Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Lieutenant-General Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester (26 October 1612 – 19 February 1658), known as The Lord Wilmot between 1643 and 1644 and as The Viscount Wilmot between 1644 and 1652, was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

Cavalier

Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...

who fought for the Royalist

Cavalier

Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...

cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms

Wars of the Three Kingdoms

The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...

Early life

Wilmot's family was descended from Edward Wilmot of Witney

Witney

Witney is a town on the River Windrush, west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'....

, Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, whose son Charles Wilmot, 1st Viscount Wilmot

Charles Wilmot, 1st Viscount Wilmot

Charles Wilmot, 1st Viscount Wilmot of Athlone was an English soldier active in Ireland.-Life:He was the son of Edward Wilmot of Culham and Elizabeth Stafford...

had served with distinction in Ireland during Tyrone's Rebellion at the beginning of the 17th century, and was president of Connaught

Connacht

Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...

from 1616 until his death. In 1621, Charles had been created an Irish peer as Viscount Wilmot. Wilmot was born in 1612 as the third son of Charles, but he was the only one still alive on his father's death so he succeeded to the title.

1630s and early 1640s

Wilmot had five years experience in the Dutch army, and was badly wounded at the siege of Breda

Siege of Breda

The Siege of Breda is the name for two major sieges of the Eighty Years' War and Thirty Years' War. The Dutch fortress city of Breda fell to a Spanish army under Ambrosio Spinola in 1625; it was retaken by Frederick Henry of Orange in the 1637 Siege of Breda.-The Battle:Under Spinola's orders the...

. He joined Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

for the Bishops' Wars

Bishops' Wars

The Bishops' Wars , were conflicts, both political and military, which occurred in 1639 and 1640 centred around the nature of the governance of the Church of Scotland, and the rights and powers of the Crown...

(1639–1640) and served as an officer in the cavalry, sitting in the Royal Council of War and led a charge at Battle of Newburn

Battle of Newburn

The Battle of Newburn was fought on 28 August 1640 during the Second Bishops' War between a Scottish Covenanter army led by General Alexander Leslie and English royalist forces commanded by Edward, Lord Conway. Conway, heavily outnumbered, was defeated, and the Scots went on to occupy the town of...

and was captured by the Scots when it broke.

In 1640, Wilmot was elected to the Long Parliament

Long Parliament

The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...

to represent Tamworth

Tamworth (UK Parliament constituency)

Tamworth is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...

. It was during this period that he became involved as a member of a set of young MPs and officers around Queen Henrietta Maria

Henrietta Maria of France

Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...

, (a patron who would help him later in his life). As part of this set he took an active part in the army plot of 1641 against Parliament. He was committed to the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

and expelled from the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

First Civil War

As soon as the First English Civil War

First English Civil War

The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...

started Wilmot joined King Charles I

Charles I of England

at York. By 5 August 1642 he raised a regiment of horse for the King's army and regaining the post of commissary-general of horse. He as wounded at Battle of Powick Bridge

Battle of Powick Bridge

The Battle of Powick Bridge, fought on 23 September 1642, was the first major cavalry engagement of the English Civil War and it was a victory for the Royalists who overthrew the Parliamentary cavalry. According to Hugh Peters it was "where England's sorrows began".-Prelude:King Charles I of...

on 23 September, the first major skirmish of the Civil War, but was fit enough to lead the left wing of the royalist cavalry at the Battle of Edgehill

Battle of Edgehill

The Battle of Edgehill was the first pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642....

a month later, routing most of the parliamentarians opposite to him. He also commanded the expeditionary force that stormed and captured Marlborough on 5 December.

In April 1643 Wilmot's services to the Crown were recognised when he was appointed lieutenant-general of horse, and was later the same month was created Baron Wilmot, of Adderbury in the County of Oxford. Later that year he commanded a large cavalry contingent that was sent to help the western royalist army, and on 13 July he defeated Sir William Waller

William Waller

Sir William Waller was an English soldier during the English Civil War. He received his education at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, and served in the Venetian army and in the Thirty Years' War...

at the Battle of Roundway Down

Battle of Roundway Down

The Battle of Roundway Down was fought on 13 July 1643, during the First English Civil War. A Royalist cavalry force under Lord Wilmot won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarians under Sir William Waller who were besieging Devizes in central Wiltshire, which was defended by Lord Hopton...

opening the way for the royalists to solidify their position in the west.

