John Cope (soldier)
Encyclopedia
Sir John Cope KB
(1690–1760) was a British
general and member of parliament
. A successful officer in the Wars of the Spanish
and Austrian Succession
he is best known for his defeat at the Battle of Prestonpans
in 1745.
and from there joined the British Army
. He rose quickly, and was appointed a Knight of the Bath
(KB) for his performance in battle in Germany during the War of the Austrian Succession
.
He went on to serve as member of parliament for Queenborough
(1722-1727), Liskeard
(1727-34) and Orford
(1738-41).
In 1745 in his role as Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, Cope was in command of the government forces at the Battle of Prestonpans and was defeated by the Jacobite
army of Charles Edward Stuart
(Bonnie Prince Charlie) in 1745. This is commemorated by Adam Skirving
's heavily mythologized song Heigh! Johnnie Cowp, are ye wauken yet?
(Hey Johnnie Cope, are you awake yet?).
In his popular book The Life of Colonel Gardiner (1747), the author Philip Doddridge
alleged that when Cope surveyed the forces that Bonnie Prince Charlie had amassed against him, he chose to gain the dubious honour of being the first British general to deliver the news of his own defeat by fleeing the battle and leaving his men without a commander. However, Cope was later court-martialled and exonerated of such charges.
The Battle of Prestonpans
lasted approximately fifteen minutes, during which the Jacobites under Prince Charlie routed the hapless Hanoverian force.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(1690–1760) was a British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
general and member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. A successful officer in the Wars of the Spanish
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...
and Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
he is best known for his defeat at the Battle of Prestonpans
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian...
in 1745.
Life
Cope was educated at Westminster SchoolWestminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and from there joined 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...
. He rose quickly, and was appointed a Knight of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(KB) for his performance in battle in Germany during the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
.
He went on to serve as member of parliament for Queenborough
Queenborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Queenborough was a rotten borough situated on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.From 1572 until it was abolished by the great reform act of 1832, it returned two Members of Parliament. The franchise was vested in the freemen of the town, of whom there were more than 300. Its electorate was therefore one...
(1722-1727), Liskeard
Liskeard (UK Parliament constituency)
Liskeard was a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.- History :...
(1727-34) and Orford
Orford (UK Parliament constituency)
Orford was a constituency of the House of Commons. Consisting of the town of Orford in Suffolk, it elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote version of the first past the post system of election until it was disenfranchised in 1832.-History:...
(1738-41).
In 1745 in his role as Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, Cope was in command of the government forces at the Battle of Prestonpans and was defeated by the 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...
army of Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
(Bonnie Prince Charlie) in 1745. This is commemorated by Adam Skirving
Adam Skirving
Adam Skirving was a Scottish song writer. He became a farmer at Garleton Castle, near Haddington, and died in April 1803. He was buried at Athelstaneford...
's heavily mythologized song Heigh! Johnnie Cowp, are ye wauken yet?
Hey, Johnnie Cope, Are Ye Waking Yet?
Hey, Johnnie Cope, are Ye Waking Yet?, also Hey Johnnie Cope, are you awake yet?, Heigh! Johnnie Cowp, are ye wauken yet?, or simply "Johnny Cope" is a Scottish folk song....
(Hey Johnnie Cope, are you awake yet?).
In his popular book The Life of Colonel Gardiner (1747), the author Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge DD was an English Nonconformist leader, educator, and hymnwriter.-Early life:...
alleged that when Cope surveyed the forces that Bonnie Prince Charlie had amassed against him, he chose to gain the dubious honour of being the first British general to deliver the news of his own defeat by fleeing the battle and leaving his men without a commander. However, Cope was later court-martialled and exonerated of such charges.
The Report of the Board's proceedings was published in 1749. Anyone who scrutinizes it closely can only conclude that the Board was correct. What emerges from the pages is not, perhaps, the portrait of a military genius but one of an able, energetic and conscientious officer who weighed his options carefully and who anticipated - with almost obsessive attention to detail - every eventuality except the one which he could not have provided for in any case: that his men would panic and flee.- Martin B. Margulies, History of Scotland magazine.
The Battle of Prestonpans
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian...
lasted approximately fifteen minutes, during which the Jacobites under Prince Charlie routed the hapless Hanoverian force.