James FitzGibbon was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 soldier and hero of the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

.

Born to Garrett (Gerald) FitzGibbon and Mary Widenham in Glin, County Limerick

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

, 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...

, he enlisted in the Knight of Glin

Knight of Glin

The Knight of Glin, also called the Black Knight, was a hereditary title in the Fitzgeralds of Limerick, Ireland since the early 14th century. The family was a branch of the FitzGerald dynasty or Geraldines, related to the Earls of Desmond , who were granted extensive lands in County Limerick by...

's Yeomanry Corps at age 15. Three years later, he joined the Tarbert Infantry Fencibles

Fencibles

The Fencibles were army regiments raised in the United Kingdom and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars in the late 18th century...

, an Irish

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...

 home service regiment, from which he was recruited into the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

's 49th Regiment of Foot as a private soldier. He first fought in battle in 1799 at Egmond aan Zee

Egmond aan Zee

Egmond aan Zee is a village on the North Sea coast in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 9 km west of Alkmaar....

, 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...

.