Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1st
Duke of Schomberg
Duke of Schomberg in the Peerage of England was created in 1689. The title derives from the surname of its holder (originally Schönberg).
The Duke of Schomberg was part of King William of Orange's army and camped in the Holywood hills area of ...
, 1st
Count of Mertola, (french: Frédéric-Armand; pt, Armando Frederico; 6 December 1615
[ – 1 July 1690][) was a ]Marshal of France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...
and a General in the English and Portuguese Army. He was killed at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Early career
Descended from an old family of the Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
, he was born at Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, the son of Count Hans Meinhard von Schönberg (1582–1616) and Anne, a daughter of Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley
Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (baptised 17 September 1567 – 23 June 1643) was a major landowner, mainly in Staffordshire and Worcestershire, and briefly a Member of the House of Commons of England. Through his intemperate behaviour he won wi ...
, and Theodosia Harington
Theodosia Harington, Lady Dudley (died 1649) was an English aristocrat who was abandoned by her husband, but maintained connections at court through her extensive family networks.
Early life
She was the eighth daughter of Sir James Harington of ...
. An orphan within a few months of his birth, he was educated by various family friends, among whom was Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both r ...
, in whose service his father had been. He began his military career under Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, and in 1634 passed into the service of Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, entering that of France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in 1635. His family, and the allied house of the Saxon Schönbergs, had already attained eminence in France with Henri de Schomberg
Henri de Schomberg, Comte de Nanteuil (1575 – 17 November 1632), was a Marshal of France during the reign of Louis XIII.
Biography
Schomberg was born at Paris. Superintendent of Finances from 1619 to 1623. He became Marshal of France in 1625 ...
and Charles de Schomberg
Charles de Schomberg (16 February 1601 – 6 June 1656), Duke d'Halluin, was a French soldier from the 17th century and Marshal of France.
Biography
Charles de Schomberg was the son of Henri de Schomberg, also a Marshal of France, and his fir ...
, both marshals of France.
After a time he retired to his family estate at Geisenheim
Geisenheim is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany, and is known as ''Weinstadt'' (“Wine Town”), ''Schulstadt'' (“School Town”), ''Domstadt'' (“Cathedral Town”) and ''Lindenstad ...
on the Rhine, but in 1639 he re-entered the Dutch States Army, in which, apparently, apart from a few intervals at Geisenheim, he remained until about 1650. He then rejoined the French army as a general officer (''maréchal de camp''), served under Turenne
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...
in the campaigns
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed
*Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme
*Bl ...
against Condé, and became a lieutenant-general in 1665, receiving this rapid promotion perhaps partly owing to his relationship with Charles de Schomberg
Charles de Schomberg (16 February 1601 – 6 June 1656), Duke d'Halluin, was a French soldier from the 17th century and Marshal of France.
Biography
Charles de Schomberg was the son of Henri de Schomberg, also a Marshal of France, and his fir ...
, duc d'Halluin.[
After the ]peace of the Pyrenees
The Treaty of the Pyrenees (french: Traité des Pyrénées; es, Tratado de los Pirineos; ca, Tractat dels Pirineus) was signed on 7 November 1659 on Pheasant Island, and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635.
Negotiations were ...
(1659), the independence of Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
was threatened by Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, and Schomberg was sent as military adviser to Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
with the secret approval of Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...
. Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Versa ...
, in order not to infringe the treaty just made with Spain, deprived Schomberg of his French officers. Schomberg thus took command of the English brigade which consisted of three regiments in total 3,000 men. Many of these were ex Royalist and New Model Army
The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...
troops from the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. After many difficulties in the three first campaigns resulting from the opposition of Portuguese officers, the Portuguese commander António Luís de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Marialva
António Luís de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Marialva and 3rd Count of Cantanhede (13 December 1596 – 16 August 1675) was a member of the Forty Conspirators and a Portuguese general who fought in the Portuguese Restoration War, that ended t ...
, together with Schomberg won the victory of Montes Claros
Montes Claros is a city located in northern Minas Gerais state, in Brazil. The population is 413,487 (2020 est.) in an area of . It was made a seat of a municipality in 1831 and attained city status in 1857.
History
The region was originally in ...
on 17 June 1665 over the Spaniards under Luis de Benavides Carrillo, Marquis of Caracena.[
After participating with his army in the revolution which deposed the reigning king Afonso VI of Portugal in favour of his brother Dom Pedro, and ending the war with Spain, Schomberg returned to France, became a naturalised Frenchman and bought the lordship of ]Coubert
Coubert () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.
Demographics
The inhabitants are called ''Curtibéhardiens''.
See also
* Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department
The following i ...
near Paris. He had been rewarded by the king of Portugal, in 1663, with the rank of Grandee, the title of count of Mértola
The title Count of Mértola (Portuguese: ''Conde de Mértola'') was granted to Frederick, 1st Duke of Schomberg by Afonso VI of Portugal, in 1663, as a reward for the Duke's service with the Portuguese Army.
The countship of Mértola was created ...
and a pension of f 5000 a year. In 1673 he was brought by Charles II to England to take command of the newly formed Blackheath Army
The Blackheath Army was a contingent of the English Army assembled at Blackheath in Kent during the summer of 1673. The army consisting of old and newly raised regiments were placed under the command of the French Huguenot Frederick Schomberg. ...
, which was planned to take part in an invasion of the Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. However the army did not go into action before the Treaty of Westminster established peace, and was disbanded by the King following Parliamentary pressure.
