John Hamilton (Jacobite)

John Hamilton, comte de Hamilton, (died 1691) was an Irish military officer of Scottish descent, best known for his participation in the Williamite war in Ireland, in which he fought on the side of the deposed James II. He died from wounds received at the Battle of Aughrim.

John Hamilton
Born	Ireland
Died	1691 Dublin
Allegiance	Kingdom of Ireland
Service/branch	Infantry
Years of service	c. 1680 – 1691
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	Williamite War in Ireland: Battle of the Boyne Siege of Athlone Battle of Aughrim
Relations	Richard Hamilton, Anthony Hamilton (brothers)

Birth and origins

John Hamilton was born about the time when his family fled from Ireland to Caen in France in 1651,[1] so his is born about 1650 in Ireland or in Caen.[2] He was one of the nine children[3] and the sixth and youngest of the sons of George Hamilton and his wife Mary Butler. His father was Scottish, the fourth son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, and would in 1660 be created baronet of Donalong and Nenagh.[4][5][lower-alpha 1] His mother was Irish, the third daughter of Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles, and a sister of the future 1st Duke of Ormond.[6][lower-alpha 2] She was a member of the Butler dynasty, an Old English family that descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177.[7] His parents married in 1629.[6]

Family tree

John Hamilton with wife, parents, and other selected relatives. James 1st Earl 1575–1618 Marion Boyd d. 1632 Recusant James 2nd Earl d. 1670 Claud 2nd Baron H. of Strabane d. 1638 George 1st Bt. Donalong c. 1608 – 1679 Mary Butler d. 1680 George d. 1667 Soldier Anthony c. 1645– 1719 Writer Richard c. 1655 – 1717 Jacobite James c. 1630 – 1673 Courtier Elizabeth 1641–1708 Beauty Thomas d. 1687 Captain R. N. John d. 1691 Elizabeth Macan James 6th Earl Abercorn c. 1661 – 1734 Legend XXX John Hamilton XXX Earls of Abercorn Earls 3 to 5 are not shown. Earl 3 descends from Earl 2. Earls 4 & 5 descend from Claud Hamilton of Strabane. This family tree is partly derived from the Abercorn pedigree pictured in Cokayne.[8] Also see the list of siblings in the text.

John listed among his siblings

He appears below among his siblings as the seventh child: James (c. 1630 – 1673), became ranger of Hyde Park and lost a leg in a sea-fight;[9] George (died 1676), was killed in French service;[10] Elizabeth (1641–1708), a famous beauty who married Philibert de Gramont;[11] Anthony (c. 1645 – 1719), fought for the Jacobites in Ireland and wrote the Mémoires du comte de Grammont.[12] Thomas (died 1687), served in the Royal Navy and died in Boston, Massachusetts;[13][14][15] Richard (died 1717), fought for the Jacobites and was taken prisoner at the Boyne;[16] John (died 1691); Lucia (died 1676), married Sir Donough O'Brien, 1st Baronet;[17] and Margaret, born in France, married Mathew Forde of Seaforde.[18]

Both his parents were Catholic, but some relatives on his father's as on his mother's side were Protestants.

His grandfather, James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, was a Protestant, but his father and all his paternal uncles were raised as Catholics due to the influence of his paternal grandmother, Marion Boyd, a recusant.[19] Some branches of the Hamilton family were Protestant, such as that of his father's second cousin Gustavus (1642–1723), who would become the 1st Viscount Boyne.

His mother's family, the Butlers, were generally Catholic with the notable exception of the future 1st Duke of Ormond, his maternal uncle. His eldest brother, James, would turn Protestant when marrying Elizabeth Colepeper in 1661,[20] and his son, also called James Hamilton, would fight on the other side during the Siege of Derry. His brother Thomas seems to have made the same choice as he became a captain in the Royal Navy.[21]

Early life

His father was a soldier in the Irish army and fought for the royalists under his uncle James Butler, the Earl of Ormond, in the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1648) and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649-1653). Early in 1651 his family followed Ormond into French exile.[1] His mother brought him along as an infant, first to Caen[22] where they were accommodated for some time by Elizabeth Preston, the Marchioness of Ormond. From there his mother brought him along with her to Paris where she lived in the convent of the Feuillantines together with her sister Eleanor, Lady Muskerry, the wife of Donough Maccarty, 2nd Viscount Muskerry, later Earl Clancarty.[23]

Restoration

He and his family returned to London in 1660 after the English Restoration. Their Irish estates were returned to them and his father was created Baronet Donalong in 1660 by Charles II.[4]

James II

John Hamilton became an officer in James II's Royal Irish Army, as did his older brothers Anthony and Richard. He stayed loyal to James at the 1688 Glorious Revolution. He seems to have gone into French exile with the King as he landed with him at Kinsale on 12 March 1689, having sailed on the ship-of-the-line Entreprenant.[24] By June 1690 he was ranked brigadier, and was listed as one of the "Directors" left in Ireland by Tyrconnell when the latter travelled to France following the defeat at the Boyne.

