William Dorrington

William Dorrington was an English army officer of the seventeenth century, known for service in the Jacobite cause of James II. Dorrington rose to the rank of Major General in the Irish Army, fighting in the Williamite War.

Early career

From 1675 Dorrington gained experience as a Captain in a regiment of Anglo-Irish volunteers under the command of the Duke of Monmouth, serving with the French Army of Louis XIV in their war against the Dutch. From 1678 until 1686 he served as an officer of the English Army in peacetime duties.[1]

Ireland

In 1686 Dorrington transferred to the Irish Army as Lieutenant Colonel of the Irish Guards. Dorrington as a Roman Catholic took part in the purge of Protestant soldiers of the Irish Army overseen by the Viceroy the Earl of Tyrconell. Dorrington was even accused of going "too fast" in his haste to reform his regiment with fresh Catholic recruits.[2]

Dorrington remained loyal to James during the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when many senior officers in England defected to the invading force of William of Orange. The Irish Army under Tyrconnell prepared to fight for James, and were joined by a those loyalists who had fled from England and Scotland.

Dorrington was formally appointed as commander of the Irish Guards, succeeding the Protestant Duke of Ormonde. He was wounded at the Siege of Derry in 1689 and present at the Battle of the Boyne the following year.[3] After the Jacobite victory at the Siege of Limerick he was appointed by Tyrconnell as Governor of the city.[4] However he was captured at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691 and held as a prisoner in the Tower of London.[5]

Later career

After being released he returned to command the Irish Guards, now serving in Continental exile as part of the Flight of the Wild Geese. He was part of the Irish Army intended for the Invasion of England in 1692, but this was abandoned following a French naval defeat. After this he served in Flanders as part of the War of the Grand Alliance. Following the Peace of Ryswick which ended the war, his united was amalgamated into the Irish Brigade of the French Army and were known as Dorrington's Regiment.[6]

Promoted to Lieutenant General, he served the French during the War of the Spanish Succession and saw action at the Battle of Ramillies in 1706 and the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709. In 1716 he was made Earl of Macclesfield in the Jacobite Peerage, a title that was not recognized in Britain. He died in Paris in 1718.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Childs. The Army, James II, and the Glorious Revolution. p.71
  2. ↑ Childs The Army, James II, and the Glorious Revolution p.64
  3. ↑ D'Alton p.417-18
  4. ↑ Childs The Williamite Wars in Ireland. p.259
  5. ↑ Childs The Army, James II, and the Glorious Revolution p.71
  6. ↑ D'Alton p.418-19
  7. ↑ D'Alton p.419

Bibliography

  • D'Alton, John. King James's Irish Army List. The Celtic Bookshop, 1997.
  • Childs, John. The Army, James II and the Glorious Revolution. Manchester University Press, 1980.
  • Childs, John. The Williamite Wars in Ireland. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007.


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