On 5 December Wilmot commanded the expeditionary force which stormed Marlborough. Reward for these exploits was lavishly given in April 1643 when he was appointed lieutenant-general of horse in the king's army directly under the command of Prince Rupert of the Rhine

Prince Rupert of the Rhine

Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness , commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, FRS was a noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century...

, and on 29 June when he was created Baron Wilmot of Adderbury; these honours may well have been assisted by the restored influence of his old patroness, the queen. Whatever their source, he amply repaid them in July, when he led a large section of the cavalry under his command to assist the western royalist army. At the Battle of Roundway Down

Battle of Roundway Down

, on 13 July, he routed the forces of Sir William Waller

William Waller

Sir William Waller was an English soldier during the English Civil War. He received his education at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, and served in the Venetian army and in the Thirty Years' War...

, opening the way for the royalist conquest of most of the west.

In 1644 when Rupert took over a regional command in the North, Wilmot stepped into his shoes as commander of all the Royalist cavalry and as the a dominant influence on military matters. On 29 June at the Battle of Cropredy Bridge

Battle of Cropredy Bridge

The Battle of Cropredy Bridge was a battle of the English Civil Wars, fought on 29 June 1644 between a Parliamentarian army under Sir William Waller and the Royalist army of King Charles...

he participated in defeating Waller for the second time, but not before he had had to lead a charge in which he was wounded and briefly taken prisoner.

When his father died Wilmot inherited the title of Viscount Wilmot of Athlone and much of his father's political standing in Ireland. In April he was jointly made Lord President of Connaught

Lord President of Connaught

The Lord President of Connaught was a military leader with wide-ranging powers, reaching into the civil sphere, in the English government of Connaught in Ireland, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.*1569-1572 Sir Edward Fitton...

with Viscount Dillon

Thomas Dillon, 4th Viscount Dillon

Thomas Dillon, 4th Viscount Dillon was an Irish peer.In 1630 converted to become a Protestant when he succeeded his nephew as Viscount Dillon. He subsequently took his seat in Parliament....

, — a post had been held by his late father jointly with the late Viscount Ranelagh

Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh

Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh PC was a member of the Peerage of Ireland and lord president of Connaught. He was Chief Leader of the Army and Forces of Connaught during the early years of the Irish Confederate Wars...

since 1630 — this laid the foundations for his becoming a major political figure in both England and Ireland.

All recognised that Wilmot was popular with the soldiers he commanded, due to a "mixture of courage, enterprise, and boozy affability" Clarendon

Clarendon

-Places:In Australia:*Clarendon, New South Wales, a suburb of northern west Sydney*Clarendon, Queensland*Clarendon, South Australia*Clarendon, Tasmania, a National Trust property near Evandale, Tasmania*Clarendon County, New South WalesIn Canada:...

famously, if waspishly, noted "He was a man proud and ambitious, and incapable of being contented; an orderly officer in marches and governing his troops. He drank hard, and had a great power over all who did so, which was a great people" This popularity and his central position in the army command, allowed him to start to exert political influence. In June Wilmot felt in a strong enough position to canvas support in the army to ask the king to dismiss his two principal civilian advisers, Lord Digby

George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol

George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he was raised to the House of Lords...

and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir John Culpeper

John Colepeper, 1st Baron Colepeper

John Colepeper of Bedgebery, 1st Baron Culpeper of Thoresway was an English politician.-Life:He was the only son of Thomas Culpeper of Wigsell and Anne Slaney , daughter of Sir Stephan Slaney, Lord Mayor of London...

, and to adopt the strategy of a march on London. Charles, who had no personal affection for Wilmot (because Wilmot had voted for the death of the Earl of Strafford

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1632 to 1639 he instituted a harsh rule as Lord Deputy of Ireland...

), dismissed the strategy and kept Digby and Culpeper on as his advisers.

With the failure of his first scheme, Wilmot made an unauthorized contact with the Earl of Essex

Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex

Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...

who was the parliamentarian commander-in-chief, to see if a peace could be arranged. The king was easily persuaded by Digby and Culpeper that Wilmot's actions were treasonable. Wilmot was arrested on 8 August 1644, stripped of all his offices, and incarcerated in Exeter. His popularity within the army led many of its officers to petition on his behalf and eventually to placate them, all charges against Wilmot were dropped on the understanding that he would retire overseas. Wilmot went to France, to join the exiled court of his old patron Queen Henrietta Maria.

