John Hamilton, comte de Hamilton (1651 – 1691), was an Irish armry officer of Scottish origin, who fought in the
Williamite war in Ireland
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 ...
on the side of the deposed James II. He died from wounds received at the
Battle of Aughrim
The Battle of Aughrim ( ga, Cath Eachroma) was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Jacobite army loyal to James II and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 (old style, equivalent ...
.
Birth and origins
John Hamilton was born around the time his family fled Ireland to
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,George Hamilton and his wife, Mary Butler. His father was Scottish, the fourth son of
James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn
James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn PC (S) (1575–1618) was a Scottish diplomat for James VI and an undertaker in the Plantation of Ulster, Ireland.
Birth and origins
James was born on 12 August 1575, probabl ...
, and would in 1660 be created baronet of Donalong and Nenagh.
His mother was Irish, the third daughter of
Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles
Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles (before 1596 – 1619) was the son and heir apparent of Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond (1559 – 1633), whom he predeceased. He lived at the Westgate Castle in Thurles, County Tipperary. He was the father of ...
, and a sister of the future 1st Duke of Ormond. She was a member of the
Butler dynasty
Butler ( ga, de Buitléir) is the name of a noble family whose members were, for several centuries, prominent in the administration of the Lordship of Ireland and the Kingdom of Ireland. They rose to their highest prominence as Dukes of Ormonde. ...
, an
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
family that descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177. His parents had married in 1629. John had eight siblings, who are listed in his father's article.
Both his parents were Catholic, but some relatives on his father's as on his mother's side were Protestants.
His grandfather,
James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn
James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn PC (S) (1575–1618) was a Scottish diplomat for James VI and an undertaker in the Plantation of Ulster, Ireland.
Birth and origins
James was born on 12 August 1575, probabl ...
, was a Protestant, but his father and all his paternal uncles were raised as Catholics due to the influence of his paternal grandmother, Marion Boyd, a
recusant
Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation.
The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...
. Some branches of the Hamilton family were Protestant, such as that of his father's second cousin Gustavus (1642–1723), who would become the 1st Viscount Boyne.
His mother's family, the Butlers, were generally Catholic with the notable exception of the future 1st Duke of Ormond, his maternal uncle. His eldest brother, James, would turn Protestant when marrying Elizabeth Colepeper in 1661, and his son, also called James Hamilton, would fight on the other side during the
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 ...
. His brother Thomas seems to have made the same choice as he became a captain in the Royal Navy.
Early life
His father was a soldier in the Irish army and fought for the royalists under his uncle James Butler, the Earl of Ormond, in the
Irish Confederate Wars
The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...
(1641–1648) and the
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell invaded Ireland wi ...
(1649-1653). Early in 1651 his family followed Ormond into French exile. His mother brought him along as an infant, first to
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Elizabeth Preston, the Marchioness of Ormond, later Elizabeth Butler, Duchess of Ormond. From there his mother brought him along with her to Paris where she lived in the convent of the Feuillantines together with her sister Eleanor, Lady Muskerry, the wife of
Donough Maccarty, 2nd Viscount Muskerry
Sir Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty (1594–1665), was an Irish magnate, soldier, and politician. He succeeded as 2nd Viscount Muskerry in 1641. He rebelled against the government, demanding religious freedom as a Catholic and defendi ...
, later Earl Clancarty.
Restoration
He and his family returned to London in 1660 after the English
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
...
. Their Irish estates were returned to them and his father was created Baronet Donalong in 1660 by Charles II.
James II
John Hamilton became an officer in James II's
Royal Irish Army
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
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, as did his older brothers,
Anthony
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonia (gens), Antonii'', a ''gens'' (Roman naming conventions, Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were ...
and
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
. He stayed loyal to James at the 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 ...
. He seems to have gone into French exile with the King as he landed with him at
Kinsale
Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...
on 12 March 1689, having sailed on the ship-of-the-line ''Entreprenant''. By June 1690 he was ranked brigadier, and was listed as one of the "Directors" left in Ireland by
Tyrconnell
Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Cou ...
when the latter travelled to France following the defeat at the Boyne.
During the 1691 campaign in Ireland, Hamilton was involved in the
Siege of Athlone
Athlone was besieged twice during the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–91). The town is situated in the centre of Ireland on the River Shannon and commanded the bridge crossing the river into the Jacobite-held province of Connacht. For this ...
, where he attempted to retake the city with two infantry brigades but failed. He was subsequently in command of the second line of infantry at the
Battle of Aughrim
The Battle of Aughrim ( ga, Cath Eachroma) was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Jacobite army loyal to James II and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 (old style, equivalent ...
. Seriously wounded, he was taken prisoner late in the day and died in Dublin shortly afterwards.
Marriage and daughter
In 1690, Hamilton married Elizabeth Macan (or, likely,
McCann McCann may refer to:
* McCann (surname)
* McCann (company), advertising agency
* McCann Worldgroup, network of marketing and advertising agencies
* Marist College athletic facilities
** McCann Arena
** James J. McCann Baseball Field
* McCann Rescu ...
) of the family of the ancient Irish Lords of Clanbrassil, different from the viscounts and earls of Clanbrassill, who were Hamiltons from Scotland. The couple had a daughter Margaret, who married a Comte de Marmier in France.
Aughrim, death, and timeline
During the 1691 campaign in Ireland, Hamilton was involved in the
Siege of Athlone
Athlone was besieged twice during the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–91). The town is situated in the centre of Ireland on the River Shannon and commanded the bridge crossing the river into the Jacobite-held province of Connacht. For this ...
in June, where he attempted to retake the city with two infantry brigades but failed.
On 12 July 1691 at the
Battle of Aughrim
The Battle of Aughrim ( ga, Cath Eachroma) was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Jacobite army loyal to James II and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 (old style, equivalent ...
, he commanded the second line of infantry. Seriously wounded, he was taken prisoner late in the day and died in Dublin shortly afterwards.