Major-General Sir Thomas Morgan, 1st Baronet (1604 – 13 April 1679) was a professional soldier from
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
who fought for
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
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 ...
. As deputy Commander-in-Chief, Scotland, he played an important role in the 1660
Stuart Restoration and was rewarded with being made a
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 ...
.
Biography
Morgan was born in Wales. At 16, having at that time little knowledge of any language but Welsh, Morgan enlisted in Sir Horace Vere's Protestant volunteer expedition which fought 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 History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
.
Morgan fought in the Low Countries and in particular assisted the Dutch in the decisive victory at the
battle of the Slaak in 1631.
He fought under
Thomas Fairfax
Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...
in the
First English Civil War. In 1645 he was appointed parliamentary governor of
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
. In 1646 he took
Chepstow Castle and Monmouth, and besieged
Raglan Castle. From 1651 to 1657 he assisted General
George Monck in Scotland and was promoted to major-general. He was second in command in Flanders in 1657 and knighted on his return in 1658. He rejoined Monck in Scotland, and played a conspicuous part in the
Stuart Restoration in Edinburgh. His Scottish command was disbanded in December, but he was rewarded with a
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 ...
cy on 1 February 1661.
Morgan established the
English Expedition to Portugal to help the Portuguese
fight the Spanish. He was appointed
Governor of Jersey in 1665 repairing the Jersey forts and reorganising the militia.
A pamphlet narrating his acts in France and Flanders in 1657 and 1658, said to be by himself was published in 1699.
His family home was the
Old Court, Llangattock Lingoed in
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
.
Notes
References
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;Attribution
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Thomas, 1st Baronet
1604 births
1679 deaths
People from Monmouthshire
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
Welsh soldiers
Governors of Jersey
Roundheads
Parliamentarian military personnel of the English Civil War