Jacob Richards was an Irish soldier of the seventeenth century known for his service with the

. In the War of the Two Kings in Ireland he fought for

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

against the

Jacobite Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...

Irish Army of

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

. During the campaign he was Chief Engineer with charge of the Royal Artillery.

Background

He was an Irish Protestant raised partly on his father's estates 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 ...

. His father Solomon Richards had served in the

New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...

under Oliver Cromwell.

Campaigns

In 1689 he was sent to Londonderry, which was under siege at the time to study the feasibility of relieving the city by sea. In 1689 he oversaw the artillery bombardment during the Siege of Carrickfergus, where he was wounded three times. He was apparently present at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. At the second, decisive Siege of Limerick the next year his action was decisive in the taking of Castle Connell, north-east of Limerick. In 1692, following the Treaty of Limerick, which ended the Irish War, much of his force was redeployed to Flanders where William was leading an Allied Army against the French. His sons Jacob and Michael both oversaw the Artillery during the battles of Steenkirk and Landen and went some way to establishing the traditions of the Royal Artillery.

Family

He had three sons, all of whom pursued military careers. The eldest, also called Jacob, served as part of the Tangier Garrison and later with William of Orange in Flanders. He died in 1701. The second son John Richards converted to Catholicism. This led him to serve abroad in the Austrian Army. In 1703 during the War of the Spanish Succession he was commissioned into 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 ...

allied to Britain. He was killed 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 ...

in 1709. The youngest

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 ...

was appointed Chief Engineer of Great Britain in 1711. His daughter Elizabeth married the English politician James Craggs.Hugill p.66

Notes and references

* * Hugill, J.A.C. ''No Peace Without Spain''. Kensal Press, 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Jacob 17th-century Irish military personnel Irish soldiers Year of birth unknown Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland Military personnel from County Wexford Engineers from County Wexford Irish military engineers