Thomas Lee (army captain)
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
and spent most of his career in Ireland during the Tudor conquest of that country. Although of middle rank, he played a turbulent role in the factional politics of the time and was highly active during the Nine Years war (1595-1603). He was put to death at Tyburn
Tyburn, London
Tyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the...
for his involvement in the treason of the 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
.
Early life and career
Lee was the son of Benedict Lee and Margaret Packington, his likely place of birth being in Buckinghamshire. He was a cousin of the courtier, Sir Henry Lee of DitchleyHenry Lee of Ditchley
Sir Henry Lee KG , of Ditchley, was Master of the Ordnance under Queen Elizabeth I of England.-Life:Lee became Queen Elizabeth I’s champion in 1570 and was appointed Master of the Royal Armouries in 1580, an office which he held until his death...
, and eventually became attached to Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, KG , an English nobleman and general. From 1573 until his death he fought in Ireland in connection with the Plantation of Ulster, where he ordered the massacre of Rathlin Island...
. He probably arrived in Ireland in 1574 to take part in the colonisation scheme of Essex in eastern Ulster, and in 1576 was serving as constable of Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...
.
In 1580 Lee was charged with highway robbery in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, but upon his release on bail he returned to Ireland. By his marriage to the Irish widow, Elizabeth Eustace (née Peppard), a Catholic, he came into considerable property, including Castlemartin
Castlemartin House and Estate
Castlemartin is the name of a historic house and estate, and the townland in which they sit, on the banks of the River Liffey in Kilcullen, County Kildare, Ireland...
in County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
. He later bought Castle Reban, seeking its fee farm in April 1583, and much other property.
Rebellion in the Pale
In 1581, Lee and his wife were cited in a petition to Lord Deputy Grey for wrongs done to Robert Pipho, who again complained against him in the following year for cattle theft. However, Grey was relying on him to counter the Eustace rebellion in the PaleThe Pale
The Pale or the English Pale , was the part of Ireland that was directly under the control of the English government in the late Middle Ages. It had reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast stretching from Dalkey, south of Dublin, to the garrison town of Dundalk...
and suppressed the charges. Lee managed to capture the rebel brother of Viscount Baltinglass
Viscount Baltinglass
The title of Viscount Baltinglass was created twice in the Peerage of Ireland.The first creation was made on 29 June 1541 for Sir Thomas Eustace, who had been created Baron Kilcullen in September 1535. Both titles became extinct in 1585 on the death of the third viscount.The second creation was...
, Thomas Eustace, and incurred the displeasure of the Earl of Ormond, who objected to his invasions of Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
, describing him as, "this railing fellow". The following year in Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
he had to clear himself of "clamorous complaints".
In February 1583, after the suppression of the rebellion, Lee's company of 24 horsemen was disbanded. He was commended by the archbishop of Dublin, Adam Loftus
Adam Loftus (Archbishop)
thumb|right|200px|Archbishop Adam LoftusAdam Loftus was Archbishop of Armagh, and later Dublin, and Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1581. He was also the first Provost of Trinity College, Dublin.-Early life:...
, and Geoffrey Fenton
Geoffrey Fenton
Sir Geoffrey Fenton was an English writer, Privy Councillor, and Principal Secretary of State in Ireland.-Early literary years:...
, the latter commenting that he was "not without his portion of that common and secret envy which biteth most of us that serve here". At the same time Grey wrote to the queen's secretary, Walsingham
Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
, that Lee should have 200 Irish soldiers to conduct into Flanders, noting that "Lee is settled to reform his mis-spent life by hazard in service".
Lee had taken into his custody various properties of Baltinglas, for which he made petition, and managed to settle in Kildare, where he proposed to defend the country with 25 horsemen and 50 foot. This proposal was favoured by Loftus, who noted that Lee, "hath so weeded out those parts of that lewd sort of people as the inhabitants of their own report find great quiet and better security of their lives, goods and cattle than of many years they have had". The privy council wrote to Lee in July 1583 granting the horse and men.
Service under Perrot
In 1584-5 Lee complained of his loss of horse under Bagenal and StanleyWilliam Stanley
William Stanley may refer to:* William Stanley , English military leader in the Wars of the Roses* William Stanley , English military commander under Queen Elizabeth I...
in the north on campaign against Sorley Boy MacDonnell
Sorley Boy MacDonnell
Somhairle Buidhe Mac Domhnaill , Scoto-Irish prince or flaith and chief, was the son of Alexander MacDonnell, lord of Islay and Kintyre , and Catherine, daughter of the Lord of Ardnamurchan...
