William Aylmer (1778–1820) was an Irish military officer and member of United Irishmen who participated in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. On 19 June 1798, Aylmer fought in the

Battle of Ovidstown The battle of Ovidstown was a military engagement between British Crown forces and United Irishmen rebels during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 near the town of Kilcock, County Kildare. Despite the initial failures experienced by the United Irish ...

against British Crown forces, which resulted in a defeat for the United Irishmen. Aylmer retreated into the inaccessible

Bog of Allen The Bog of Allen ( ga, Móin Alúine) is a large raised bog in the centre of Ireland between the rivers Liffey and Shannon. The bog's 958 square kilometers (370 square miles) stretch into County Offaly, County Meath, County Kildare, County Lao ...

and established a defensive camp, which he maintained for over a month. Eventually, he surrendered to the British in return for a safe conduct abroad; effectively a form of exile. Released from prison in 1802, he went into exile to Austria, where he served as an officer and noted swordsman in the Imperial Austrian Army, from which he was at one point detached to tutor the British Army's

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

s in the art of swordsmanship. After almost twenty years in Austria he returned to Ireland, and in 1819 sailed from Dublin to Venezuela with 200 officers and enlisted men to assist

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

's independence struggle as commander of the 10th Lancers and second in command of the Irish Legion under Lieutenant-Colonel Francisco Burdett O'Connor. He arrived in September 1819 on the island of Margarita off the coast of Venezuela, where lack of preparations caused severe hardships. Many of the volunteers died or returned to Ireland. He was wounded at the Battle of

Rio Hacha Riohacha (; Wayuu: ) is a city in the Riohacha Municipality in the northern Caribbean Region of Colombia by the mouth of the Ranchería River and the Caribbean Sea. It is the capital city of the La Guajira Department. It has a sandy beach waterfro ...

on 25 May 1820 and died in Jamaica on 20 June 1820.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aylmer, William 1778 births 1820 deaths People of the Spanish American wars of independence Protestant Irish nationalists United Irishmen