James Douglas, Earl of Angus
Encyclopedia
James Douglas, Earl of Angus (1671 – 3 August 1692) was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
nobleman and soldier.
He was born at Douglas Castle
Douglas Castle
Douglas Castle was a stronghold of the Douglas family from medieval times to the 20th century. The first castle, erected in the 13th century, was destroyed and replaced several times until the 18th century when a large mansion house was built in its place. This too was demolished in 1938, and today...
, Douglas, South Lanarkshire
Douglas, South Lanarkshire
Douglas is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located on the south bank of the Douglas Water and on the A70 road that links Ayr, on the West coast of Scotland, to Edinburgh on the East, around 12 miles south west of Lanark. The placename is of Gaelic origin, derived from the Old Gaelic...
. The son of James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas
James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas
James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas was the son of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus and 1st Earl of Ormonde, and Lady Anne Stuart....
and his first wife Lady Barbara Erskine, eldest daughter of John Erskine, 20th Earl of Mar.
Education
Angus was sent for his education to a private residence, in EnglandEngland
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...
, to be tutored by a Master Abernethy. His father's impecunious position aroused the interest 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...
who wrote to the Lord Chancellor of Scotland
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland was a Great Officer of State in pre-Union Scotland.Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower status with the title of Keeper of the Great Seal...
, George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen
George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen
George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen , Lord Chancellor of Scotland, was the second son of Sir John Gordon, 1st Baronet, of Haddo, Aberdeenshire, ; by his wife, Mary Forbes.-Education:...
:
Being informed that Lord Angus is in a private place within some miles of London, and haveing a more than ordinary concern in his education, both on the account of his immediat descent from the most loyall and ancient family of Douglas (by which so many signall services have been performed to our royal predecessors for many ages), and of the earnest desire we have that, in case of his liveing to represent it, he may not in his younger years becorrupted with ill principles, we have thought fit hereby to authorise you to speak with his father the Marques of Douglas, and to know from him to whose carehe has committed a trust of so much importance to our service and to himself, as is that of his son's education, at such a great distance from his relations, to the end that if, upon notice thereof from you, we shall not have reason to be therewith well satisisfied we may order a better course to be taken in reference to his breeding. It is our will and pleasure that you call for from the Marques, and transmit to usan account of the present condition of his eatate, particularly of the burden of debts wherewith it stands affected, and of the true extent of the yearly rent, both reall and casuall; as also of the courses (if any be) set down for the discharge of these debts, wherein you are to take the assistance of some of the nearest relations of the family. For truly we have so great a regard, not only to the standing thereof, but also its continuance in a splendid and plentiful condition, as we cannot but highly concern ourselfe in the right management of their fortune
Charles went further and laid down an annuity of £200 sterling a year for the education of young Angus. This grant was confirmed by Charles brother James VII
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
and Angus was often in evidence at his court.
Revolution
Angus' time at court notwithstanding, the Douglas estates of his father lay in some of the staunchest presbyterian, covenanting territory in Scotland, and his tenantry were not at all amenable to King James, a CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
By 1688, Angus was back in Scotland and had given his support to William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
. He set about roaming his father's lands of Douglasdale to raise men to raise a new regiment from the Cameronian
Cameronian
Cameronian was a name given to a section of the Scottish Covenanters who followed the teachings of Richard Cameron, and who were composed principally of those who signed the Sanquhar Declaration in 1680...
party. By 1689 he was Colonel of the newly founded Earl of Angus' Regiment. On the 14 May 1689 he paraded his men on the marquess' Holm
Holm (island)
This page is a set index; for other uses of the term, see Holm There are numerous islands containing the word Holm, especially in Scotland. In many cases the name is derived from the Old Norse holmr, meaning "a small and rounded islet"...
, next to the Douglas Water
Douglas Water
The Douglas Water is a river in south-central Scotland, and is a tributary of the River Clyde. Its course is entirely within the South Lanarkshire council area. The river's name comes from the Gaelic dubh-glas, meaning black water....
.
