Henry Oxburgh (died 1716) was an Irish soldier and Jacobite who was one of the leaders of 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 ...

in England. Captured by forces loyal to the Hanoverian Dynasty following the Battle of Preston, he was executed at

Tyburn Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern Ox ...

for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

Early career

James Francis Edward Stuart the Old Pretender

Oxburgh was from a traditional Irish

Catholic 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 ...

family. He was commissioned into a regiment raised by his relative Sir Heward Oxburgh in King's County as part of 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 Ar ...

of James II which took part in the

Williamite War in Ireland 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 ...

. Henry Oxburgh later joined the Wild Geese who went into exile to enlist in the armies 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 Vers ...

in order to continue fighting for a Jacobite restoration. After 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 ...

he went to England and acquired an estate in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. Although notionally living as a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, he was a secret Catholic as he later declared at his trial. 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 joined the

English Army The ...

and fought in Spain under Lord Peterborough. It was there he served alongside

Charles Wills General Sir Charles Wills (October 166625 December 1741) was a professional soldier from Cornwall, who was Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance and Member of Parliament for Totnes from 1718 to 1741. He began his military career in 1689, serving s ...

and George Carpenter who he would later surrender to at Preston.

Jacobite rebellion

In 1714 the

Hanoverian Succession The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, bec ...

took place, and

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

came to the throne. The following year supporters of the exiled

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

began to plan an uprising. Coinciding with a rising in Scotland, Jacobites in

northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

began to assemble. Thomas Forster was placed in command, due largely to his being a Protestant, although he had no military experience. Oxburgh was made a Colonel, and acted as one of Forster's closest advisors due to his own military past. Following the inconclusive fighting at the Battle of Preston, and surrounded by the British Army with no help of reinforcement, Oxbrugh joined with Lord Widdrington in urging Forster to surrender. Because of his past acquaintance with the British commanders he believed he could secure more generous terms, potentially allowing the Jacobite garrison to march out with the

honours of war The honours of war are a set of privileges that are granted to a defeated army during the surrender ceremony. The honours symbolise the valour of the defeated army, and grew into a custom during the age of early modern warfare. Typically a surren ...

. However, considering them rebels, Wills refused to offer any terms other than immediate surrender and their throwing themselves on the mercy of the King. Increasingly out of other options, Forster agreed to surrender. Unknown to them Jacobite momentum in Scotland had been checked at the Battle of Sheriffmuir, and the rising would be crushed by the spring of the next year.

Execution

On 14 May 1716 Oxburgh was taken to

where he was

hung, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ( ...

. At the

scaffold Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...

he called upon the crowd to support the restoration of "British genius" and the "ancient constitution".Kelly & Royal p.77 After his execution he was buried at

St Giles Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...

while his head was displayed on a spike at Temple Bar a traditional punishment for traitors. The severity of the punishment of Oxburgh and several others, led to a backlash in the public mood, and a more liberal approach was adopted by the authorities leading to the

Indemnity Act 1717 The Indemnity Act 1717 (4 Geo. I c. 15), also referred to as the Act of Grace and Free Pardon, is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The Act was passed by both houses of parliament in July 1717, the last enactment of the session. Ph ...

pardoning former Jacobites.

References

Bibliography

* Anderson. Rosalind. ''The Jacobite Rising of 1715 and the Murray Family: Brothers in Arms''. Pen and Sword History, 2020. * Kelly, James E. & Royal, Susan. ''Early Modern English Catholicism: Identity, Memory and Counter-Reformation''. BRILL, 2016. * Sankey, Margaret. ''Jacobite Prisoners of the 1715 Rebellion: Preventing and Punishing Insurrection in Early Hanoverian Britain''. Routledge, 2017. * Storey, Neil R. ''London: Crime, Death & Debauchery''. The History Press, 2007. * Szechi, Daniel. ''1715: The Great Jacobite Rebellion''. Yale University Press, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oxburgh, Henry 17th-century Irish people 18th-century Irish people Irish Jacobites Irish soldiers 1716 deaths People executed at Tyburn Irish emigrants to Great Britain Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England People of the Jacobite rising of 1715 Irish soldiers in the British Army