18th-century Scottish soldier and diplomat (1673?1747)
Field Marshal
John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair
,
KT
,
PC
(20 July 1673 – 9 May 1747) was a Scottish soldier and diplomat. He served in the
Nine Years' War
and the
War of the Spanish Succession
and, after a period as British Ambassador in Paris, became a military commander at the
Battle of Dettingen
during the
War of the Austrian Succession
.
Early military career
[
edit
]
Born the son of
John Dalrymple, 2nd Viscount Stair (and later 1st Earl of Stair)
and Elizabeth Dalrymple (nee Dundas), Dalrymple accidentally killed his brother in a shooting accident in April 1682 and thereafter spent most of his early life in the Netherlands where he studied at
Leiden University
.
[1]
He joined up as a volunteer for the
Nine Years' War
with the
Earl of Angus's Regiment
and fought at the
Battle of Steenkerque
in August 1692.
[2]
At Steenkerque he rallied his regiment several times when the ranks had been broken by cannon fire.
[3]
In 1695 he became Master of Stair when his father succeeded to the
Viscountcy of Stair
.
[4]
He was commissioned as a
lieutenant colonel
in the
3rd Foot Guards
on 12 May 1702 and fought with
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
during the
War of the Spanish Succession
at the Battle of Peer in August 1702 and the Battle of Venlo in September 1702.
[4]
At Venlo he also saved the life of the
Prince of Hesse-Kassel
.
[3]
He became Viscount Dalrymple in 1703 when his father was created 1st Earl of Stair.
[4]
In January 1706 he was appointed colonel of the Earl of Angus's Regiment.
[4]
He commanded a brigade at the
Battle of Ramillies
in May 1706 and, having been promoted to
brigadier general
on 1 June 1706,
[1]
became colonel of the
Grey Dragoons
on 24 August 1706.
[4]
He became 2nd Earl of Stair in January 1707 when his father died and later that year he was elected as one of sixteen
Scottish representative peers
in the newly formed
Parliament of Great Britain
.
[1]
He commanded a brigade at the
Battle of Oudenarde
in July 1708, the
Siege of Lille
in Autumn 1708 and then, having been promoted to
major general
on 1 January 1709, at the
Battle of Malplaquet
in September 1709.
[4]
In Winter 1709 the Duke of Marlborough sent him on a diplomatic mission to
Augustus II of Poland
.
[1]
He returned in time to take part in the
Siege of Douai
in April 1710.
[4]
Promoted to
lieutenant general
on 1 June 1710, he fought at the
Siege of Bouchain
in August 1711.
[4]
He was also appointed a Knight of the
Order of the Thistle
that year.
[3]
He was sent to
Flanders
to join the military campaign there in April 1712
[5]
and became colonel of the
Black Dragoons
on 9 April 1714.
[6]
Diplomatic service
[
edit
]
When King
George I
ascended to the throne in August 1714, Dalrymple was sent as an envoy to the Court of France at
Versailles
.
[1]
He was temporarily recalled on 20 November 1714 to take up the appointment of Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Scotland.
[7]
According to the
Duc de Saint-Simon
, Stair quickly established friendly relations with
Philippe II, Duke of Orleans
,
Regent
to the young King
Louis XV
, paving the way for the
Triple Alliance
.
[8]
During his time in Paris, Stair's spies effectively thwarted various "intrigues" by the
Jacobites
.
[9]
However, his intemperate hostility to the Scottish financier
John Law
, whom the Regent had appointed controller of Louis XV's finances, cost him the confidence of British government ministers.
[10]
From 1715 to 1720 Stair was based as ambassador at
Versailles
, where he was greatly inspired by the landscaping.
[11]
Stair retired from his position as ambassador in France in June 1720.
[12]
On his return to Scotland, Stair planted extensively on the Versailles model at his estates at both
Newliston
House and
Castle Kennedy
.
[13]
In 1729, he became
Vice Admiral of Scotland
, but lost the position on 5 May 1733,
[14]
mainly because of his opposition to the
Excise Bill
of 1733 promoted by
Prime Minister
Robert Walpole
.
[1]
He was promoted to full
general
, on the basis of seniority, on 27 October 1735
[15]
and also found time to lay out the gardens at Castle Kennedy in the 1730s.
[16]
War of the Austrian Succession
[
edit
]
On 20 March 1742, after Walpole had fallen from office, Dalrymple was promoted to
field marshal
.