Cameronians
The new regiment would after 1751 be known as the 26th (The Cameronian) Regiment of Foot, and from 1881 as the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), the regiment was finally disbanded in 1968, but lived on in two companies of the 52nd Lowland Regiment52nd Lowland Regiment
The 52nd Lowland Regiment now forms the 6th Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, also known as 6 SCOTS. Due to its erstwhile association with the 1st Regiment of Foot, it is the senior Territorial line infantry battalion in the British Army...
TA until 1997. They would win Battle honours at:
- BlenheimBattle of BlenheimThe Battle of Blenheim , fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement...
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, Le CateauBattle of Le CateauThe Battle of Le Cateau was fought on 26 August 1914, after the British, French and Belgians retreated from the Battle of Mons and had set up defensive positions in a fighting withdrawal against the German advance at Le Cateau-Cambrésis....
, Retreat from Mons, MarneMarneMarne is a department in north-eastern France named after the river Marne which flows through the department. The prefecture of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne...
1914 '18, AisneAisneAisne is a department in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River.- History :Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France, Picardie, and Champagne.Most of the old...
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, SommeSommeSomme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
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, Lys, Hazebrouck, BailleulBailleul, SommeBailleul is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Situated in the west of the department, 5 miles to the south of Abbeville, on the D93 road.-Population:-External links:* * * *...
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1943-44, Pegu 1942, Paungde, Yenagyaung 1942, Chindits 1944, Burma 1942 '44
Netherlands
In 1689, however, the new Earl of Angus' Regiment was sent to quell the JacobiteJacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
and defended the town of Dunkeld
Dunkeld
Dunkeld is a small town in Strathtay, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is about 15 miles north of Perth on the eastern side of the A9 road into the Scottish Highlands and on the opposite side of the Tay from the Victorian village of Birnam. Dunkeld and Birnam share a railway station, on the...
eventually leading to the Battle of Dunkeld
Battle of Dunkeld
The Battle of Dunkeld was fought between Jacobite clans supporting the deposed king James VII of Scotland and a government regiment of covenanters supporting William of Orange, King of Scotland, in the streets around Dunkeld Cathedral, Dunkeld, Scotland, on 21 August 1689 and formed part of the...
. Angus was not at this action, his regiment being commanded by Lt. Col. William Cleland
William Cleland
William Cleland was a Scottish poet and soldier.William was the son of Thomas Cleland, gamekeeper to the Marquess of Douglas, chief of the House of Douglas. He was probably brought up on the Douglas estate, centred at Douglas Castle, Lanarkshire, and was educated at St Andrew's University...
. Angus' father, mindful of his age had sent him back south to London to complete his studies. Angus did not want to spend his time in London as a needy Scotsman, and was actively looking for an heiress to restore his family's financial probity. In a letter to his father's steward dated 26 December 1689, he states his intentions to go abroad to look for such a match. The Marquess of Douglas still fearing for his sons safety at home had no objection to his son going hence from Great Britain. The King's permission was granted and Angus obtained as far as the University of Utrecht.
Before too long at Utrecht, Angus started to hear whispers, that it was unseemly for a Colonel to be away from his regiment whilst they were at war. The regiment at this time was fighting in the armies of King William against Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. In By 1692, Angus was desperate to prove himself, as is attested by a letter home to his father begging him leave either to return to his men or return to obscurity in Scotland. It is not apparent what his father's reply was but James Douglas, Earl of Angus took command of his regiment, and died leading his men into action at the Battle of Steenkerque
Battle of Steenkerque
The Battle of Steenkerque was fought on August 3, 1692, as a part of the Nine Years' War. It resulted in the victory of the French under Marshal François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg against a joint English-Scottish-Dutch-German army under Prince William of Orange...
on the 3rd of August of that year.
Commemoration
The Earl of Angus statue on the Marquess' Holm in Douglas village, was erected in 1888 to mark the bi-centenary of the raising of the Regiment, it features a figure of the Young Angus pointing towards the surrounding hills where he was able to raise so many loyal men. On 17 May 1992 it was given by the Cameronian Trust into the care of the National Trust for ScotlandNational Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
.
Sources
- Maxwell, Herbert. A History of the House of Douglas and Angus Freemantle, London, 1902