James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde
Encyclopedia
James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde KG
KT
(29 April 1665 – 16 November 1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom of Ormonde. Like his grandfather the 1st Duke, he was raised as a Protestant, unlike his extended family
who held to the old religion.
, and grandson of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
, Butler was born in Dublin and was educated in France and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford
. On the death of his father in 1680 he became Earl of Ossory by courtesy and Baron Butler in fact. He obtained command of a cavalry regiment in Ireland
in 1683, and having received an appointment at court on the accession of James II
, he served against the Duke of Monmouth
at the Battle of Sedgemoor
(1685).
Having succeeded his grandfather as Duke of Ormonde in 1688, he joined William of Orange
, by whom he was made colonel of a regiment of horse-guards, which he commanded at the Battle of the Boyne
in 1690. In 1691 he served on the continent under William, and after the accession of Queen Anne
he became commander of the land forces co-operating with Sir George Rooke
in Spain, where he fought in the Battle of Cádiz
and the Battle of Vigo Bay
. Having been made a Privy Council
lor, Ormonde succeeded Rochester as Viceroy of Ireland in 1703, a post which he held till 1707.
On the dismissal of the Duke of Marlborough
in 1711, Ormonde was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
and Captain General
in his place, and allowed himself to be made the tool of the Tory
ministry, whose policy was to carry on the war
in the Netherlands
while giving secret orders to Ormonde to take no active part in supporting their allies under Prince Eugene of Savoy
.
Ormonde’s position as Captain-General made him a personage of much importance in the crisis brought about by the death of Queen Anne. Though he had supported the Glorious Revolution
of 1688, he had traditional Tory sympathies, and politically followed Lord Bolingbroke. During the last years of Queen Anne, Ormonde almost certainly had Jacobite
leanings, and corresponded with the Jacobite Court including his cousin, Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye
, who commanded a Jacobite regiment, and James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
. He joined Bolingbroke and Oxford, however, in signing the proclamation of King George I
, by whom he was nevertheless deprived of the captain-generalship.
on 21 June 1715, by Mr. Secretary Stanhope. At this point, the Duke was advised to avoid the impending storm of a Parliamentary prosecution, although it is possible that had he waited to stand his trial, he could have cleared himself from the imputed guilt. Nevertheless, he retired 8 August into France. For some time he resided with Bolingbroke. On 20 August he was attainted, his estate forfeited, and honours extinguished. On 26 June 1716, the Irish Parliament passed an act extinguishing the regalities and liberties of the county palatine
of Tipperary; for vesting his estate in the crown and for giving a reward of £10000 for his apprehension, should he attempt to land in Ireland. But the same parliament passed an act 24 June 1721, to enable his brother Charles Butler
, the Earl of Arran
, to purchase his estate, which he accordingly did. Nevertheless, the Earldom was never to recover the rights, privileges and revenues associated with its tenure of the County Palatine of Tipperary.
Ormonde settled in Spain
, where he was in favour at court and enjoyed a pension from the crown. He later took part in a Spanish plan to invade England and put James Francis Edward Stuart
on the British throne in 1719, but his fleet was disbanded by a storm near Galicia. Towards the end of his life he resided much at Avignon
, where he was seen in 1733 by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Ormonde died on 16 November 1745, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
He served as the eighth Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin
between 1688 and 1715. His father was the sixth Chancellor.
and Mary Capel. There was no legitimate male issue from either marriage.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
KT
Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
(29 April 1665 – 16 November 1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom of Ormonde. Like his grandfather the 1st Duke, he was raised as a Protestant, unlike his extended family
Butler dynasty
Butler dynasty refers to the several branches of the Butler family that has its origins in the Cambro-Norman family that participated in the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. Variant spellings include le Boteler and le Botiller. The surname has its origins in the hereditary office of...
who held to the old religion.
Military career
Born the son of Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory and his wife Emilia von Nassau, Countess of OssoryEmilia von Nassau, Countess of Ossory
Emilia van Nassau-Beverweerd, Countess of Ossory was a Dutch-Anglo courtier.Emilia was born in Holland, the daughter of Lodewijk van Nassau, Lord of Beverweerd, the Governor of 's-Hertogenbosch, and his wife Isabella, Countess of Hornes.Her elder sister Elisabeth van Nassau-Beverweerd became the...
, and grandson of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the second of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom. He was the friend of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who appointeed him commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he...
, Butler was born in Dublin and was educated in France and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. On the death of his father in 1680 he became Earl of Ossory by courtesy and Baron Butler in fact. He obtained command of a cavalry regiment in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1683, and having received an appointment at court on the accession of James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, he served against the Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC , was an English nobleman. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter...
at the Battle of Sedgemoor
Battle of Sedgemoor
The Battle of Sedgemoor was fought on 6 July 1685 and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerset, England.It was the final battle of the Monmouth Rebellion and followed a series of skirmishes around south west England between the forces of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and the...