He therefore again entered the service of France. His first operations in Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
were unsuccessful owing to the disobedience of subordinates and the rawness of his troops. On 19 June 1674, he was dealt a defeat at the Battle of Maureillas
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
by Francisco de Tutavilla y del Rufo, but he retrieved the failure by retaking Fort de Bellegarde
The ''Fort de Bellegarde'' (''Fort'' or ''Castell de Bellaguarda / Bellaguàrdia'' in Catalan) is a 17th-century bastion fortification located above the town of ''Le Perthus'', in the Pyrénées-Orientales ''département'' of southern France.
H ...
in 1675. For this he was made a marshal, being included in the promotion that followed the death of Turenne. The tide had now turned against the Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
s, and Schomberg's merits had been long ignored on account of his adherence to the Protestant religion. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
(1685) forced him to leave his adopted country.[
Ultimately he became general-in-chief of the forces of the ]Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...
, and at Berlin he was the acknowledged leader of the thousands of Huguenot refugees there. Soon afterwards, with the Electors consent, he joined the Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands.
The title ...
on his expedition to England in 1688, 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 ...
, as second in command to the prince. The following year he was made a Knight of the Garter,
was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance
The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...
, was created Duke of Schomberg
Duke of Schomberg in the Peerage of England was created in 1689. The title derives from the surname of its holder (originally Schönberg).
The Duke of Schomberg was part of King William of Orange's army and camped in the Holywood hills area of ...
, and received from the House of Commons a vote of £100,000 to compensate him for the loss of his French estates, of which Louis had deprived him.[
]
Ireland
In July 1689, William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
appointed him commander-in-chief of the expedition that he undertook to drive 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 ...
out of Ireland. Before departing to Ireland, Schomberg took his leave from parliament on 16 July 1689. On 20 July Schomberg arrived at Chester where the expedition's troops were gathering. Sailing with a fleet from Hoylake, he landed on 13 August 1689 at Ballyholme Bay
Bangor ( ; ) is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is linked ...
near Bangor. He made the passage on the royal yacht Cleveland. He then marched over Bangor and Belfast to Carrickfergus, which had a Jacobite garrison. He began the siege of Carrickfergus
The siege of Carrickfergus took place in August 1689 when a force of Williamite troops under Marshal Schomberg landed and laid siege to the Jacobite garrison of Carrickfergus in Ireland. After a week the Jacobites surrendered, and were allowe ...
on 20 August. The town surrendered on 28 August. Thereafter he marched unopposed through a country desolated before him to Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
, but, as the bulk of his forces were raw and undisciplined as well as inferior in numbers to the enemy Irish Army, he deemed it imprudent to risk a battle, and entrenching himself at Dundalk declined to be drawn beyond the circle of his defences. Shortly afterwards pestilence broke out, and when he retired to winter quarters in 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 ...
his forces were more shattered than if they had sustained a severe defeat.[
His conduct was criticized in ill-informed quarters, but the facts justified his inactivity, and he gave what was said at the time to be a "striking example of his generous spirit" in placing at William of Orange's disposal for military purposes the £100,000 recently granted to him. In the spring he began the campaign with the capture of Charlemont, but no advance southward was made until William arrived with reinforcements. At the Battle of the Boyne (1 July 1690), Schomberg gave his opinion against the determination of William to cross the river in face of the opposing army. After riding through the river to rally his men, he was wounded twice in the head by sabre cuts, and was shot in the neck by Cahir O'Toole of Ballyhubbock and instantly killed.][
]
Family
His eldest son Charles Schomberg, the second duke in the English peerage, died in the year 1693 of wounds received at the Battle of Marsaglia
The Battle of Marsaglia was a battle in the Nine Years' War, fought in Italy on 4 October 1693, between the French army of Marshal Nicolas Catinat and the army of the Grand Alliance under Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy.
Catinat, advancing ...
.[ His other son was ]Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg Meinhardt might refer to:
Surname
*Sven Meinhardt (born 1971), German former field hockey forward
*Gerek Meinhardt (born 1990), American foil fencer
First name
*Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg (1641–1719), general in the service of Pr ...
.
Burial and Inscription
He was buried in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Saint Patrick's Cathedral ( ir, Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland ca ...
, where there is a monument to him, erected in 1731. On the monument is a Latin inscription by Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...
,[ which reads:
The English translation:
Additionally, the ]Boyne Obelisk
The Boyne Obelisk, also known as King William's Obelisk, was an obelisk located in Oldbridge, near Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland.
History
The monument was erected in order to commemorate William of Orange's victory over King James II at t ...
(which was erected on the north bank of the River Boyne in 1736, to commemorate the Williamite victory at the Battle of the Boyne, and later destroyed in 1923) contained an inscription to him on its south side base, reading:
The village of Schomberg, Ontario
Schomberg (2021 population 2,656) is an unincorporated village in northwestern King, Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the Oak Ridges Moraine and south of the Holland River.
Schomberg is accessed via Highway 9, which links Orangeville a ...
is named after him.
Notes
References
* Glozier, Matthew. Brighton, 2005.
*
*
External links
Schomberg Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schomberg, Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke Of
1615 births
1690 deaths
Nobility from Heidelberg
French nobility
Counts of Germany
Counts of Mértola
Marshals of France
Prussian Army personnel
101 101 may refer to:
* 101 (number), the number
* AD 101, a year in the 2nd century AD
* 101 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
It may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''101'' (album), a live album and documentary by Depeche Mode
* "101" (song), a ...
Peers of England created by William III
Garter Knights appointed by William III
Burials at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
English generals
British military personnel killed in action in the Nine Years' War
German emigrants to England
Royal Scots officers
Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland
Military personnel from Heidelberg
Dutch military personnel of the Nine Years' War