded, and another 7,000 captured, with Allied losses estimated as 1,500 men dead or wounded.

Archduke Charles enters Zaragoza the next day. The defeat of the army of Philip V of Spain is severe, the way to Madrid is open. Philip V abandons Madrid on September 9 and goes to Valladolid. Archduke Charles enters a very hostile and almost empty Madrid on September 28. Charles comments, “This city is a desert!” In the winter of 1710, Archduke Charles and the allied troops have to abandon Madrid, due to the great opposition of the people of Madrid and the dangerous strategic situation. After this, the British army suffers a defeat at the Battle of Brihuega, and the rest of the allied army is defeated at the Battle of Villaviciosa.


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The Battle of Brihuega

File source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vendome-and-PhilipV.jpgThe Irish “Hibernia” regiment and other Irish units of Spain fight at the Battle of Brihuega on December 8, 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession, during the allied retreat from Madrid to Barcelona. The British rearguard under James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope, is cut off within the town of Brihuega and overwhelmed by a Franco-Spanish army under Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme. Brihuega with other events brings an end to the British participation in the war.

The Duke of Vendôme sets out from Talavera de la Reina with his troops and pursues the retreating British army with a speed perhaps never equalled in such a season and in such a country. The middle-aged Frenchman leads his Franco-Spanish army day and night. In typical Vendôme style, he swims, at the head of his cavalry, the flooded Henares and in a few days overtakes Stanhope, who is at Brihuega with the left wing of the Grand Alliance army.

“Nobody with me,” said the British general, “imagined that they had any foot within some days’ march of us and our misfortune is owing to the incredible diligence which their army made.” Stanhope has barely enough time to send off a messenger to the centre of the army, which is some leagues from Brihuega, before Vendôme is upon him on the evening of December 8. The next morning the town is invested on every side.

Blasting the walls of Brihuega with heavy cannon, a mine is sprung under one of the gates. The British keep up a terrible fire until their powder is spent. They then fight desperately against overwhelming odds as Vendôme’s men storm the city with bayonets fixed and begin to take the town by bloody close quarters fighting, street by street. The British set fire to the buildings which their assailants have taken but in vain. The British general sees that further resistance will produce only a useless carnage. He concludes a capitulation and his army becomes prisoners of war on honourable terms.

Scarcely had Vendôme signed the capitulation, when he learns that General Guido Starhemberg is marching to the relief of Stanhope. On December 10 the two meet in the bloody Battle of Villaviciosa, after which Starhemberg continues the allied retreat.

The British troops do not remain in captivity for very long before they are exchanged and sent home in October 1711.

The defeat helps justify the Harley ministry‘s plan to agree to a compromise peace with France at the Treaty of Utrecht. Opponents of the deal protest on the grounds of “No Peace Without Spain.” Nonetheless Allied forces are withdrawn, with the final action taking place at the Siege of Barcelona in 1714.