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 as ...

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 divisi ...

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 coll ...

, and military officer. He bore the colours of his regiment at the Battle of Culloden 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 The Whiteboys ( ga, na Buachaillí Bána) were a secret Irish agrarian organisation in 18th-century Ireland which defended tenant-farmer land-rights for subsistence farming. Their name derives from the white smocks that members wore in the ...

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 bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

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 fran ...

and, having served as Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, he went on to become Master-General of the Irish Ordnance.

Career

Born the son of

Edward Moore, 5th Earl of Drogheda Edward Moore, 5th Earl of Drogheda PC (I) (1701 – 28 October 1758) was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. Background Moore was the second son of Charles Moore, Lord Moore, son of Henry Hamilton-Moore, 3rd Earl of Drogheda, and Jane Loftus, ...

and Sarah Moore (daughter of

Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough (1679 – 4 July 1758), was a British politician and peer. He was the son of William Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon, and Mary Moore. He was an active politician from 1705 to 1757 in Great Britain and ...

), Moore joined the Army in 1744 as a cornet in the 12th Dragoons, and bore the colours at the Battle of Culloden 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 colo ...

on 18 January 1755. In 1757 Moore became

for

St Canice Cainnech of Aghaboe (515/16–600), also known as Saint Canice in Ireland, Saint Kenneth in Scotland, Saint Kenny and in Latin Sanctus Canicus, was an Irish abbot, monastic founder, priest and missionary during the early medieval period. Cainn ...

.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 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

which started in 1762. He became Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1763,

Governor of Kinsale and Charles Fort The governor of Kinsale was a military officer who commanded the garrison at Kinsale and Charles Fort in County Cork. The office became a sinecure and in 1833 was to be abolished from the next vacancy. List of governors of Kinsale and Charles Fo ...

in 1765 and a

Lord Justice of Ireland The Lords Justices (more formally the Lords Justices General and General Governors of Ireland) were deputies who acted collectively in the absence of the chief governor of Ireland (latterly the Lord Lieutenant) as head of the executive branch o ...

in 1766. He commissioned

Moore Abbey Moore Abbey () is a monastic house on the east bank of the River Barrow at Monasterevin in County Kildare, Ireland. History Moore Abbey was designed by the English engineer Christopher Myers in the Gothic style and was built in the late 176 ...

as his country home in 1767 and was appointed Custos Rotulorum of King's County in 1766 and

Custos Rotulorum of Queen's County The Custos Rotulorum of Queen's County was the highest civil officer in Queen's County, Ireland (now County Laois). The position was later combined with that of Lord Lieutenant of Queen's County. Incumbents *1634–?1642 Sir Charles Coote, 1 ...

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 Master-General of the Irish Ordnance and colonel-in-chief of the

Royal Irish Artillery The Royal Irish Artillery was an Irish regiment of the British army in the 18th century. It was formed in 1755 as The Artillery Company of Ireland. The name was changed in 1760 to The Royal Regiment of Irish Artillery. They were recruited all over ...

in 1770. He became

for Horsham in 1776, and having been promoted to lieutenant-general on 29 August 1777, he was appointed one of the Founder Knights of the

Order of St. Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by George III of the United Kingdom, King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Irelan ...

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 divisi ...

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 (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

on 12 October 1793. He was appointed one of the joint

Postmasters General of Ireland The Postmasters General of Ireland, held by two people simultaneously, was a new appointment set up as part of the establishment of the Irish Post Office independent from that of Great Britain, by the Act 23, 24 George III in 1784. The post las ...

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 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

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 as ...

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

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

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 ...

, on 15 February 1766. They had eight children, including

Charles Moore, 2nd Marquess of Drogheda Charles Moore, 2nd Marquess of Drogheda (23 August 1770 – 6 February 1837), styled Viscount Moore until 1822, was an Irish peer. He went insane when he was about twenty, and spent the rest of his life at the private asylum at Greatford, Lincolns ...

, 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