(1685).
Having succeeded his grandfather as Duke of Ormonde in 1688, he joined William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, by whom he was made colonel of a regiment of horse-guards, which he commanded at the Battle of the Boyne
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...
in 1690. In 1691 he served on the continent under William, and after the accession of Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
he became commander of the land forces co-operating with Sir George Rooke
George Rooke
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke was an English naval commander. He is known for his service in the wars against France and particularly remembered today for his victory at Vigo Bay and for capturing Gibraltar for the British in 1704.-Early life:Rooke was born at St Lawrence, near Canterbury...
in Spain, where he fought in the Battle of Cádiz
Battle of Cádiz (1702)
The Battle of Cádiz, fought in August/September 1702, was an Anglo-Dutch attempt to seize the southern Spanish port of Cádiz during the War of the Spanish Succession. The Andalusian city of Cádiz was the great European centre of the Spanish–American trade...
and the Battle of Vigo Bay
Battle of Vigo Bay
The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande , was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish port of Cádiz in September in an effort to secure a naval...
. Having been made a Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
lor, Ormonde succeeded Rochester as Viceroy of Ireland in 1703, a post which he held till 1707.
On the dismissal of the Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
in 1711, Ormonde was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
The Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, or just the Commander-in-Chief , was the professional head of the British Army from 1660 until 1904, when the office was replaced by the Chief of the General Staff, soon to become Chief of the Imperial General Staff . From 1870, the C-in-C was subordinate to...
and Captain General
Captain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...
in his place, and allowed himself to be made the tool of the Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
ministry, whose policy was to carry on the war
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
while giving secret orders to Ormonde to take no active part in supporting their allies under Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
.
Ormonde’s position as Captain-General made him a personage of much importance in the crisis brought about by the death of Queen Anne. Though he had supported the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688, he had traditional Tory sympathies, and politically followed Lord Bolingbroke. During the last years of Queen Anne, Ormonde almost certainly had Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
leanings, and corresponded with the Jacobite Court including his cousin, Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye
Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye
Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye, otherwise Viscount Galmoy, was an Anglo-Irish nobleman. He was descended from the 10th Earl of Ormond...
, who commanded a Jacobite regiment, and James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Fitz-James, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica was an Anglo-French military leader, illegitimate son of King James II of England by Arabella Churchill, sister of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
. He joined Bolingbroke and Oxford, however, in signing the proclamation of King George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
, by whom he was nevertheless deprived of the captain-generalship.
Treason
Parliament met on 17 March 1714. After taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715, he was impeached for high treasonHigh treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
on 21 June 1715, by Mr. Secretary Stanhope. At this point, the Duke was advised to avoid the impending storm of a Parliamentary prosecution, although it is possible that had he waited to stand his trial, he could have cleared himself from the imputed guilt. Nevertheless, he retired 8 August into France. For some time he resided with Bolingbroke. On 20 August he was attainted, his estate forfeited, and honours extinguished. On 26 June 1716, the Irish Parliament passed an act extinguishing the regalities and liberties of the county palatine
County palatine
A county palatine or palatinate is an area ruled by an hereditary nobleman possessing special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom or empire. The name derives from the Latin adjective palatinus, "relating to the palace", from the noun palatium, "palace"...
of Tipperary; for vesting his estate in the crown and for giving a reward of £10000 for his apprehension, should he attempt to land in Ireland. But the same parliament passed an act 24 June 1721, to enable his brother Charles Butler
Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran
Lieutenant-General Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran , de jure 3rd Duke of Ormonde was an Irish peer. His uncle Richard was the 1st Earl of Arran of the first creation. The titles were re-created for Charles in 1693. He was younger son of the 6th Earl of Ossory and Emilia von Nassau...
, the Earl of Arran
Earl of Arran
Earl of Arran is a title in both the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland. The two titles refer to different places, the Isle of Arran in Scotland, and the Aran Islands in Ireland...
, to purchase his estate, which he accordingly did. Nevertheless, the Earldom was never to recover the rights, privileges and revenues associated with its tenure of the County Palatine of Tipperary.
Ormonde settled in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, where he was in favour at court and enjoyed a pension from the crown. He later took part in a Spanish plan to invade England and put James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
on the British throne in 1719, but his fleet was disbanded by a storm near Galicia. Towards the end of his life he resided much at Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
, where he was seen in 1733 by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Ormonde died on 16 November 1745, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
He served as the eighth Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin
University of Dublin
The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...
between 1688 and 1715. His father was the sixth Chancellor.
Family
In 1682 he married Lady Ann Hyde. Then in 1685 he married to Lady Mary Somerset, Lady of the Bedchamber, daughter of Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of BeaufortHenry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort
Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, KG, PC was an English peer. He was styled Lord Herbert from 1646 until 3 April 1667, when he succeeded his father as 3rd Marquess of Worcester....
and Mary Capel. There was no legitimate male issue from either marriage.