Dominic Sheldon, often written as Dominick Sheldon, was an English

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

. A leading Jacobite he served in

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

's Irish Army during the

Williamite War The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

between 1689 and 1691. He was a noted cavalry commander, present at the Battle of the Boyne and Battle of Aughrim. Later after going into exile, he rose to the rank of

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 ...

in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

. He was also remained a prominent courtier at the Jacobite court in exile at Saint Germain.

Early career

Sheldon was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

from

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

and a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

supporter of James II. His brother Ralph Sheldon served as an

equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

to the King. He fought with an English Regiment of the

during the 1670s, but after 1678 he was unemployed for seven years. In 1685 he was commissioned into the Royal Irish Army by the Earl of Tyrconnell, as part of an attempt to purge Protestants and replace them with Catholic supporters of the King. He was commissioned as a

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 the Irish Foot Guards. Following the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

of 1688 in England, he continued to serve with the mainly Catholic forces still loyal to James in Ireland. Several other English Catholics such as

William Dorrington William Dorrington (c. 1644-1718) was an English army officer. Contemporary sources often spell his surname as "Dorington", or "Dodington". A Roman Catholic in a period when Catholics often faced restrictions on military service in England, he i ...

were prominent commanders of the Irish Army. He held the rank of

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 ...

at this stage.

Irish war

In 1689 he accompanied Richard Hamilton during his march through

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

in which the Protestant Army of the North were scattered at the Break of Dromore. Sheldon was present at the unsuccessful

Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...

the same year. He was involved in heavy fighting at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, reportedly having two horses shot from under him. He accompanied the Irish Army during its retreat to Limerick, where they won an unexpected victory during the First Siege of Limerick. He was a close political ally of Lord Tyrconnell, and took his side when questions were raised about his conduct of the war. After further Jacobite defeats at the Battle of Aughrim and the Second Siege of Limerick, he took part in the

Flight of the Wild Geese The Flight of the Wild Geese was the departure of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691, following the end of the Williamite War in Ireland. ...

that followed the

peace agreement A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surren ...

. Sheldon was in charge of shipping the Irish Army to France to continue to serve James II and his French allies.

French service

Sheldon was made a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

commanding a unit of exiled Irish during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

. He was promoted to

in 1702, and distinguished himself in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. Sheldon was prominent figure at the exiled

Stuart Stuart may refer to: Names * Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

court at St Germain. Along with his former comrade from the Irish Army, Richard Hamilton, he was in charge of the military education of the young

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...

, considered to be James III by the Jacobites. He maintained frequent contact with James' mother

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...

. In 1708 he accompanied James when he sailed with a French expedition in an aborted plan to land in Scotland. In June 1718 along with other prominent Jacobites such as Lord Middleton and Arthur Dillon he brought news of Mary of Modena's death to her son at his court in Urbino.Miller p. 239

References

Bibliography

* D'Alton, John. ''King James's Irish Army List''. The Celtic Bookshop, 1997. * Childs, John. ''The Army, James II and the Glorious Revolution''. Manchester University Press, 1980. * Childs, John. ''The Williamite Wars in Ireland''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007. * Corp, Edward T. ''A Court in Exile: The Stuarts in France, 1689–1718''. Cambridge University Press, 2004. * Miller, Peggy. ''James''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Dominic 17th-century English people English Jacobites English soldiers Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown French generals Military personnel from Warwickshire