Hugh Montgomery, 1st Earl of Mount Alexander (c. 1623 – 15 September 1663), known as The Viscount Montgomery from 1642 to 1661, was an Irish peer. He was appointed to command his father's regiment in 1642. He was commander-in-chief of the Royalist army in Ulster in 1649 and seized successively Belfast, Antrim, and Carrickfergus. He surrendered to
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
, and was banished to Holland. At the
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
in 1660 he was appointed life master of ordnance in Ireland and one year later created
Earl of Mount Alexander
Earl of Mount Alexander was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1661 for Hugh Montgomery, 3rd Viscount Montgomery. He was the grandson of Hugh Montgomery, known as one of the "founding fathers" of the Ulster Scots, who was raised ...
.
Biography
Hugh Montgomery was born about 1623, the eldest son of
Hugh Montgomery, 2nd Viscount Montgomery
Hugh Montgomery, 2nd Viscount Montgomery of the Great Ards, (1597–1642) was an Irish aristocrat who supported the Royalist cause in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
Biography
Montgomery was born in 1597 son of Hugh Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgo ...
, and his wife, Jean Alexander, eldest daughter of Sir
William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling
William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling (c. 1567 in Menstrie, Clackmannanshire12 February 1640) was a Scottish courtier and poet who was involved in the Scottish colonisation of Charles Fort, later Port-Royal, Nova Scotia in 1629 and Long Isl ...
. In his childhood, his left side was severely injured by a fall, and an extensive abscess was formed, which on healing left a large cavity through which the action of the heart could be plainly discerned He wore a metal plate over the opening.
Notwithstanding his deformity, he had a fairly good constitution, and before reaching his twentieth year travelled through France and Italy. On his return, he was brought to
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
at Oxford, who was curious to see the strange phenomenon presented in Montgomery's case. He remained some days with the king, and went home, after receiving tokens of the royal favour, and giving assurances of his own loyalty.
By this time the
Irish rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...
had broken out, and Montgomery's father had raised troops in maintenance of the royal authority, but he died suddenly on 15 November 1642. Montgomery succeeded as 3rd Viscount, and was appointed to the command of his father's regiment. Under Scottish Major-General
Robert Monro
Robert Monro (died 1680), was a famous Scottish General, from the Clan Munro of Ross-shire, Scotland. He held command in the Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus during Thirty Years' War. He also fought for the Scottish Covenanters during the Bi ...
, who married his mother, Montgomery fought at the
Battle of Benburb
The Battle of Benburb took place on 5 June 1646 during the Irish Confederate Wars, the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It was fought between the Irish Confederation under Owen Roe O'Neill, and a Scottish Covenanter and Anglo-I ...
in June 1646. The king's troops were defeated, and the Viscount, when heading a charge of cavalry, was made prisoner. He was sent to
Clochwater Castle, where he remained until October 1647, when he was exchanged for Richard, 2nd
Earl of Westmeath
Earl of Westmeath is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1621 for Richard Nugent, Baron Delvin. During the Tudor era the loyalty of the Nugent family was often in question, and Richard's father, the sixth Baron, died in prison ...
.
Montgomery took a leading part in proclaiming
Charles II at
Newtownards
Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...
in February 1649. At the same time the
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August 1 ...
was renewed, and General
George Monck
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle JP KG PC (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier, who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support was cruc ...
, refusing either to take the covenant or declare for the king, was forced out of Ulster. Montgomery was thereupon commissioned by the king as commander-in-chief of the royal army in Ulster (14 May 1649), with instructions to co-operate with
James, Marquis of Ormonde; and in the warlike operations which followed, he successively seized Belfast, Antrim, and Carrickfergus, and, passing through Coleraine, laid siege to Londonderry. After a four-month
investiture
Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian k ...
, however, he was compelled to retire, but joined Ormonde, and aided him in his final efforts against the
English Commonwealth
The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execut ...
.
Forced at last to surrender to Cromwell, he was, after appearing before Parliament in London, banished to Holland, under strict prohibition from corresponding with Charles II. In 1652 he solicited and received permission to return to London, and after much delay was allowed subsistence for himself and his family out of his confiscated estates.
[ cites ''State Papers'', Dom. Ser. 1651-2, pp. 99- 364, ''passim''.] He was afterwards permitted to return to Ireland, lived there under strict surveillance, and for a time was imprisoned in
Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny Castle ( ga, Caisleán Chill Chainnigh, IPA: kaʃlʲaːnˠˈçiːl̪ʲˈxan̪ʲiː is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland built in 1195 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol of N ...
.
On the
restoration of the monarchy in 1660 Montgomery visited King Charles II at Whitehall. He was appointed for life master of ordnance in Ireland (12 September 1660), was placed on the commission for the settlement of Irish affairs (19 February 1661), and was created
Earl of Mount Alexander
Earl of Mount Alexander was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1661 for Hugh Montgomery, 3rd Viscount Montgomery. He was the grandson of Hugh Montgomery, known as one of the "founding fathers" of the Ulster Scots, who was raised ...
on 20 June 1661. He died suddenly at Dromore on 15 September 1663, while engaged in investigating
Major Blood's plot. He was buried in the chancel of the church at Newtownards.
Family
In personal appearance, Montgomery is described as of medium height, ruddy complexioned, with curly reddish hair and a quick grey eye. He was twice married:
*First, in December 1648, to Mary, eldest daughter of
Charles Moore, 2nd Viscount Moore of Drogheda
Charles Moore, 2nd Viscount Moore of Drogheda (1603-1643) was an Irish aristocrat noted for his leadership of Irish Royalist forces in northern Leinster during the early stages of the Irish Confederate Wars.
Background
He was the third but elde ...
and Alice Loftus, by whom he had two sons Hugh and Henry, who were successively second and third earls of Mount Alexander and a daughter, Jean, who died unmarried in 1673;
*Secondly, in 1660, to Catherine Jones, daughter of
Arthur Jones, 2nd Viscount Ranelagh
Arthur Jones, 2nd Viscount Ranelagh (died 1669) was an Irish peer and politician who sat in both the Irish House of Commons and the English House of Commons.
Jones was the son of Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh and his wife Frances Moore, daug ...
and
Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh, and widow of Sir William Parsons, 2nd Baronet. They had one child, a daughter named Catherine who later married Sir Francis Hamilton, 3rd Baronet of Castle Hamilton. She died in 1692, aged 29 years.
Notes
References
*
*
;Attribution
*
*; Endnotes:
**Montgomery MSS., by the Rev. George Hill, 1869, i. 151-259.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Alexander, Hugh Montgomery, 1st Earl Of
1620s births
1663 deaths
Earls in the Peerage of Ireland
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Year of birth uncertain