[17]
On 17 April 1742 he was made
Governor of Minorca
[18]
and on 20 April 1742 took command of the "
Pragmatic Army
" sent to act with
Hanoverian
and
Austrian
forces in support of the
Pragmatic Sanction
to defend the succession of
Maria Theresa
to the Austrian monarchy.
[19]
He was appointed
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in South Britain
on 28 February 1743
[20]
and colonel of the
Black Dragoons
again on 30 April 1743
[21]
and led the allies to victory at the
Battle of Dettingen
in June 1743.
[22]
He retired from command of the army in Flanders at his own request on account of his advancing years in September 1743
[23]
and retired as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces to make way for General
George Wade
in 1745.
[24]
On 4 June 1745 he became colonel of the
Grey Dragoons
[25]
and on 14 June 1746 he became General of the
Marine Forces
.
[26]
His favourite residence was
Newliston
near
Kirkliston
in
Linlithgowshire
,
[27]
where he laid out gardens in the French style.
[28]
He died on 9 May 1747 at
Queensberry House
in
Edinburgh
and was buried in the family
vault
at
Kirkliston
.
[1]
Family
[
edit
]
In March 1708 he married
Lady Eleanor Primrose Campbell
, daughter of James Campbell, 2nd Earl of Loudoun. She already had four children and they had no children.
[4]
Sir
Walter Scott
's story
My Aunt Margaret's Mirror
is believed to have been based on efforts made by the Earl of Stair to get Lady Eleanor Primrose Campbell to marry him.
[1]
[4]
[29]
Stair wanted his earldom to pass to his nephew John Dalrymple; but on 4 May 1748 the House of Lords ruled that the right to nominate an heir had lapsed, and the earldom passed to the legal heir
James Dalrymple, 3rd Earl of Stair
.
[3]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair"
.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/7053
. Retrieved
7 May
2012
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- ^
Heathcote, p.97
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Stair"
. Electric Scotland
. Retrieved
7 May
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Heathcote, p.98
- ^
"No. 4988"
.
The London Gazette
. 5 April 1712. p. 1.
- ^
"No. 5319"
.
The London Gazette
. 9 April 1715. p. 2.
- ^
"No. 5279"
.
The London Gazette
. 20 November 1714. p. 2.
- ^
Duc de Saint-Simon, ch.35?37
- ^
"No. 5378"
.
The London Gazette
. 1 November 1715. p. 1.
- ^
Buchan, James
(2018),
John Law: A Scottish Adventurer of the Eighteenth Century
, MacLehose Press, London, p. 252 & 253,
ISBN
9781848666085
- ^
Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum p.12
- ^
"No. 5860"
.
The London Gazette
. 14 June 1720. p. 1.
- ^
Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum p.12
- ^
"No. 7192"
.
The London Gazette
. 1 May 1733. p. 1.
- ^
Heathcote, p.99
- ^
"Castle Kennedy"
. Visit Stranraer and the Rhins
. Retrieved
10 May
2012
.
- ^
"No. 8102"
.
The London Gazette
. 16 March 1741. p. 2.
- ^
"No. 8110"
.
The London Gazette
. 13 April 1742. p. 3.
- ^
"No. 8112"
.
The London Gazette
. 20 April 1743. p. 2.
- ^
"No. 8305"
.
The London Gazette
. 25 February 1743. p. 8.
- ^
"No. 8218"
.
The London Gazette
. 26 April 1743. p. 2.
- ^
"No. 8240"
.
The London Gazette
. 12 July 1743. p. 1.
- ^
"No. 8257"
.
The London Gazette
. 10 September 1743. p. 1.
- ^
Heathcote, p. 286
- ^
"No. 8437"
.
The London Gazette
. 12 July 1743. p. 4.
- ^
"No. 8544"
.
The London Gazette
. 10 June 1746. p. 8.
- ^
"Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for Newliston (F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882?4))"
. Vision of Britain
. Retrieved
2 April
2019
.
- ^
Historic Environment Scotland
.
"Newliston (GDL00298)"
. Retrieved
2 April
2019
.
- ^
"Lady Eleanor Primrose and the Conjurer of Canongate"
. Mysterious Britain. Archived from
the original
on 14 June 2012
. Retrieved
7 May
2012
.
Sources
[
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]
Further reading
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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