Three years later when Digby arrived in Paris, the dispute between the men was neither forgotten or forgiven and they fought a duel. Wilmot was defeated with a stab through the hand.

Third Civil War

After Charles I was executed in January 1649, Wilmot became a gentleman of the bedchamber of King Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

. He was greatly trusted by Charles II, whose defeat at the Battle of Worcester

Battle of Worcester

The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...

and subsequent wanderings Wilmot shared. During these, whereas the king adopted a series of disguises (often as a servant), Wilmot disdained disguise and declined to travel on foot. He and the king ultimately escaped to France six weeks after the battle, having spent the intervening time in hiding in various places.

Interregnum

During this King's exile, he was one of his principal advisers, being created by him Earl of Rochester

Earl of Rochester

Earl of Rochester was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1652 in favour of the Royalist soldier Henry Wilmot, 2nd Viscount Wilmot. He had already been created Baron Wilmot, of Adderbury in the County of Oxford, in 1643, also in the Peerage of England...

in 1652. In the interests of Charles, he visited the emperor Ferdinand III

Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand III was Holy Roman Emperor from 15 February 1637 until his death, as well as King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria.-Life:...

, Nicholas II, Duke of Lorraine

Nicholas II, Duke of Lorraine

Nicholas Francis , also known as Nicholas II, was briefly Duke of Lorraine and Duke of Bar for a few months in 1634, spanning the time between the abdication of his older brother and his own resignation...

, and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg

|align=right|Frederick William was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia – and thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia – from 1640 until his death. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as the "Great Elector" because of his military and political prowess...

. In March 1655, he was in England, where he led an unsuccessful attempt at a rising on Marston Moor, near York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

as part of the Sealed Knot

Sealed Knot

The Sealed Knot was a secret Royalist association which plotted for the Restoration of the Monarchy during the English Interregnum.Its original founder members were:* John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse...

Penruddock uprising

The Penruddock uprising was one of a series of coordinated uprisings planned by the Sealed Knot for a Royalist insurrection to start in March 1655 during the Protectorate of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell....

. The York uprising was put down by Colonel Robert Lilburne

Robert Lilburne

thumb|right|Robert LilburneColonel Robert Lilburne was the older brother of John Lilburne, the well known Leveller, but unlike his brother who severed his relationship with Oliver Cromwell, Robert Lilburne remained in the army...

Governor of York and on its failure Wilmot fled the country.

In 1656, Wilmot obtained command of an English foot regiment

Lord Wentworth's Regiment

Lord Wentworth's Regiment was a regiment of infantry raised during the exile of King Charles II during the Interregnum. Formed as the Royal Regiment of Guards in 1656 at Bruges under the command of the Earl of Rochester, it was made up of men who remained loyal to the King and had followed him...

in the royalist army in Bruges, thus becoming the first colonel of the Grenadier Guards

Grenadier Guards

The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...

. The unhealthy and overcrowded conditions of the regiment’s quarters in the winter of 1657–58 caused many in it to fall sick, including its commander. Wilmot died at Sluys on February 19 and was buried at Bruges

Bruges

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....

.

After the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

, his body was transferred to the family vault at Spelsbury

Spelsbury

Spelsbury is a village and civil parish about north of Charlbury and about southeast of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Spelsbury stands on a narrow hill between the Coldron and Taston brooks overlooking the River Evenlode and the ancient Wychwood Forest to the north.-History:The toponym is...

church, Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

. He was succeeded by son John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester , styled Viscount Wilmot between 1652 and 1658, was an English Libertine poet, a friend of King Charles II, and the writer of much satirical and bawdy poetry. He was the toast of the Restoration court and a patron of the arts...

, a noted poet and libertine at the Restoration

English Restoration

court.

Family

On 21 August 1633, Wilmot married Frances Morton, daughter of Sir George Morton of Clenston. In 1644, some time after Frances had died, Wilmot married Anne Lee, daughter of Sir John St John, 1st Baronet St John of Lydiard Tregoze

Lydiard Tregoze

Lydiard Tregoze is a small village and civil parish on the western edge of Swindon in the County of Wiltshire, in the south west of England. It has in the past been spelt as Liddiard Tregooze and in other ways.-History:...

, and widow of Sir Francis Henry Lee, 2nd Baronet Lee of Quarendon. They had a son John