During the 1691 campaign in Ireland, Hamilton was involved in the Siege of Athlone, where he attempted to retake the city with two infantry brigades but failed.[25] He was subsequently in command of the second line of infantry at the Battle of Aughrim.[26] Seriously wounded, he was taken prisoner late in the day and died in Dublin shortly afterwards.[27][28][29]

Marriage and daughter

In 1690 Hamilton married Elizabeth Macan (or McCann) of the family of the ancient Irish Lords of Clanbrassil, different from the viscounts and earls of Clanbrassill,[30] who were Hamiltons from Scotland. The couple had a daughter Margaret, who married a Comte de Marmier in France.[31]

Aughrim, death, and timeline

During the 1691 campaign in Ireland, Hamilton was involved in the Siege of Athlone in June, where he attempted to retake the city with two infantry brigades but failed.[25]

On 12 July 1691 at the Battle of Aughrim he commanded the second line of infantry.[26] Seriously wounded, he was taken prisoner late in the day and died in Dublin shortly afterwards.[27][28][29]

Timeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.
Age	Date	Event
0	1650, estimate	Born either in Ireland or in France.[lower-alpha 3]
10	1660	Brought to London by his parents at the Restoration.
29	1679	Father died.[33]
35	1685, 6 Feb	Accession of King James II, replacing King Charles II.[34]
39	1689, 12 Mar	Landed with James II in Ireland.[24]
40	1690	Married Elizabeth Macan.
41	1691	Died in Dublin from wounds received at the Battle of Aughrim on 12 July.[29]

Notes and references

1. The baronetcy is in the baronetage of Ireland according to the 31st (1869)[4] but in the baronetage of Scotland according to the 99th (1949)[5] edition of Burke's Peerage.
2. Walter, Viscount in the 31st (1869) edition[4] seems to be a mistake and Thomas in the 99th (1949) edition[5] of Burke's Peerage is right.
3. His year of birth is estimated as 1650 because he must have been born about the time when his family fled to France in 1651.[1][32]

