William Dorrington (c. 1644-1718) was an English army officer. Contemporary sources often spell his surname as "Dorington", or "Dodington".
A
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
in a period when Catholics often faced restrictions on military service in England, he is best known for his service in the
Jacobite cause of
James II. Particularly associated with the
Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards
The Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards, or "His Majesty’s Regiment of Guards in Ireland", was a regiment of foot guards first raised in 1662 for service in Ireland. Part of the Irish Army of Charles II, it was initially garrisoned around Dub ...
, he rose to the rank of
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 ...
in James's
Irish Army
The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...
, fighting in the
Williamite War
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 ...
.
Known as a capable soldier, in his later career he held a senior rank in the French army and received the Earldom of Macclesfield in the
Jacobite Peerage. His regiment of Foot Guards later became the ''Regiment Roth'' of the
Irish Brigade.
Early career
Little is known of Dorrington's background, but his family arms of three
bugle horns ''
argent
In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...
'', as later recorded in France, were identical to those of the Dodington or Dorington families of
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
and
Mere, Wiltshire
Mere is a small town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies at the extreme southwestern tip of Salisbury Plain, close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset. The parish includes the hamlets of Barrow Street, Burton, Charnage, Limpers H ...
;
[Gourdon de Genouillac (1860) ''Recueil des maisons nobles de France par H. Gourdon de Genouillac'', Dentu, p.166] the Somerset family had been notable Royalist supporters in the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
.
From 1675 Dorrington gained experience as a Captain in a regiment of Anglo-Irish volunteers under the command of the
Duke of Monmouth
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
, serving with the French Army of
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
in their
war against the Dutch. From 1678 until the mid 1680s he served as an officer of the
English Army in peacetime duties.
Ireland
Dorrington was rapidly promoted after James's accession.
Clarendon, the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, noted that Dorrington was the "youngest major in the army";
[Singer, S.W. (ed) (1828) ''The Correspondence of H. H., Earl of Clarendon, Volume 2'' Colburn, p.45] by 1685 he had transferred to the
Irish Army
The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...
, when he was recorded as a major in Thomas Fairfax's regiment. In 1686 he became
Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards, a prestige unit formally constituted in April 1662.
[Falkiner, C. L. "The Irish Guards, 1661-1798", ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature''
Vol. 24 (1902), p.11]
He was closely involved in the purge of Protestant officers that began shortly after 1685 and accelerated from 1687 under Clarendon's replacement the
Earl of Tyrconnell
Earl of Tyrconnell is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of Ireland.
It was first created in 1603, for Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, formerly king of Tyrconnell, along with the subsidiary title Baron Donegal. The 1s ...
. Dorrington was accused of going "too fast" in his haste to reform his regiment with fresh Catholic personnel; Clarendon remonstrated with him for beating up for recruits at St John's Well near
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, a favoured Catholic shrine.
Dorrington remained loyal to James during the
Glorious Revolution of 1688, when a majority of senior officers in England defected to the invading force of
William of Orange. The Irish Army under Tyrconnell prepared to hold Ireland for James, and were joined by Jacobite loyalists who had fled from England and Scotland.
Dorrington was formally appointed as colonel of the Foot Guards, succeeding the Protestant
Duke of Ormonde
The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland.
History of Ormonde titles
The earldom ...
, and eventually became one of six
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 ...
s of the Jacobite army. His military reputation was high enough that when he was sent to 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 arrival was "eagerly communicated" to the defenders "for the purpose of intimidation".
[Douglas, John (1829) ''A History of the Siege of Londonderry and Defense of Enniskillen in 1688 and 1689'', W. Curry, p.158] He was wounded at Derry, though not seriously, and was present at the
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...
the following year.
After the Jacobite victory at the
Siege of Limerick he was appointed by Tyrconnell as Governor of the city. Success at Limerick led some Jacobites to believe the war could still be won and along with
Patrick Sarsfield
Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland.
Born into a wealthy Catholic famil ...
, Dorrington was one of the main figures in the "War Party", which opposed Tyrconnell's efforts to reach a peace settlement with William.
The 1691 campaign opened with a brief but
bloody
siege at Athlone; while the Williamite army took the town, the main Jacobite force fell back along the Galway road. The two armies met at
Aughrim, County Galway on 12 July; Dorrington and
John Hamilton commanded the two divisions of the Jacobite infantry. 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, equivale ...
ended with the Jacobite forces shattered, Hamilton fatally wounded, and Dorrington captured. While the Williamite commander,
Ginkel, had given word to Dorrington that the captives would be treated as prisoners of war, he and other general officers were instead taken to the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
as prisoners of state.
[Childs (2007) ''The Williamite Wars in Ireland'', A & C Black, p.338]
The
Earl of Ailesbury
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
recorded that Dorrington, a "good friend", "was totally forgotten in France, and became most unhappy".
[Bruce, Thomas (1890) ''Memoirs of Thomas, Earl of Ailesbury'', v.2, p.411] In late 1693 he submitted a petition complaining about his treatment, having been denied rights usually given to prisoners of war;
Lucas, the governor of the Tower, was later reprimanded for his "ill-usage" of Dorrington. In February 1694 he successfully escaped from the Tower in disguise aided by a group of Jacobite sympathising "gentlewomen".
[ The '' London Gazette'' advertised a reward of £300 for his capture, describing him as a "a tall spare Man, aged near 50 or thereabouts, thin Visaged, having a Welt near the lower part of his Right Cheek by a Shot".][''London Gazette'', 11 Feb 1694, p.2]
Later career
On his return to France he resumed command of the Foot Guards, now serving in French exile under the terms of the Treaty of Limerick
}), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War. It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commanders of a French ...
.
With the French rank of ''Marechal du camp'', Dorrington subsequently served in Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
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 Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...
. 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, which included England, ...
which ended the war, the Foot Guards were amalgamated into the Irish Brigade of the French Army as Dorrington's Regiment.
He was appointed Major General in 1702. 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 ...
he served under Villars in Germany, and was present at Blenheim in 1704. Promoted to Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
later the same year, he saw action at the Battle of Ramillies
The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon a ...
in 1706 and at Malplaquet in 1709. He accompanied James's son, James Frances Edward, to Scotland in both the failed 1708 landing attempt 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.
At Braemar, Aberdeenshire ...
.
In 1716 Dorrington was made Earl of Macclesfield
Earl of Macclesfield is a title that has been created twice. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1679 in favour of the soldier and politician Charles Gerard, 1st Baron Gerard. He had already been created Baron Gerard, of Bra ...
in the Jacobite Peerage, a title that was not recognized in Britain. He died in Paris in 1718.[D'Alton p.419] Descendants of his nephew, Peter Dorrington, continued in France until well into the 19th century.
References
Bibliography
* D'Alton, John. ''King James's Irish Army List''. The Celtic Bookshop, 1997.
* Childs, John. ''The Army, James II and the Glorious Revolution''. Manchester University Press, 1980.
* Childs, John. ''The Williamite Wars in Ireland''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorrington, William
17th-century English people
English Jacobites
Jacobite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland
English soldiers
French Army officers
Earls in the Jacobite peerage
Year of birth unknown
1718 deaths