. He then visited England, and was employed in the autumn of 1585 by the new lord deputy, John Perrot
John Perrot
Sir John Perrot served as Lord Deputy of Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I of England during the Tudor conquest of Ireland...
, against the rebel Cahir Oge Kavanagh in Kilkenny. There he ran into the sheriff who "grew to words and so to blows" with him; Lee was outnumbered 300 to 60 but still captured the sheriff and killed several of his men. This event cemented the enmity of the Earl of Ormond, but Lee was able to rely upon the backing of Walsingham and Perrot, who allowed that he had acted according to duty.
Lee plotted to take the leader of the rebellious bastard Leinster Geraldines, Walter Reagh, but the plot was betrayed by Lee's wife, who had been an interpreter in negotiations with the rebels. Lee separated from his wife in October 1587, but it seems he maintained some relations with her. By this time he had fallen out with Perrot - in part because of non-payment for his services - and was imprisoned for eight weeks in Dublin Castle and deprived of his company. Lee sent his wife to court to plead his case, and in 1588 she was still there requesting that a band of 50 men taken from another captain be assigned to her husband.
In 1591 Lee suffered "a great casual fire by the means of lewd servants" at Castlemartin, which cost him £1,000 and left him and his wife with nothing but their clothes and some horses. He laid the blame for this incident on Nicholas White
Nicholas White
Sir Nicholas White was an Irish lawyer and government official during the reign of Elizabeth I.-Background and early career:...
, a senior judge and adherent of Ormond's.
Ulster
In 1593 Lee took part in the expedition against Hugh MaguireHugh Maguire
Aodh Mag Uidhir, anglicised as Hugh Maguire was the Lord of Fermanagh in Ireland during the reign of Elizabeth I and leader of the ancient Maguire clan; he died fighting crown authority during the Nine Years War.-Early career:...
under the new lord deputy, William Fitzwilliam
William Fitzwilliam (Lord Deputy)
- Early life :FitzWilliam was born at Milton, Northamptonshire, the eldest son of Sir William and grandson of William Fitzwilliam , alderman and sheriff of London, who had been treasurer and chamberlain to Cardinal Wolsey and who purchased Milton in 1506...
. Following the battle of Belleek he was commended for bravery by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone
Hugh O'Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone
Aodh Mór Ó Néill, anglicised as Hugh The Great O'Neill , was the 2nd or 3rd Earl of Tyrone and was later created The Ó Néill...
and by Bagenal, having been the first to enter the ford on the river Erne.
Lee became intimate with O'Neill, and was useful to the government during negotiations with the earl in March 1594, prior to the outbreak of the Nine Years War. On one occasion, the earl requested the company of "Tom Lee": along with another intermediary, Lee accompanied the earl and, on his return, reported that some of the earl's party had pointed weapons at his breast and beaten him and his companion with their staves, whereupon the earl had advised him to depart.
Lee went to England as intermediary, and about this time he wrote his Brief Declaration, which was presented to the queen in November and duly ignored. He also had his portrait done by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger
Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger
Marcus Gheeraerts was an artist of the Tudor court, described as "the most important artist of quality to work in England in large-scale between Eworth and Van Dyck" He was brought to England as a child by his father Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder, also a painter...
. In his writings he cast himself in the model of the Roman hero Scaevola
Scaevola
Scaevola is a genus of flowering plants in the Goodenia family, Goodeniaceae. It consists of more than 130 tropical species, with the center of diversity being Australia and Polynesia, including Hawaii....
, who had entered the Etruscan camp to assassinate the king and, upon his discovery and trial, had thrust his right hand in the flame, whereupon a treaty had been concluded. The parallel was with Lee's relations with O'Neill, and his argument seems to have been that the rebels were in arms because the crown had waged its campaign beyond Fermanagh and Monaghan into the heart of O'Neill's territory in Ulster. However, Lord Deputy Fitzwilliam
William Fitzwilliam (Lord Deputy)
- Early life :FitzWilliam was born at Milton, Northamptonshire, the eldest son of Sir William and grandson of William Fitzwilliam , alderman and sheriff of London, who had been treasurer and chamberlain to Cardinal Wolsey and who purchased Milton in 1506...
- at whose door Lee had laid the principle blame for the war - described him to Lord Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
as "indigent and desperate", and recommended he be barred from the queen's presence.