1. Clark 1921, p. 5: "In the spring of 1651 took place, at last, the event which had such a determining influence on the fate of the young Hamiltons. Sir George Hamilton left his country for France with his family ..."
2. Clark 1921, p. 7, line 8: "The two youngest Hamiltons, probably John and Margaret, were born abroad."
3. Debrett 1816, p. 92, line 17: "He [John's father] m. Mary, 3d daughter of Thomas, Viscount Thurles, son of Walter, 11th earl of Ormond and sister of James, duke of Ormond, and had issue 6 sons and 3 daughters, ..."
4. Burke 1869, p. 2, right column, bottom: "George (Sir) of Donalong, co. Tyrone, and Nenagh, co. Tipperary, created a baronet of Ireland, in 1660, for his services to the royal cause."
5. Burke 1949, p. 3, right column, line 1: "George (Sir) of Donalong, co. Tyrone, and Nenagh, co. Tipperary, created a baronet of Scotland, about 1660;"
6. Burke 1949, p. 3, right column, line 2: "... [George Hamilton] m. (art. dated 2 June, 1629) Mary 3rd dau. of Thomas Viscount Thurles and sister of the 1st Duke of Ormonde."
7. Debrett 1828, p. 640: "THEOBALD LE BOTELER on whom that office [Chief Butler of Ireland] was conferred by King Henry II., 1177 ..."
8. Cokayne 1910, p. 4: "Tabular pedigree of the Earls of Abercorn"
9. Burke 1949, p. 3, right column, line 6: "James Col. ... he d.v.p. of a wound received in a naval engagement with the Dutch, 6 June 1673 and was buried in Westminster Abbey."
10. Sergeant 1913, p. 217: "At the beginning of June he took part in the battle of Zebernstieg and was engaged in covering the French retreat on Saverne when he was killed by a musket-shot."
11. Burke 1869, p. 3, left column, line 29: "Elizabeth, the beautiful and accomplished wife of Philibert, comte de Grammont; she d. 1708."
12. Burke 1949, p. 3, right column, line 17: "Anthony, the celebrated Count Hamilton, author of 'Mémoires de Grammont', Lieut.-Gen. in the French service, d. 20 April 1719, aged 74."
13. Burke 1869, p. 3, left column, line 25: "Thomas, in the sea service; d. in New England."
14. Clark 1921, p. 74: "[Thomas Hamilton] rendered James no small service in capturing, off the west coast of Scotland, some of the ships which the Earl of Argyle had equipped to aid Monmouth in his rising."
15. Sewall 1878, p. 176: "May 9 [1687]. Hamilton, Capt. of the Kingsfisher dies."
16. Boulger 1911, p. 155: "Richard Hamilton had been wounded and taken prisoner by the time that William's cavalry came down from Donore on the right flank of the Irish infantry commanded by him in and behind Oldbridge."
17. Burke 1869, p. 3, left column, line 31: "Lucia, who married Sir Donogh of Lamineagh, Bart"
18. Burke 1869, p. 3, left column, line 33: "Margaret, m. to Mathew Forde, Esq. of Seaforde."
19. Metcalfe 1909, p. 234: "Her husband had been a staunch Protestant, an elder in the Kirk, and a member of the General Assembly. During his lifetime she had evidently conformed; but after his death she had evidently relapsed."
20. Clark 1921, p. 16: "James Hamilton's marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Colepeper ... took place as early as 1660 or 1661. As the lady was a Protestant, James Hamilton left the Church of Rome shortly before his marriage, to the great sorrow and anger of his devout mother ..."
21. Clark 1921, p. 13: "... Thomas, Anthony's junior had entered the Navy in 1666 or earlier."
22. Millar 1890, p. 177, left column: "Marquis of Ormonde, whom he followed to Caen in the spring of 1651 with his wife and family."
23. Clark 1921, p. 8: "... when his mother and his aunt, Lady Muskerry, had an apartment at the Couvent des Feuillantines in Paris ..."
24. Boulger 1911, p. 57: "Entreprenant. MM. de Roze, de Maumont, Boisseleau, Colonel Hamilton (John) ..."
25. Boyle 1867, p. 264: "... [St. Ruth] ordered Major-General John Hamilton to take two brigades and drive the enemy again beyond the river."
26. Hayes-McCoy 1990, p. 250: "Major-General John Hamilton commanded the second line."
27. Burke 1869, p. 3, left column, line 27: "John, Colonel in the army of James II., killed at the battle of Aughrim."
28. Doherty 1998, p. 181: "... two major-generals (Dorrington and John Hamilton), a brigadier and another nine colonels were captured. Hamilton later died from wounds."
29. Boulger 1911, p. 244: "... Major-General John Hamilton, who died at Dublin soon after of his wounds ..."
30. O'Hart 1892, p. 584: "CANA, a younger brother of Donal ... was the ancestor of MacCana (anglicised McCann) Lords of Clanbrassil, county Armagh."
31. Clark 1921, p. 107, Note 5: "Lord Hamilton left a widow (de l'encienne illustre maison de Macan seigneur du Clanbrazil dans le Comté d'Armac en Irlande) and one daughter, Margaret, who married a Comte de Marmier in France."
33. Burke 1949, p. 3, right column, line 4: "... He [George Hamilton] d. 1679. She d. Aug 1680 ..."
34. Smyth 1839, p. xiii, line 20: "James II. . [Accession] 6 February, 1685"

• Boulger, Demetrius Charles (1911), The Battle of the Boyne, London: Martin Secker
• Boyle, John (1867), The Battle-fields of Ireland, from 1688 to 1691, New York: Robert Coddington
• Burke, Bernard (1869), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (31st ed.), London: Harrison (for John)
• Burke, Bernard (1949), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (99th ed.), London: Burke's Peerage Ltd.
• Clark, Ruth (1921), Anthony Hamilton: his Life and Works and his Family, London: John Lane
• Cokayne, George Edward (1910), Gibbs, Vicary (ed.), The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, 1 (2nd ed.), London: St Catherine Press – Ab-Adam to Basing
• Debrett, John (1816), Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1 (10th ed.), London: F. C. and J. Rivington – England
• Debrett, John (1828), Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 2 (17th ed.), London: F. C. and J. Rivington – Scotland and Ireland
• Doherty, Richard (1998), The Williamite Wars in Ireland, 1688–1691, Dublin: Four Courts, ISBN 1851823743 (Snippet view)
• Hayes-McCoy, Gerard Anthony (1990), Irish Battles: A Military History of Ireland, Belfast: The Appletree Press, ISBN 0-86281-250-X
• Metcalfe, William Musham (1909), A History of Paisley, Paisley: Alexander Gardner
• Millar, Alexander Hastie (1890), "Hamilton, James, first Earl of Abercorn (d.1617)", in Lee, Sidney (ed.), Dictionary of National Biography, 24, New York: MacMillan and Co., pp. 176–167
• O'Hart, John (1892), Irish Pedigrees, 1 (5th ed.), Dublin: John Duffy & Co.
• Sergeant, Phillip (1913), Little Jennings and Fighting Dick Talbot: A Life of the Duke and Duchess of Tyrconnel, 1, London: Hutchinson
• Sewall, Samuel (1878), Diary of Samuel Sewall, 1, Boston, Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Historical Society
• Smyth, Constantine (1839), Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland, London: Henry Butterworth (for Table of reigns)