Sir James Abercrombie, 1st Baronet ( 1680 – 14 November 1724), of Edinburgh, was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and Scottish Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

in 1710. Abercrombie was the illegitimate son of

James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton Lieutenant-General James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton and 1st Duke of Brandon (11 April 1658 – 15 November 1712), was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician. Hamilton was a major investor in the failed Darien scheme, which cost many of ...

. He joined the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

as an ensign on 24 May 1696, and fought in the

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (; ; ) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, thus preventing the collapse of the reconstituted G ...

in 1704 as Aide-de-Camp to George Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney. He became brevet major in 1706 and captain on 31 May 1707. He was created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 21 May 1709. He subsequently served as a captain and lieutenant-colonel in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

from 1710 to 1711.Hayton, D. W. (2002
"ABERCROMBY, James (d.1724)"
''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690–1715'', edited by D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, and S. Handley Abercrombie was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dysart Burghs at a by-election on 16 January 1710 and held the seat until the dissolution of parliament on 21 September 1710. He chose not to stand for re-election, and his successor as the member for Dysart Burghs, James Oswald, was elected unopposed at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

.Wilkinson, David (2002
"Dysart Burghs"
''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690–1715'', edited by D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, and S. Handley Abercrombie became lieutenant-colonel on 20 March 1711 and brevet colonel on 1 November 1711. On 24 October 1712, he became Town Major (Lieutenant-Governor) of

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

and as such, oversaw the evacuation of French forces and the installation of an allied garrison, holding the post for the rest of his life. He was commissioner for inspecting the demolition of Dunkirk fortifications from 1713 to 1716, accumulating extensive arrears of pay and allowance. He spent some time chasing what he was owed, and had to sell his regiment to make ends meet. Abercrombie was probably unmarried and died without surviving male issue at his home in Charing Cross on 14 November 1724. The baronetcy became extinct on his death.

References

17th-century births 1724 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh Military personnel from Edinburgh Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession British MPs 1708–1710 Coldstream Guards officers Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Royal Scots officers

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

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