Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered a ...

Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda (29 June 1730 – 22 December 1822), styled Viscount Moore from 1752 until 28 October 1758 and then Earl of Drogheda until 2 July 1791, was an

Irish peer The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five div ...

and later a

British peer The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term '' peerage'' can be used both co ...

, and military officer. He bore the colours of his regiment at the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite Army (1745), Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a Kingdom of Great Bri ...

in April 1746 during the

Jacobite risings , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

and later commanded the 18th Light Dragoons during operations against the Whiteboys in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He also sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fr ...

and, having served as Chief Secretary to the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...

, he went on to become

Master-General of the Irish Ordnance The Board of Ordnance in the Kingdom of Ireland (1542–1800) performed the equivalent duties of the British Board of Ordnance: supplying arms and munitions, overseeing the Royal Irish Artillery and the Irish Engineers, and maintaining the forti ...

Career

Born the son of Edward Moore, 5th Earl of Drogheda and Sarah Moore (daughter of Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough), Moore joined the Army in 1744 as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...

in the

12th Dragoons The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...

, and bore the colours at the

in April 1746 during the

. He was promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1750 and reached the rank of major in 1752 and the rank of brevet

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on 18 January 1755. In 1757 Moore became

for St Canice.Heathcote, p. 222 He held the seat until he succeeded as 6th Earl of Drogheda following the death of his father at sea while travelling from England to Dublin in October 1758. He was also elected Grandmaster of the

Grand Lodge of Ireland The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second most senior Grand Lodge of Freemasons in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. Since no specific record of its foundation exists, 1725 is the year celebrated in Grand Lodge anniversaries, as ...

in 1758, a post he held for the next two years. He became Governor of

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

in January 1759 and lieutenant-colonel commandant of the 19th (later 18th) Light Dragoons on 7 December 1759. Promoted to brevet colonel of dragoons on 19 February 1762, Moore became honorary colonel of his regiment on 3 August 1762. He commanded the 18th Light Dragoons during operations against the Whiteboys in

which started in 1762. He became Chief Secretary to the

in 1763, Governor of Kinsale and Charles Fort in 1765 and a Lord Justice of Ireland in 1766. He commissioned Moore Abbey as his country home in 1767 and was appointed

Custos Rotulorum of King's County The Custos Rotulorum of King's County was the highest civil officer in King's County, Ireland (now County Offaly). The position was later combined with that of Lord Lieutenant of King's County. Incumbents *1687–? Robert Grace *1761–1764 Cha ...

in 1766 and Custos Rotulorum of Queen's County in 1769, both offices for life. Promoted to

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 30 April 1770, Moore became

and colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Artillery in 1770. He became

for

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby ...

in 1776, and having been promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

on 29 August 1777, he was appointed one of the Founder Knights of the Order of St. Patrick on 17 March 1783. Created Marquess of Drogheda in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divi ...

in July 1791 in recognition of the support he had given the Government, Moore was promoted to full

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

on 12 October 1793. He was appointed one of the joint Postmasters General of Ireland in 1797. In January 1801, he was made Baron Moore, of Moore Place in the County of Kent, in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great ...

Moore served as Muster-Master-General in Ireland from May to November 1807 and was promoted to

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered a ...

on 17 July 1821, aged 91. He was an important patron of the artist

William Ashford William Ashford (1746–1824) was an English painter who worked exclusively in Ireland, where he lived from the age of 18, having initially gone there to take up a post with the Ordnance Office. His earliest paintings were flower pieces and st ...

. He died in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

on 22 December 1821 and was buried at St Peter's Church in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

Family

Moore married Lady Anne Seymour-Conway, the daughter of

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, KG, PC, PC (Ire) (5 July 1718 – 14 June 1794) of Ragley Hall, Arrow, in Warwickshire, was a British courtier and politician who, briefly, was Viceroy of Ireland where he had substantial es ...

, on 15 February 1766. They had eight children, including Charles Moore, 2nd Marquess of Drogheda, Henry, father of the 3rd and last Marquess, Frances, who married John Vandeleur, and Elizabeth, Countess of Westmeath. His wife's family had a tradition of mental illness, which may explain the fact that their elder son went insane in his twenties.Hyde, p. 157

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drogheda, Charles Moore, 1st Marquess Of 1730 births People from County Louth Irish soldiers British field marshals Drogheda, Charles Moore, 6th Earl of Moore, Charles Moore, Viscount Knights of St Patrick 19th-century Irish people Drogheda, Charles Moore, 6th Earl of Moore, Charles Moore, Viscount Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Chief Secretaries for Ireland Marquesses of Drogheda Peers of the United Kingdom created by George III 1822 deaths