Wolfgang William Romer
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang William Romer was a Dutch military engineer
, born at The Hague
. He was the third son, in a family of six sons and five daughters, of Mathias Romer of Düsseldorf
and Anna Duppengiezeer. Mathias was ambassador to Holland from the Elector Palatine, who stood godfather to Wolfgang at his baptism on 17 May 1640. Romer entered the service of William of Orange
as a military engineer. In 1688, Romer was a colonel
in the army of Prince William which landed in England
in 1688, during the "Glorious Revolution
". By the end of the year, King James II
had fled, and William of Orange was proclaimed King of England in February 1689.
By a royal warrant
of 13 May 1690, Romer was appointed engineer in Ireland at 20 shilling
s a day, to commence from 1 March 1689. He took part in the campaigns of 1690 and 1691
, and was employed on the fortifications of Cork
, Longford
, and Thurles
. He remained in Ireland until 1692, when he was appointed by royal warrant of 7 July, chief engineer of the artillery train fitted out at St. Helen's
for the expedition against the coast of France. On 26 July he embarked with fourteen thousand troops in transports, and joined the fleet at Portland
, when the expedition was abandoned. In 1693, he was chief engineer of the ordnance train of the expedition to the Mediterranean; he served under Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont
, and embarked in the fleet under Delaval
, Killigrew, and Rooke
, to convoy the so-called Smyrna
fleet. On 8 May 1694, he was directed by royal warrant to report on the defences of Guernsey
, and to lay out any additional works which were urgent. A plan of Castle Cornet
, drawn by Romer when on this duty, is in the British Museum
.
At the beginning of 1697, Romer was ordered to New York
, but objected to go on the proposed salary of 20 shillings a day. The Board of Ordnance
recommended that his warrant should be cancelled, and that he should be discharged from the King's service. The King was, however, well acquainted with his value, and although the board had suspended him in February, in August the suspension was removed, and Romer accompanied Lord Bellomont, the newly appointed governor, to New York as chief engineer and with pay of 30 shillings a day. Bellamont had so high an opinion of Romer that he was specially allowed to retain his services beyond the term arranged.
Romer made a plan of the Hudson River
, New York, and the adjoining country. In 1700, he explored the territories of the Iroquois Confederacy
, who were allied with the British, and made a map of his journey among them. From 1701 to 1703, he was engaged in fortifying Boston
Harbour. He built Castle William
, mounting one hundred guns, on Castle Island. It was destroyed on 17 March l776, when the British evacuated Boston. Many years afterwards, a slate slab with a Latin
inscription was found among the ruins, giving the dates when the work was commenced and finished, and stating that it was constructed by Romer, "a military architect of the first rank." Romer constructed defensive posts and forts in the Iroquois territories, and many of them were executed at his own expense, for which he was never reimbursed. He was a member of the Council of New York Province
, and his knowledge of the colony, and especially of the Iroquois, was valuable to Lord Bellomont and to his successor Lord Cornbury
, who succeeded to the governorship in 1702.
In 1703, Romer, who was suffering from "a distemper not curable in those parts for want of experienced surgeons", applied to return to England. The Board of Ordnance instead ordered him to go to Barbados
, and it was only on the intervention of the Council of Trade, who represented his services, that on 14 August 1704 he was ordered home as soon as he should be relieved. He remained in America until 1706. He completed the plans of Castle Island, Boston Bay, which are now in the British Museum. On his homeward voyage he was captured by the French and carried to St. Malo, where he was liberated on parole
. The usual offer of twenty seamen in exchange for a colonel was refused by the French, and Romer returned to England to negotiate for an exchange
. The Board of Ordnance suggested that the French might accept the Marquis de Levy, taken in the HMS Salisbury
, or Chevalier Nangis.