Lee returned to Ireland in September 1595 and killed Kedagh MacPhelim Reagh. Harrington deemed it a cruel murder, and Lee was again imprisoned in Dublin Castle. In March 1596 Lee served under Lord Deputy Russell
William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh
William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh was a younger son of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford. His birthdate is uncertain, with some records showing that he was born as early as 1553, some as late as 1563...
and took Cloghan Castle. The garrison refused to yield to him or evacuate the women, so he breached the walls and set fire to the thatched roof: forty-six died, either in the flames or by being thrown over the walls by Lee's soldiers.
In April 1596 Lee wrote to the queen's principal secretary, Lord Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
, again urging a conciliatory policy towards O'Neill - now a proclaimed rebel - who would go to England on a safe conduct from the queen. Lee complained that the rebellion could have been avoided had his original advice been taken. At this stage he was being sued for arrears of Crown rents. By the summer he had grown sceptical of O'Neill, who was "too far gone with pride of his own strength and confidence of foreign assistance, that he is past all hope of being reclaimed otherwise than by force".
Pursuit of O'Byrne
Lee began to protest that he would die the poorest man in Her Majesty's service: he claimed that the clan leader and ally of O'Neill, Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne, was hindering his proceedings with the rebel earl, and that the Earl of OrmondeThomas Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde
Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormonde and 3rd Earl of Ossory, Viscount Thurles , was an Irish peer and the son of James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond and Lady Joan Fitzgerald daughter and heiress-general of James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond...
's family, the Butlers, had seized 500 cows from his land and burnt to the ground six of his newly built towns.
In December 1596 Lord Deputy Russell reported that Lee had sent in seventeen rebel heads, a service which was highly paid. In the following April Lee complained to the Queen's secretary, Robert Cecil
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, KG, PC was an English administrator and politician.-Life:He was the son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and Mildred Cooke...
, of slanderous reports against himself and sought authority to take, banish or kill O'Byrne. At this time he seems to have been fed up with his miserable service in Ireland, but Russell had further use for him.
Lee was promoted to provost-marshal of Connacht; the following month he commanded the party which killed the ailing O'Byrne and was commended by Loftus. In a meeting with the rebels, he later denied on the book that he had been privy to the killing and denounced it as he had gained nothing by it; his soldiers then joined with the rebels in raiding twenty-six towns in O'Byrne's country. By November Lee was covertly seeking O'Neill's forgiveness for O'Byrne's death, but he did receive O'Byrne lands from the government and was also granted a commission for martial law throughout south Leinster.
Lee preferred articles of treason against the sheriff of Kilkenny for secretly maintaining Rice O'Toole. She was imprisoned in the castle, and Lee had her execution stayed in return for her promise to assist in the apprehension and killing of O'Byrne's sons, two of whom were married to her own sisters. Lee was accused of pulling out the eyes of Art O'Toole while the latter was under protection, and of driving the victim's brother, Rowny, into rebellion while under the same protection.
War
When O'Neill had defeated Bagenal at the Battle of the Yellow FordBattle of the Yellow Ford
The Battle of the Yellow Ford was fought in western County Armagh, Ulster, in Ireland, near the river Blackwater on 14 August 1598, during the Nine Years War ....
in 1598, Lee was confined to prison at Dublin for twenty weeks on charges of treason brought against him by Ormond and the sheriff of Kilkenny following his efforts to have the rebel leader installed as president of Ulster. Rice O'Toole's sisters offered evidence against Lee in return for protection. The attorney general thought a jury conviction touch and go, observing that "he hath good merits and evil infirmities". Evidence was heard, Lee showed his letters of commission - empowering him to parley with rebels - and said that his letter from O'Neill was made privy to the Lords Justice. Having apologised on his knees before the council, he was liberated and went on to revictual Maryborough fort.
In October 1598 Lee took a company of 100 foot with Ormond into Munster to suppress the rebellion in that province. A month later he was in prison having asserted that Ormond was stirring rebellion and had secret agreements with O'Neill and the Earl of Kildare. He claimed to have dissuaded Kildare from rebellion and to have been behind a scheme to overthrow Ormond, whereby the earl's daughter was to marry Kildare with a dowry of £2,000-3,000.
Essex
In April 1599 Lee's patron, the Earl of Kildare, died in a shipwreck while travelling to join Essex in IrelandEssex in Ireland
Essex in Ireland refers to the military campaign pursued in Ireland in 1599 by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, during the Nine Years War and the Anglo-Spanish War....
at the start of the latter's costly and unsuccessful campaign against O'Neill.
