General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Joseph Sabine (c. 1661 – 24 October 1739) was a British Army officer who fought in 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 ...

, 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 ...

and the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts The House of Stuart, ori ...

. He was later a politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1727 to 1734, becoming Governor of Gibraltar in 1730.

Early life

Sabine was probably the son of Walter Sabine and grandson of Avery Sabine, alderman and mayor of Canterbury, who died in 1648. He joined the army at the time of the Glorious Revolution. In 1690 he married Hester Whitfield, daughter of Henry Whitfield, who, after having three sons who all died young, herself died at the age of 24.

Military career

Sabine was appointed captain lieutenant to Sir Henry Ingoldsby's regiment of foot on 8 March 1689 and became captain of the Grenadier company before 18 October 1689. He served in Ireland under William III, and was granted estates in county Kildare. On 13 July 1691, he became major of Colonel Charles Herbert's regiment. He took part in William III's campaigns in the Low Countries, during the

, and became lieutenant colonel on 6 July 1695 and fought at the Siege of Namur. Sabine served with the 23rd or

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated ...

in the

. He obtained the brevet rank of colonel on 1 January 1703. Under Marlborough he was wounded on 2 July 1704 at the battle of Schellenberg, and on 1 April following became colonel of his regiment. He commanded his Regiment at the

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (german: Zweite Schlacht bei Höchstädt, link=no; french: Bataille de Höchstädt, link=no; nl, Slag bij Blenheim, link=no) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied v ...

.Joseph Sabine at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> He took part in the battle of Ramillies, being stationed with the fusiliers on the right of the English line. On 1 January 1707 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. At the

Battle of Oudenarde The Battle of Oudenarde, also known as the Battle of Oudenaarde, was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession, pitting a Grand Alliance force consisting of eighty thousand men under the command of the Duke of Marlborough and Prin ...

on 11 July 1708 he led the attack on the village of Heynam, and afterwards he took part in the Siege of

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

. On 1 January 1710 he was appointed major-general, and was given command of the Citadel at

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

where he had to put down a mutiny in 1712. He married as his second wife Margaretta Newsham in 1711. When peace was concluded, Sabine returned with his regiment to England. In 1715 he purchased the estate of

Tewin Tewin is an English village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England between the towns of Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Welwyn (village) and the county town Hertford, it is within commuting distance of London. Tewin Wood is a very affluent re ...

in Hertfordshire, and rebuilt the house in the following year. Then in 1716 he commanded a Brigade sent to confront the

Pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

's Army at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. Later that year he became Commander of the British Army throughout

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 ...

. in May 1716. In July, the Duke of Atholl complained of 'the conduct of General Sabine and other King's officers, in regard to rebel prisoners and ... of the plundering and other impositions made by the troops' in Perthshire. In 1719 he was appointed

Governor of Berwick Below is a list of those who have held the office of Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed, including the garrison at Holy Island (during English occupation of the Royal Burgh): Governors of Berwick-upon-Tweed For Scotland * 1295 -1296 Sir William D ...

and of

Holy Island Sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, or holy place refers to a location which is deemed to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a bless ...

Political career

At the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

, Sabine was returned on the Government interest as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. He voted with the Government until he was appointed

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

in 1730, having been promoted to General. He did not stand at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

. Sabine died at Gibraltar on 24 October 1739. His portrait was painted by

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to Kingdom of England, English and Br ...

in 1711 and engraved by Faber in 1742.

References

Robert Beatson, ''A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
* Concise Dictionary of National Biography (1930) Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabine, Joseph 1660s births 1739 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British Army generals British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Governors of Gibraltar British MPs 1727–1734