James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde

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His Grace
The Duke of Ormonde
KG KT
James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde by Michael Dahl.jpg
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office
19 February 1703 – 30 April 1707
Monarch Anne
Preceded by The Earl of Rochester
Succeeded by The Earl of Pembroke
In office
26 October 1710 – 22 September 1713
Monarch Anne
Preceded by The Earl of Wharton
Succeeded by The Duke of Shrewsbury
Personal details
Born 29 April 1665
Dublin, Leinster
Ireland
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Papal Enclave of Avignon
Awards Knight of the Garter
Knight of the Thistle
Military service
Allegiance  England
 Great Britain
Spain Spain
Service/branch English Army
British Army
Spanish Army
Rank General
Battles/wars Monmouth Rebellion
Williamite War in Ireland
Nine Years' War
War of the Spanish Succession
Jacobite rising of 1715

James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, 13th Earl of Ormond, 7th Earl of Ossory, 2nd Baron Butler, KG KT (29 April 1665 – 16 November 1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom of Ormond. Like his grandfather the 1st Duke, he was raised as a Protestant, unlike his extended family who held to Roman Catholicism. He served 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 was accused of treason and went into exile after the Jacobite rising of 1715.

Military career

Born the son of Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory and his wife Emilia (née van Nassau-Beverweerd),[1] and grandson of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, Butler was born in Dublin and was educated in France and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford.[2] On the death of his father on 30 July 1680 he became Baron Butler in the English peerage and Earl of Ossory by courtesy.[2] He obtained command of a cavalry regiment in Ireland in 1683,[2] and having received an appointment at court on the accession of James II, he served against the Duke of Monmouth at the Battle of Sedgemoor in July 1685.[2] Having succeeded his grandfather as Duke of Ormonde on 21 July 1688, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter on 28 September 1688.[3] In 1688 he also became Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin[4] and Chancellor of the University of Oxford.[5]

File:BattleOfBoyne.png
The Battle of the Boyne, at which Butler commanded the Queen's Troop, during the Williamite War in Ireland

In January and February 1689 he voted against the motion to put William of Orange and Mary on the throne and against the motion to declare that James II had abdicated it.[2] Nevertheless he subsequently joined the forces of William of Orange, by whom he was made colonel of the Queen's Troop of Horse Guards on 20 April 1689, and commanded the Queen's Troop at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690 during the Williamite War in Ireland.[2] In February 1691 he became Lord Lieutenant of Somerset.[2]

He served on the continent under William of Orange during the Nine Years' War and, having been promoted to major-general, he fought at the Battle of Steenkerque in August 1692 and the Battle of Landen in July 1693, where he was taken prisoner by the French and then exchanged for the Duke of Berwick, James II's illegitimate son.[2] He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1694.[2]

After the accession of Queen Anne in March 1702, he became commander of the land forces co-operating with Sir George Rooke in Spain, where he fought in the Battle of Cádiz in August 1702 and the Battle of Vigo Bay in October 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession.[2] Having been made a Privy Councillor, Ormonde succeeded Lord Rochester as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1703.[2]

Following the dismissal of the Duke of Marlborough, Ormonde was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Forces and colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards on 4 January 1711[6] and Captain-General on 26 February 1711.[7] In the Irish Parliament Ormonde and the majority of peers supported the Tory interest.[8]

In April 1712 he left Harwich for Rotterdam to lead the British troops taking part in the war.[9] Once there he allowed himself to be made the tool of the Tory ministry, whose policy was to carry on the war in the Netherlands[10] while giving secret orders to Ormonde to take no active part in supporting their allies under Prince Eugene of Savoy.[2] In July 1712 Ormonde advised Prince Eugene that he could no longer support the siege of Quesnoy and that he was withdrawing the British troops from the action and instead intended to take possession of Dunkirk.[11] The Dutch were so exasperated at the withdrawal of the British troops that they closed the towns of Bouchain on Douai to British access despite the fact that they had plenty of stores and medical facilities available.[12] Ormonde took possession of Ghent and Bruges as well as Dunkirk in order to ensure his troops were adequately provided for.[12] On 15 April 1713 he became Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk.[13]

Treason

Ormonde’s position as Captain-General made 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, Ormonde almost certainly had Jacobite leanings and corresponded with the Jacobite Court including his cousin, Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye, who kept barrels of gunpowder at Kilkenny Castle.[14] King George I on his accession to the throne in August 1714 instituted extensive changes and excluded the Tories from royal favour.[15] Ormonde was 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 the Earl of Stair.[15] On 19 November 1714 Ormonde was instead made a member of the reconstituted Privy Council of Ireland.[16]

