John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier
Encyclopedia
Field Marshal
John (Jean Louis) Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier, KB
, PC (7 November 1680 – 28 April 1770) was a French
-born British
soldier.
He was born to a Huguenot
family of Castres
in the south of France
, and who emigrated to England
at the close of the 17th century. He enjoyed a distinguished career as an active officer, and later became a leading official of the Pitt-Newcastle Ministry that led Britain during the Seven Years' War
practicing extensive control over Britain's army - which was expanded to unprecedented size during the conflict.
and Switzerland
, Ligonier joined a Regiment in Flanders
commanded by Lord Cutts
.
From 1702 to 1710 he was engaged, with distinction, in nearly every important battle and siege of the War of the Spanish Succession
. He was one of the first to mount the breach at the siege of Liège, commanded a company at the battles of Schellenberg
and Blenheim
, and was present at Menin (where he led the storming of the covered way), Ramillies
, Oudenarde
and Malplaquet
(where he received twenty three bullets through his clothing yet remained unhurt). In 1712, he became governor of Fort St. Philip, Minorca
. During the War of the Quadruple Alliance
in 1719 he was adjutant-general of the troops employed in the Vigo expedition
, where he led the stormers of Fort Mann.
Two years later he became colonel
of the Black Horse (now 7th Dragoon Guards
), a command which he retained for 29 years. His regiment soon attained an extraordinary degree of efficiency. He was made a brigadier
general in 1736, major general
in 1739, and accompanied Lord Stair
in the Rhine Campaign of 1742 to 1743. George II
made him a Knight of the Bath on the field of Dettingen
. At Fontenoy
, Ligonier commanded the British foot regiments, and acted throughout the battle as adviser to the Duke of Cumberland
.
During the Forty-Five he was called home to command the British army in the Midlands
, but in January 1746 was placed at the head of the British and British-paid contingents of the Allied army in the Low Countries
. He was present at Roucoux (11 October 1746), and, as general of horse, at Val (1 July 1747), where he led the last charge of the British cavalry. In this encounter his horse was killed. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Lauffeld
by Louis XV, but was exchanged within a few days. With the close of this campaign Ligonier's active career ended, but (with a brief interval in 1756-1757) he occupied various high civil and military posts to the close of his life.
, following the disgrace of the previous holder Prince William, Duke of Cumberland following the Invasion of Hanover
. He was also made a field marshal
, Colonel of the 1st Foot Guards (now Grenadier Guards
), and a peer of Ireland in 1757 under the title of Viscount Ligonier of Enniskillen, and again in 1762 as Viscount Ligonier of Clonmell. He was notionally given command of British forces in the event of a planned French invasion
in 1759 though it never ultimately occurred.
From 1759 to 1763 he was Master-General of the Ordnance
, and in 1763 he became Baron, and in 1766 Earl, in the British peerage. His younger brother, Francis, was also a distinguished soldier, and his son succeeded to his peerage. His private secretary and friend, Richard Cox, later became military agent for most of the armed forces and established Cox & Kings
.
in Cobham, Surrey
, where the unmarried Earl boasted a harem of young girls.
Ligonier died aged 89, is buried in Cobham
Church and has a memorial in Westminster Abbey
.
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
John (Jean Louis) Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier, KB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, PC (7 November 1680 – 28 April 1770) was a French
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France was one of the most powerful states to exist in Europe during the second millennium.It originated from the Western portion of the Frankish empire, and consolidated significant power and influence over the next thousand years. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, developed a...
-born British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
soldier.
He was born to a Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
family of Castres
Castres
Castres is a commune, and arrondissement capital in the Tarn department and Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It lies in the former French province of Languedoc....
in the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and who emigrated to England
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...
at the close of the 17th century. He enjoyed a distinguished career as an active officer, and later became a leading official of the Pitt-Newcastle Ministry that led Britain during the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
practicing extensive control over Britain's army - which was expanded to unprecedented size during the conflict.
Military career
Educated in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Ligonier joined a Regiment in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
commanded by Lord Cutts
John Cutts, 1st Baron Cutts
Lieutenant-General John Cutts, 1st Baron Cutts PC , British soldier and author, came from an Essex family.After a short university career at Catharine Hall, Cambridge, he inherited the family estates, but showed a distinct preference for the life of court and camp...
.
From 1702 to 1710 he was engaged, with distinction, in nearly every important battle and siege of the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
. He was one of the first to mount the breach at the siege of Liège, commanded a company at the battles of Schellenberg
Battle of Schellenberg
The Battle of Schellenberg, also known as the Battle of Donauwörth, was fought on 2 July 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement was part of the Duke of Marlborough's campaign to save the Habsburg capital of Vienna from a threatened advance by King Louis XIV's Franco-Bavarian...
and Blenheim
Battle of Blenheim
The 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...
, and was present at Menin (where he led the storming of the covered way), Ramillies
Battle of Ramillies
The Battle of Ramillies , fought on 23 May 1706, was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon armies of King Louis XIV of France in 1705...
, Oudenarde
Battle of Oudenarde
The Battle of Oudenaarde was a key battle in the War of the Spanish Succession fought on 11 July 1708 between the forces of Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire on the one side and the French on the other...
and Malplaquet
Battle of Malplaquet
The Battle of Malplaquet, fought on 11 September 1709, was one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession, which opposed the Bourbons of France and Spain against an alliance whose major members were the Habsburg Monarchy, Great Britain, the United Provinces and the Kingdom of...