In September 1707 Romer visited Düsseldorf, carrying a letter of recommendation from Queen Anne
to the Elector Palatine
. In 1708, his exchange having been effected, he was employed in designing defences for Portsmouth
, which were submitted to the Board of Ordnance in the following year, and in the construction of Blockhouse Fort at the entrance of Portsmouth Harbour
. He continued in charge of the Portsmouth defences, occasionally visiting other fortified towns, such as Harwich
, which he reported on in 1710, and places in Flanders
, until his death in 1713. He was buried at Düsseldorf, where he had some property. His son John Lambertus Romer
(1680–1754) followed him into a career as a military engineer, and served in Scotland
.
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
, born at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. He was the third son, in a family of six sons and five daughters, of Mathias Romer of Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
and Anna Duppengiezeer. Mathias was ambassador to Holland from the Elector Palatine, who stood godfather to Wolfgang at his baptism on 17 May 1640. Romer entered the service of 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...
as a military engineer. In 1688, Romer was a 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...
in the army of Prince William which landed in 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...
in 1688, during the "Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
". By the end of the year, King James II
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...
had fled, and William of Orange was proclaimed King of England in February 1689.
By a royal warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
of 13 May 1690, Romer was appointed engineer in Ireland at 20 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s a day, to commence from 1 March 1689. He took part in the campaigns of 1690 and 1691
Williamite war in Ireland
The Williamite War in Ireland—also called the Jacobite War in Ireland, the Williamite-Jacobite War in Ireland and in Irish as Cogadh an Dá Rí —was a conflict between Catholic King James II and Protestant King William of Orange over who would be King of England, Scotland and Ireland...
, and was employed on the fortifications of Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Longford
Longford
Longford is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 7,622 according to the 2006 census. Approximately one third of the county's population resides in the town. Longford town is also the biggest town in the county...
, and Thurles
Thurles
Thurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...
. He remained in Ireland until 1692, when he was appointed by royal warrant of 7 July, chief engineer of the artillery train fitted out at St. Helen's
St Helens, Isle of Wight
St. Helens is a village and civil parish located on the eastern side of the Isle of Wight. The village is based around village greens. This is claimed to be the largest in England but some say the Village Green is the second largest. The greens are often used for cricket matches during the summer...
for the expedition against the coast of France. On 26 July he embarked with fourteen thousand troops in transports, and joined the fleet at Portland
Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. Grid reference: .-History:...
, when the expedition was abandoned. In 1693, he was chief engineer of the ordnance train of the expedition to the Mediterranean; he served under Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont
Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont
Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont , known as The Lord Coote between 1683 and 1689, was a member of the English Parliament and a colonial governor...
, and embarked in the fleet under Delaval
Ralph Delaval
Admiral Sir Ralph Delaval was an English naval admiral.He was a member of a junior branch of the Delaval family of Seaton Delaval, Northumberland...
, Killigrew, and Rooke
George Rooke
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke was an English naval commander. He is known for his service in the wars against France and particularly remembered today for his victory at Vigo Bay and for capturing Gibraltar for the British in 1704.-Early life:Rooke was born at St Lawrence, near Canterbury...
, to convoy the so-called Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
fleet. On 8 May 1694, he was directed by royal warrant to report on the defences of Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
, and to lay out any additional works which were urgent. A plan of Castle Cornet
Castle Cornet
Castle Cornet is a large island castle in Guernsey, and former tidal island, also known as Cornet Rock or Castle Rock, which has been part of one of the breakwaters of St Peter Port's harbour, the main one in the island, since 1859.- Geography :...
, drawn by Romer when on this duty, is in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
At the beginning of 1697, Romer was ordered to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but objected to go on the proposed salary of 20 shillings a day. The Board of Ordnance
Board of Ordnance
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body responsible for the supply of armaments and munitions to the Royal Navy and British Army. It was also responsible for providing artillery trains for armies and maintaining coastal fortresses and, later, management of the artillery and engineer...
recommended that his warrant should be cancelled, and that he should be discharged from the King's service. The King was, however, well acquainted with his value, and although the board had suspended him in February, in August the suspension was removed, and Romer accompanied Lord Bellomont, the newly appointed governor, to New York as chief engineer and with pay of 30 shillings a day. Bellamont had so high an opinion of Romer that he was specially allowed to retain his services beyond the term arranged.