File:James-Butler-Ormonde.JPG
James Butler circa 1725-1730

Accused of supporting the Jacobite rising of 1715, during which the rebels had shouted "High church and Ormonde",[17] he was impeached for high treason by Lord Stanhope on 21 June 1715.[18] He might have avoided the impending storm of Parliamentary prosecution, if he had remained in England and stood trial but instead he chose to depart for France on 8 August 1715 and initially stayed in Paris with Lord Bolingbroke.[19] On 20 August 1715 he was attainted, his estate forfeited, and honours extinguished.[20] The Earl Marshal was instructed to remove the names and armorial bearings of Ormonde and Bolingbroke from the list of peers[21] and Ormonde's banner as Knight of the Garter was taken down in St George's Chapel.[21]

On 20 June 1716, the Parliament of Ireland passed an act extinguishing the regalities and liberties of the county palatine of Tipperary; for vesting his estate in the crown[22] and for giving a reward of £10,000 for his apprehension, should he attempt to land in Ireland.[23] But the same parliament passed an act 24 June 1721, to enable his brother Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran, to purchase his estate, which he accordingly did.[24]

Ormonde subsequently moved to Spain[25] where he held discussions with Cardinal Alberoni.[26] He later took part in a Spanish plan to invade England and put James Francis Edward Stuart on the British throne in 1719, but his fleet was disbanded by a storm near Galicia.[27][28] In 1732 he moved to Avignon,[2] where he was seen in 1733 by the writer, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.[2] Ormonde died in exile on 16 November 1745, and was buried in Westminster Abbey on 22 May 1746.[2]

Family

In 1682 he married Lady Anne Hyde, daughter of Viscount Hyde of Kenilworth; they had one daughter.[1] Following the death of his first wife (which is known to have caused him intense grief) in 1685, he married Lady Mary Somerset,[29] Lady of the Bedchamber and daughter of the Duke of Beaufort and Mary Capel in 1685;[1] they had a son and two daughters.[2]

See also

References

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  3. The London Gazette: no. 2386. p. 2. 1 October 1688. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Salter, pp.38-39
  6. The London Gazette: no. 4948. p. 1. 3 January 1711. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  7. The London Gazette: no. 4971. p. 1. 26 February 1711. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  8. Smollett, p.188
  9. The London Gazette: no. 4994. p. 1. 19 April 1712. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  10. Smollett, p.210
  11. Smollett, p.219
  12. 12.0 12.1 Smollett, p.222
  13. The London Gazette: no. 5112. p. 1. 14 April 1713. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
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  15. 15.0 15.1 Smollett, p.264
  16. The London Gazette: no. 5278. p. 4. 16 November 1714. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  17. Smollett, p.275
  18. Smollett, p.277
  19. The London Gazette: no. 5352. p. 1. 2 August 1715. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  20. The London Gazette: no. 5357. p. 1. 20 August 1715. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  21. 21.0 21.1 Smollett, p.283
  22. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. The London Gazette: no. 5715. p. 1. 24 January 1719. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  24. Lodge, p.63
  25. The London Gazette: no. 5727. p. 1. 7 March 1719. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  26. Smollett, p.336
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  28. The London Gazette: no. 5799. p. 1. 14 November 1719. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
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Sources

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Further reading

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External links

Political offices
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1703–1707
Succeeded by
The Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1710–1713
Succeeded by
The Duke of Shrewsbury
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
1712–1715
Succeeded by
The Earl of Leicester
Vacant
Title last held by
The Duke of Grafton
Lord High Constable of England
1689
Vacant
Title next held by
The Duke of Bedford
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
1691–1714
Succeeded by
The Earl of Orrery
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk
1713–1714
Succeeded by
The Viscount Townshend
Military offices
Preceded by
Regiment raised
Colonel of the Irish Foot Guards
1662–1688
Succeeded by
William Dorrington
Preceded by Captain and Colonel of
The Queen's Troop of Horse Guards

1689–1711
Succeeded by
The Duke of Northumberland
Preceded by Captain-General
1711–1714
Succeeded by
The Duke of Marlborough
Preceded by Colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards
1712–1714
Succeeded by
The Duke of Marlborough
Vacant
Title last held by
Duke of Marlborough
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
1711–1714
Vacant
Title next held by
The Earl of Stair
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of the University of Oxford
1688-1715
Succeeded by
Earl of Arran
Peerage of England
Preceded by Duke of Ormonde
1688–1715
Forfeit
Preceded by Baron Butler
1680–1715
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Lord Dingwall
1684–1715
Forfeit
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Duke of Ormonde
1688–1745
Succeeded by
Charles Butler
Preceded by Earl of Ossory
1680–1745

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