(where he received twenty three bullets through his clothing yet remained unhurt). In 1712, he became governor of Fort St. Philip, Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
. During the War of the Quadruple Alliance
War of the Quadruple Alliance
The War of the Quadruple Alliance was a result of the ambitions of King Philip V of Spain, his wife, Elisabeth Farnese, and his chief minister Giulio Alberoni to retake territories in Italy and to claim the French throne. It saw the defeat of Spain by an alliance of Britain, France, Austria , and...
in 1719 he was adjutant-general of the troops employed in the Vigo expedition
Capture of Vigo
The Capture of Vigo occurred in 1719 during the War of the Quadruple Alliance when a British expedition landed on the Spanish coast and seized the settlement of Vigo which they occupied for ten days before withdrawing...
, where he led the stormers of Fort Mann.
Two years later he became colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of the Black Horse (now 7th Dragoon Guards
7th Dragoon Guards
The 7th Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards in 1922....
), a command which he retained for 29 years. His regiment soon attained an extraordinary degree of efficiency. He was made a brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
general in 1736, major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
in 1739, and accompanied Lord Stair
John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair
Field Marshal John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair KT PC was a Scottish soldier and diplomat.-Military career:Despite being born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Dalrymple spent his early life mostly in the Netherlands and he studied at Leiden University...
in the Rhine Campaign of 1742 to 1743. George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
made him a Knight of the Bath on the field of Dettingen
Battle of Dettingen
The Battle of Dettingen took place on 27 June 1743 at Dettingen in Bavaria during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the last time that a British monarch personally led his troops into battle...
. At Fontenoy
Battle of Fontenoy
The Battle of Fontenoy, 11 May 1745, was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought between the forces of the Pragmatic Allies – comprising mainly Dutch, British, and Hanoverian troops under the nominal command of the Duke of Cumberland – and a French army under Maurice de...
, Ligonier commanded the British foot regiments, and acted throughout the battle as adviser to the Duke of Cumberland
Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
Prince William , was a younger son of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, and Duke of Cumberland from 1726. He is generally best remembered for his role in putting down the Jacobite Rising at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and as such is also known as "Butcher" Cumberland...
.
During the Forty-Five he was called home to command the British army in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, but in January 1746 was placed at the head of the British and British-paid contingents of the Allied army in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
. He was present at Roucoux (11 October 1746), and, as general of horse, at Val (1 July 1747), where he led the last charge of the British cavalry. In this encounter his horse was killed. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Lauffeld
Battle of Lauffeld
The Battle of Lauffeld, also known as the Battle of Lafelt or Battle of Maastricht, also Battle of Val, took place on 2 July 1747, during the French invasion of the Netherlands. It was part of the War of the Austrian Succession...
by Louis XV, but was exchanged within a few days. With the close of this campaign Ligonier's active career ended, but (with a brief interval in 1756-1757) he occupied various high civil and military posts to the close of his life.
Seven Years War
In 1757 he was made Commander-in-ChiefCommander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
, following the disgrace of the previous holder Prince William, Duke of Cumberland following the Invasion of Hanover
Invasion of Hanover (1757)
The Invasion of Hanover took place in 1757 during the Seven Years' War when a French army under Louis Charles César Le Tellier, duc d'Estrées advanced into Electorate of Hanover and neighbouring German states following the Battle of Hastenbeck. French forces overran most of Hanover forcing the Army...
. He was also made a field marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
, Colonel of the 1st Foot Guards (now 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...
), and a peer of Ireland in 1757 under the title of Viscount Ligonier of Enniskillen, and again in 1762 as Viscount Ligonier of Clonmell. He was notionally given command of British forces in the event of a planned French invasion
Planned French Invasion of Britain (1759)
A French invasion of Great Britain was planned to take place in 1759 during the Seven Years' War, but due to various factors including naval defeats at the Battle of Lagos and the Battle of Quiberon Bay was never launched. The French planned to land 100,000 French soldiers in Britain to end British...
in 1759 though it never ultimately occurred.
From 1759 to 1763 he was Master-General of the Ordnance
Master-General of the Ordnance
The Master-General of the Ordnance was a very senior British military position before 1855, when the Board of Ordnance was abolished.-Responsibilities:...
, and in 1763 he became Baron, and in 1766 Earl, in the British peerage. His younger brother, Francis, was also a distinguished soldier, and his son succeeded to his peerage. His private secretary and friend, Richard Cox, later became military agent for most of the armed forces and established Cox & Kings
Cox & Kings
Cox & Kings is the longest established travel company in the world, its history stretching back to 1758 when Richard Cox was appointed as regimental agent to the Foot Guards. Cox & Kings is now an independent tour company with offices in the United Kingdom, India, the United States and Japan...
.
Retirement
He spent his later years at Cobham ParkCobham Park
Cobham Park is a former country house, situated to the north of Downside, Surrey, England which was formerly the seat of John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier. It was later the home of Harvey Christian Combe, who was Lord Mayor of London and a partner in the Combe Delafield and Co...
in Cobham, Surrey
Cobham, Surrey
Cobham is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, about south-west of central London and north of Leatherhead. Elmbridge has been acclaimed by the Daily Mail as the best place to live in the UK, and Cobham is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt...
, where the unmarried Earl boasted a harem of young girls.
Ligonier died aged 89, is buried in Cobham
Cobham, Surrey
Cobham is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, about south-west of central London and north of Leatherhead. Elmbridge has been acclaimed by the Daily Mail as the best place to live in the UK, and Cobham is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt...
Church and has a memorial in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.