John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton ( – 3 July 1674) was a professional soldier and mercenary from

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the stewartry"), is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area on the ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Beginning his career in the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

, during the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...

he fought for the

Covenanters Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...

and Parliamentarians until 1648, when he switched sides to the Royalists. One of his colleagues in the 1639 to 1640

Bishops' Wars The Bishops' Wars were two separate conflicts fought in 1639 and 1640 between Scotland and England, with Scottish Royalists allied to England. They were the first of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which also include the First and Second En ...

was Montrose, who later became a Royalist. Despite their similar backgrounds and views, Middleton pursued him with considerable vigour, reportedly because his father died when Montrose's men set fire to his house. Middleton supported the Royalists in the

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and Third English Civil Wars and took part in the unsuccessful 1654

Glencairn's rising Glencairn's rising was a Royalist revolt in Scotland against the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell from 1653 to 1654. It was led by William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn (1610–1664), who was given command of the Royalist forces in Scotland ...

. Rewarded by being appointed

Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland was the List of Scottish monarchs, monarch of Scotland's high commissioner, personal representative to the Parliament of Scotland. From the accession of James I of England, James VI of Sc ...

after the 1660

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

, he fell out with his political colleagues and was removed from office in 1663. However, viewed by Charles II as a capable and reliable soldier, he was compensated with two key strategic commands, first Rochester Castle, then English Tangier where he died in July 1674.

Personal details

Born around 1608, John was the eldest son of Robert Middleton of Caldhame and his wife Catherine Strachan; his younger brother Alexander and nephew George both served as Principal of

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...

. John was great uncle of George's son John Middleton; and great-great uncle of Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham.

Military career

In early life Middleton served as a soldier in France; later he fought against Charles I both in England and in Scotland, being especially prominent at the

Battle of Philiphaugh The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13 September 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Royalist army of the Marquis of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, ...

and in other operations against

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet, soldier and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequ ...

. Middleton held a high command in the Engager army which took part in the

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February and August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639–1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 164 ...

and was taken prisoner at the Battle of Preston in August 1648. He joined Charles II when he arrived in Scotland in 1650 to be crowned, but fell out with the ruling Kirk Party and was compelled to do public penance at

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

. He commanded the Royalist cavalry at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

in August 1651 and was captured before escaping to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1653, Middleton was chosen to lead a projected Scottish rising; he reached Scotland in February 1654, but the participants were deeply divided and the revolt ended in defeat at the Battle of Dalnaspidal in July. He remained in Scotland until 1655 when he rejoined the exiled court and was created Earl of Middleton in 1656, with the subsidiary title of Lord Clermont and Fettercairn. He was made colonel of a Scottish infantry regiment in the Royalist Army in Exile, although actual command was exercised by Lord Newburgh.Barratt, John. ''Better Begging Than Fighting': The Royalist Army in Exile in the War Against Cromwell 1656-1660''. Helion, 2016. p.30-32

Political career

Following the

in May 1660, Middleton was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops in Scotland and

, which he opened in January 1661. His extreme Royalism led to a political struggle with the Earl of Lauderdale and in 1663 he was deprived of his offices. He then served as Lieutenant-General of the Kent militia and Governor of Rochester Castle from 1663 until 1668, before being appointed governor of English Tangier in 1670, acquired when Charles married

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...

. He died there on 3 July 1674 of injuries sustained by falling down the stairs after a drinking bout.

Family

John Middleton married (contract July 1639), Grizel Durham, a daughter of James Durham of Pitkerro and Luffness. She died in September 1666. They had five children together: * Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton (1649/1650–1719), married Lady Catherine Brudenell, daughter of Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl of Cardigan, and Ann Savage, had children. * Lady Grizel Middleton, married William Douglas, 9th Earl of Morton. One child who died in infancy. * Lady Helen Middleton, married Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. They had eight children. * Two daughters, names not known, who both died in 1669 unmarried and without issue. Middleton's second wife was Lady Martha Carey (1635/6–1706), married 16 December 1667 at St. Andrew's, Holborn, daughter of Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth and his wife Martha Cranfield. They had two children: * John Middleton (1668–1696). Died unmarried without issue. * Lady Elizabeth Middleton (1672–1748), married William Spelman. They had one child who died young.

References

Sources

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