Upon his release, Lee went secretly to O'Neill in the summer of 1599 for a few days. It was put about that a plot to kill Ormond had been drawn up during that visit, but Essex forgave him his unauthorised communications. In August he again visited the rebel earl with the cognisance of Sir Christopher Blount; finding O'Neill "quite changed from his former disposition and possessed with insolency and arrogancy", Lee cursed him and left.
Lee went to England after September 1599 and sought to speak with his cousin, Ditchley, because the latter was in bonds on his behalf. At the time he was under house arrest with Essex, who said that he had given Lee leave to go to his cousin, but had commanded him not to resort to London or the court. However Lee did go to court, where he was slandered by the archbishop of Cashel
Archbishop of Cashel
The Archbishop of Cashel is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The title is still in use in the Roman Catholic Church, but in the Church of Ireland it was downgraded to a bishopric in 1838....
, Miler Magrath
Miler Magrath
Miler Magrath or Miler McGrath , was born in County Fermanagh, Ireland. He came from a family of hereditary historians to the O'Brien clan. He entered the Franciscan Order and was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood...
, with the "most indecent and contumelious words" and accused of treason; Lee wrote to Cecil seeking an opportunity to meet the charges.
In April 1600 Lee petitioned for a return to Ireland. At about this time he submitted his Discovery - written while under house arrest - in which he proposed the recovery of the province of Leinster, and sought the seneschalship of O'Byrne's country and the lieutenancy of Leix as well as the distribution amongst his followers of the rebels' lands. He later proposed to ally with chiefs in Connacht, notably McWilliam who had undertaken to seize Hugh Roe O'Donnell
Hugh Roe O'Donnell
Aodh Rua Ó Dónaill, anglicised as either Hugh Roe O'Donnell or Red Hugh O'Donnell , was An Ó Domhnaill and Rí of Tir Chonaill . He led the Irish forces against the English conquest of Ireland from 1593 and helped to lead the Nine Years' War from 1595 to 1603...
in return for the Earldom and lieutenancy of Mayo plus £1000 with Lee to act as chief commander of Connacht. The Queen agreed to all, except the appointment of Lee, and stipulated that the payment would be made after the fact. By December he had fallen ill and there was a delay in the response to his proposals.
On 12 February 1601, four days after Essex was apprehended on charges of treason, Lee sought the assistance of Sir Henry Nevill
Henry Nevill
Henry Nevill may refer to:*Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny , British nobleman*Henry Nevill, 3rd Marquess of Abergavenny , British nobleman*Henry Nevill, 6th Baron Bergavenny , English nobleman...
and Sir Robert Crosse
Robert Crosse
Robert Crosse was an English puritan theologian.-Life:He was son of William Crosse of Dunster, Somerset. He entered Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1621, obtained a fellowship in 1627, graduated in arts, and in 1637 proceeded B.D...
(with four other gentlemen) to surprise the queen in her privy chamber at supper time. His plan was to lock her in and pin her up until she signed a warrant for the delivery of Essex. However, Crosse informed the authorities of their plan, and Lee was apprehended as he watched the door of the chamber in preparation for an attempt on the following evening.
Lee was tried the next day. Crosse testified against him. Lee denied the construction put upon his words by the attorney-general and spoke boldly in defence of Essex, who had written in commendation of him to Lord Mountjoy. He admitted that "it was ever my fault to be loose and lavish of my tongue", adding that "he had lived in misery and cared not to live, his enemies were so many and so great". Upon conviction and sentencing, he pleaded for his son's inheritance. He was put to death at Tyburn the same day, dying "very christianly". Essex was put to death twelve days later.
Legacy
In 1595 Lee was married for the second time, to Kinborough Valentine, an Old English recusant. He had one son who is known of.Writings
- A brief declaration of the government of Ireland - c. 1594
- The discovery and recovery of Ireland with the author's apology - c. 1599
Portrait
Lee's portrait was done in 1594, when he was 43 years-old, by the FlemishFlanders
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...
artist Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger
Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger
Marcus Gheeraerts was an artist of the Tudor court, described as "the most important artist of quality to work in England in large-scale between Eworth and Van Dyck" He was brought to England as a child by his father Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder, also a painter...
. It was probably commissioned by his cousin, Henry Lee of Ditchley
Henry Lee of Ditchley
Sir Henry Lee KG , of Ditchley, was Master of the Ordnance under Queen Elizabeth I of England.-Life:Lee became Queen Elizabeth I’s champion in 1570 and was appointed Master of the Royal Armouries in 1580, an office which he held until his death...
. The subject is shown in the regalia of a captain of the royal kerne, posing with legs and feet bare, and armed with shield, spear and pistol.