Romer made a plan of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, New York, and the adjoining country. In 1700, he explored the territories of the Iroquois Confederacy
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, who were allied with the British, and made a map of his journey among them. From 1701 to 1703, he was engaged in fortifying Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
Harbour. He built Castle William
Fort Independence (Massachusetts)
Fort Independence is a granite star fort that provided harbor defenses for Boston, Massachusetts. Located on Castle Island, Fort Independence is the oldest continuously fortified site of English origin in the United States. The first primitive fortification was placed on the site in 1634 and...
, mounting one hundred guns, on Castle Island. It was destroyed on 17 March l776, when the British evacuated Boston. Many years afterwards, a slate slab with a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
inscription was found among the ruins, giving the dates when the work was commenced and finished, and stating that it was constructed by Romer, "a military architect of the first rank." Romer constructed defensive posts and forts in the Iroquois territories, and many of them were executed at his own expense, for which he was never reimbursed. He was a member of the Council of New York Province
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
, and his knowledge of the colony, and especially of the Iroquois, was valuable to Lord Bellomont and to his successor Lord Cornbury
Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon , styled Viscount Cornbury between 1674 and 1709, was Governor of New York and New Jersey between 1701 and 1708, and is perhaps best known for the claims of his cross-dressing while in office.-Career:Born The Hon...
, who succeeded to the governorship in 1702.
In 1703, Romer, who was suffering from "a distemper not curable in those parts for want of experienced surgeons", applied to return to England. The Board of Ordnance instead ordered him to go to Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, and it was only on the intervention of the Council of Trade, who represented his services, that on 14 August 1704 he was ordered home as soon as he should be relieved. He remained in America until 1706. He completed the plans of Castle Island, Boston Bay, which are now in the British Museum. On his homeward voyage he was captured by the French and carried to St. Malo, where he was liberated on parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
. The usual offer of twenty seamen in exchange for a colonel was refused by the French, and Romer returned to England to negotiate for an exchange
Prisoner exchange
A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners. These may be prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc...
. The Board of Ordnance suggested that the French might accept the Marquis de Levy, taken in the HMS Salisbury
HMS Salisbury
Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Salisbury after the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire:* HMS Salisbury was a 48-gun fourth rate, launched in 1698 and captured by the French in 1703. She was subsequently recaptured in 1708 and renamed Salisbury Prize, and later renamed Preston in 1716...
, or Chevalier Nangis.
In September 1707 Romer visited Düsseldorf, carrying a letter of recommendation from Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
to the Elector Palatine
Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine
Johann Wilhelm II, Elector Palatine was Elector Palatine , Duke Palatine of Neuburg/Danube , Duke of Jülich and Berg , and Duke of Upper Palatinate and Cham...
. In 1708, his exchange having been effected, he was employed in designing defences for Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, which were submitted to the Board of Ordnance in the following year, and in the construction of Blockhouse Fort at the entrance of Portsmouth Harbour
HMNB Portsmouth
Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...
. He continued in charge of the Portsmouth defences, occasionally visiting other fortified towns, such as Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
, which he reported on in 1710, and places 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...
, until his death in 1713. He was buried at Düsseldorf, where he had some property. His son John Lambertus Romer
John Lambertus Romer
John Lambertus Romer was a British military engineer. He was the son of Wolfgang William Romer, a Dutch engineer who came to England with William of Orange in the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688....
(1680–1754) followed him into a career as a military engineer, and served in Scotland
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...
.
External links
- Wolfgang William Römer (1700) A Mappe of Colonel Romers Voyage to ye 5 Indian Nations, Stony Brook University Map Library