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 ...

Francis Fergus O’Farrell 1650 to 1712, was an Irish-born professional soldier who served in the

Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army ( nl, Staatse leger) was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This mercenary army ...

under

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

until 1689, when he transferred into the

English Army The ...

. 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 ...

in 1695, he was cashiered for his premature surrender of the town of

Deinze Deinze () is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It comprises the city of Deinze, and the towns of Astene, Bachte-Maria-Leerne, Gottem, Grammene, Hansbeke, Landegem, Meigem, Merendree, Nevele, Petegem-aan-de-Leie, ...

, then reinstated in 1696 and served 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 ...

Early life

Francis Fergus O’Farrell was born in

County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...

in 1650, presumably a member of the O’Farrell clan who traditionally dominated the area, although his parentage is unclear. His distant cousin Ceadagh O'Farrell was killed at the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and ...

in 1690 fighting for the

Jacobites Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometime ...

, while other relatives joined the French Irish Brigade, so Francis was unusual in serving the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

William of Orange. O'Farrell had at least two children, a son also named Francis Fergus who married Mary Emmett in June 1712, and a daughter Diana (?–before 1728), who married

Francis Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham Brigadier-General Francis Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham ( bapt. 20 October 1683 – 12 February 1743) was an English peer and army officer. Francis was the second son of Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham. On 26 July 1722, he was c ...

in February 1713.

Career

O’Farrell appears to have begun his military career serving in one of the regiments of the

Scots Brigade The Scots Brigade, also referred to as the Anglo-Dutch Brigade or the Anglo-Scots Brigade, was an infantry brigade of the Dutch States Army. First formed in 1586, by the late 17th century it usually comprised six infantry regiments, three recruit ...

and took part in the 1672 to 1678

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...

. By 1688, he had reached 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 ...

and was part of the invasion force that accompanied William of Orange to England in the November 1688

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 ...

. There was very little fighting; the vast majority of James II's army simply changed sides and he went into exile in France. On 1 March 1689, O'Farrell was commissioned Colonel of the Earl of Mars Regiment in place of

Thomas Buchan Thomas Buchan (c.1641–1724) was a Scottish professional soldier from a Catholic family in Aberdeenshire who served in the armies of France, the Netherlands and Scotland. He remained loyal to James II after the 1688 Glorious Revolution and par ...

, a Scottish Catholic who had remained loyal to James. It reached

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

in time to fight at the

Battle of Walcourt The Battle of Walcourt was fought on 25 August 1689 during the Nine Years' War. The action took place near the ancient walled town of Walcourt near Charleroi in the Spanish Netherlands, and brought to a close a summer of uneventful marching, m ...

in August 1689 and is listed in the 1691 return as a "

Fusilier Fusilier is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While fusilier is derived from the 17th-century French language, French word ''fusil'' – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has ...

" regiment, a designation reserved for elite units. O'Farrell was captured by a French patrol in July 1692 but was quickly released since he was present at the

Battle of Steenkerque The Battle of Steenkerque, also known as ''Steenkerke'', ''Steenkirk'' or ''Steinkirk'' was fought on 3 August 1692, during the Nine Years' War, near Steenkerque, then part of the Spanish Netherlands but now in modern Belgium A French force ...

in August and also fought at

Landen Landen () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Landen proper and the villages of Attenhoven, Eliksem, Eze ...

in 1693. However, in July 1695 as commander of the garrison at

he surrendered it to the French without resistance, the town of

Diksmuide (; french: Dixmude, ; vls, Diksmude) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, N ...

doing the same. Prisoners were normally exchanged as soon as possible but the French retained the 6,000 - 7,000 troops captured at Diksmuide and Deinze due to a dispute over the terms of their surrender. Shortage of manpower was becoming an issue and the French used a various methods to encourage prisoners to enlist in their army, including moving officers and men into prison cells; O'Farrell wrote to a friend on 5 September complaining of this treatment. William dealt harshly with the officers from Deinze and Diksmuide; Ellenberg was executed in Ghent on 30 November, O'Farrell dismissed and those who signed the surrender documents court-martialled. Most were quickly reinstated, including O'Farrell who was reappointed in 1696, although he lost command of his regiment. During the

in January 1704, he was promoted

, and according to

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

records was one of a number of general officers assigned to the army of

John V of Portugal Dom John V ( pt, João Francisco António José Bento Bernardo; 22 October 1689 – 31 July 1750), known as the Magnanimous (''o Magnânimo'') and the Portuguese Sun King (''o Rei-Sol Português''), was King of Portugal from 9 December 1706 ...

, a position he retained until December 1708. He died in 1712.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{s-end 17th-century Irish people 18th-century Irish people People from County Longford Irish soldiers 1650 births 1712 deaths Irish expatriates in the Netherlands British military personnel of the Nine Years' War British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Military personnel of the Franco-Dutch War Royal Scots Fusiliers officers