Welbore Ellis Doyle
Encyclopedia
Military Service
Welbore Ellis Doyle was born in 1758 in Dublin, brother of John DoyleJohn Doyle (British Army officer)
General Sir John Doyle, Bt, GCB, KCH was an officer in the British Army, which he joined in March 1771. He served with distinction in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars....
. He joined the army in 1770 as an Ensign in the 55th Foot, and was promoted Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in September 1773. He served in North America with his brother from 1775, seeing action in the American War of Independence. Elevated to Captain of the 55th Foot in November 1777. Under Rawden
Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings
Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings KG PC , styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762 and as The Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783 and known as The Earl of Moira between 1793 and 1816, was an Irish-British politician and military officer who served as...
he served at the Battle of Camden
Battle of Camden
The Battle of Camden was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War...
1781, then led a small force to raid Snow Island, March. He sailed back to the UK with his brother and Rawdon later that year, but was captured en-route by the French fleet, to be later exchanged. He was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the 105th Foot (former “Volunteers of Ireland”) in March 1782, but placed on half-pay after the peace. He was Military Envoy to Poland and Warsaw during the 1780s. Doyle was made Lieutenant-Colonel of the 14th Foot in March 1789, and commanded the regiment in the Flanders Campaign
Flanders Campaign
This feature refers to the conflict that took place during the Wars of the French Revolution 1792–1801.For the Low Countries campaigns of the War of the Grand Alliance 1688–97 see Nine Years' War...
under the Duke of York
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
in 1793. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Famars
Battle of Famars
The Battle of Famars was fought on 23 May 1793 during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. An Allied Austrian, Hanoverian, and British army under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeated the French Army of the North led by General François Joseph Drouet Lamarche...
22 May by leading an attack on an entrenched camp. After an initial rebuff from a French force that could be heard playing the patriotic march "Ça Ira
Ah! ça ira
"Ah ! ça ira" is an emblematic song of the French Revolution, first heard in May 1790. It underwent several changes in wording, all of which used the title words as part of the refrain.-Original version:...
" to urge on its men, Doyle ordered his own men to strike up the same tune, saying "We'll beat them to their own damned tune". The position was taken and the 14th Foot were ordered by York to henceforth use "Ça Ira" as their marching tune in honour of the occasion. Doyle was appointed Brigadier-General in November 1794, and promoted Major-General in February 1795. After the evacuation from Holland he joined the Royalist survivors of Quiberon
Invasion of France (1795)
The invasion of France in 1795 or the Battle of Quiberon was a major landing on the Quiberon peninsula by émigré, counter-revolutionary troops in support of the Chouannerie and Vendée Revolt, beginning on 23 June and finally definitively repulsed on 21 July...
at the Île d'Yeu
Île d'Yeu
Île d'Yeu is an island and commune just off the Vendée coast of western France.The island's two harbours, Port-Joinville in the north and Port de la Meule, located in a rocky inlet of the southern granite coast, are famous for the fishing of tuna and lobster....
with 4 British foot regiments & 3 Royalist cavalry units from September, commanding the total 5,000 men. He commanded the attack on Hedic and Houat
Houat
Houat is a French island off the south coast of Brittany in the department of Morbihan. It is located, along with two other major islands, in the entrance to the Baie de Quiberon. Its "twin sister" island is Hoëdic....
in August. Eventually this force was obliged to withdraw due to serious supply problems after the failure of the Vendeans to raise support. Doyle was Colonel of the 51st Foot November 1796-January 1798. He was then dispatched to India, spending some time at the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
1796. Appointed Military Commander in Chief at Ceylon after his arrival on 1 January 1797, he died there suddenly on 30 June aged 39.