John Richards (1669–1709) was an Irish soldier and artillery commander. He served in the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

during 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 ...

and was killed when a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

was detonated by the enemy while in command of the defence at the

Siege of Alicante The siege of Alicante took place from December 1708 to April 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The city of Alicante was besieged by a French and Spanish force loyal to Philip V. They were opposed by the garrison, an Allied force unde ...

Early life

Richards was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and grew up partly in

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

where his grandfather Solomon Richards had been granted lands following the Cromwellian Conquest. Although the family were

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, John converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. This prevented him from serving in the

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 Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

due to the

penal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

s, so he pursued a career in the

Austrian Army The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...

. His Protestant brothers Jacob Richards and

Michael Richards Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor, writer, television producer, and comedian best known for playing Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom '' Seinfeld''. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first enterin ...

both joined the

English Army The ...

Foreign service

He served with the Austrians during the

War of the Grand Alliance 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 then, following the

Peace of Ryswick The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Gran ...

of 1697, he transferred along with his brother Jacob into the Venetian forces. At the outbreak of the

War of 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 ...

, England's ally Portugal requested that London send some experienced officers to assist them. John was recommended, as he still was forbidden to serve in Queen Anne's forces due to his religion. However he was actually paid by the government in London. During the ensuing campaigns he worked closely with British forces, whose artillery train included his own brother Michael.

Spanish campaigns

Siege of Barcelona

In 1705 during the Siege of Barcelona he was in overall command of the artillery batteries that successfully bombarded the city into surrender. During the siege he also accompanied the assault on the heights of Mountjuic Castle.

Siege of Alicante

Promoted to

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 ...

, in 1707 he was appointed commander of the garrison at

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

. This was the last remaining Allied garrison in the

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

region. In late 1708 the town was approached by a large Franco-Spanish force. Alicante was a major objective which they wished to capture before the beginning of the next year's campaign. With no chance of immediate help, Richards improved the defences in order to resist. He abandoned the town and took shelter in the

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

. Unable to dislodge them, the enemy began constructing a vast

. Despite his awareness of the danger, Richards repeatedly refused to surrender as he felt duty bound to continue to hold out. On 28 February 1709 the mine was sprung, killing Richards and a number of his troops. Despite his death and the damage to the defences, the garrison continued to hold out until April when they were evacuated by General James Stanhope.Hugill p.292-93

References

Bibliography

* Hugill, J.A.C. ''No Peace Without Spain''. Kensal Press, 1991. * Lee, Sidney. ''Dictionary of National Biography''. 1886. * Manning, Roger B. ''Origins of the British Army 1585-1702''. Oxford University Press, 2006. * Ostwald, Jamel. ''Vauban Under Siege: Engineering Efficiency and Martial Vigor in the War of the Spanish Succession''. Brill, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, John 17th-century Irish military personnel 1669 births 1709 deaths Irish soldiers Irish military engineers Engineers from County Wexford British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Military personnel from County Wexford