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 ...

George Macartney or MacCartney (c. 1660–1730) was an Irish-born professional soldier who went into exile to escape charges for his role in the 1712

Hamilton–Mohun Duel The Hamilton–Mohun Duel occurred on 15 November 1712 in Hyde Park, then on the outskirts of London. The principal participants were James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, and Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun. Both men died from wounds received. B ...

. He was later acquitted and restored to his military rank.

Personal details

George Macartney was born in 1660, elder son of "Black George" Macartney (1630–1702) who moved from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

in the 1650s and became an extremely successful merchant. His mother Martha (died 1705) was a daughter of

Sir John Davies Sir John Davies (16 April 1569 (baptised)8 December 1626) was an English poet, lawyer, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1621. He became Attorney General for Ireland and formulated many of the legal ...

Attorney-General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. With the ...

from 1606 to 1619. His younger brother Isaac served as

High Sheriff of Antrim The High Sheriff of Antrim is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Antrim. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the high sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his judi ...

and was the father of William Macartney MP. Sir Bernard Burke, ''

A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (1863) vol. II
p. 926
In later life, he married Anne Douglas; they had a number of children who predeceased them.

Career

Macartney was intended to follow his father into the family business but volunteered for the army 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 ...

, and served with much credit under

the Duke of Marlborough Duke of Marlborough (pronounced ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne in 1702 for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Earl of Marlborough (1650–1722), the n ...

and Prince Eugene. After 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 ...

began, he was appointed Colonel of a new regiment, McCartney's Regiment of Foot, which initially served under Marlborough in

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, ...

before being sent to Spain in 1706. He was wounded and captured at the

Battle of Almanza The Battle of Almansa took place on 25 April 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was fought between an army loyal to Philip V of Spain, Bourbon claimant to the Spanish throne, and one supporting his Habsburg rival, Archduke Charle ...

, where the regiment suffered heavy casualties; he was quickly exchanged and returned to the Low Countries in 1709, where he served as a volunteer at Malplaquet and subsequently made

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 ...

Richard Cannon Richard Cannon (1779–1865) was a compiler of regimental records for the British Army. Career On 1 January 1802 Cannon was appointed to a clerkship at the Horse Guards, and attained the grade of first-clerk in 1803. Under a Horse Guards order ...

, ''Historical Record of the Sixth Regiment of Dragoon Guards, or the Carabineers'' (1839
p. 96
His regiment fought at the sieges of

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...

and

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

in 1710, after which he became

. Along with Marlborough and many other Whigs, Macartney was deprived of his positions following the

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 ...

victory in the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

. In 1712, he acted as second to the Whig

Lord Mohun Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun (c. 1675 – 15 November 1712) was an English politician best known for his frequent participation in duels and for his reputation as a rake. He was killed in the celebrated Hamilton–Mohun Duel in Hyde Pa ...

, in his

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

with the Tory

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Dukedom of Rothesay held by the Sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the premier peer of Sco ...

, both of whom were killed. It was then common practice for seconds to join the fight and MacCartney and the Duke's second, the unrelated Colonel Hamilton were arrested. Hamilton accused McCartney of having stabbed the Duke while lying on the ground and he escaped to

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, where he remained until 1714, when he returned with

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

. Soon after this, he demanded to be tried for the offence which had been laid to his charge, and on the evidence of the keepers of Hyde Park, who had witnessed the duel throughout all its phases, was honourably acquitted. His former regiment having been disbanded at the peace of Utrecht, he was appointed to the colonelcy of the

Royal North British Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

on 12 July 1716,Cannon, ''Historical Record of the Twenty-First Regiment, or the Royal North British Fusiliers'' (1849
p. 56
from which he was removed on 9 March 1727 to the

Carabiniers A carabinier (also sometimes spelled carabineer or carbineer) is in principle a soldier armed with a carbine. A carbiniere is a carabiniere musket or rifle and were commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is ...

, and he retained this appointment until his death on 7 July 1730. At the time of his death, he was commander-in-chief of the forces in Ireland and governor of Portsmouth.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macartney, George 1660s births 1730 deaths Military personnel from Belfast Irish people of Scottish descent Irish Protestants Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland British Army generals Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers Scots Guards officers Royal Scots Fusiliers officers Scots Guards soldiers British military personnel of the Nine Years' War British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession British duellists People acquitted of murder