Home > John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier

He entered the army as a volunteer under the Duke of Marlborough. From 1702 to 1710 he was engaged, with distinction, in nearly every important battle and siege of the War of the Spanish Succession. He was one of the first to mount the breach at the siege of Liège , commanded a company at the battles of Schellenberg and Blenheim, and was present at Menin (where he led the storming of the covered way), RamilliesThe Battle of Ramillies was a major battle in the War of Spanish Succession, May 23, 1706. The Duke of Marlborough, leading English, Dutch, and German troops, decisively defeated a French army led by the duc de Villeroi at Ramillies-Offus, near Namur, on, OudenardeBattle of Oudenarde Conflict War of the Spanish Succession Date July 11, 1708 PlaceNear Oudenarde ResultDecisive Allied victory Combatants Allied Countries France Commanders Duke of Marlborough Duke of Burgundy, Duke of Vendome Strength 105,000 troops100, and MalplaquetThe Battle of Malplaquet was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession that took place on September 11, 1709 between France and a British- Austrian alliance (known as the Allies). The British and Austrians were led by the Duke of Marlborough and Princ (where he received twenty-three bullets through his clothing and remained unhurt). In 1712Events Treaty of Aargau signed between Catholic and Protestants. Introduced Protestant faith in Switzerland. Thomas Newcomen builds the first piston-operated steam engine at Tipton, Staffordshire, UK. Ongoing events Great Northern War ( 1700- 1721) War of, he became governor of Fort St. Philip, MinorcaMinorca Menorca both in Catalan and Spanish and increasingly in English usage; from Latin insula minor later Minorica "minor island") is one of the Balearic Islands Illes Balears Catalan official name, Islas Baleares in Spanish), located in the Mediterran, and in 1718Events May 15 James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun. July 21 Treaty of Passarowitz signed November 22 Off the coast of Virginia, English pirate Edward Teach (best known as " Blackbeard") is killed in battle when a British bo was adjutant-general of the troops employed in the VigoVigo is the largest city in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain. As of 2003 census, the population of the city of Vigo proper was 292,566, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 420,672, ranking as the 14th-largest urban area expedition, where he led the stormers of Fort Mann.

Two years later he became colonelColonel ( Ger: Oberst is a military rank, usually the highest below general grades, and just above Lieutenant Colonel. The word is pronounced similarly to "kernel". In the US military, a colonel in the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps is equivalent to a c of the Black Horse (now 7th Dragoon Guards), a command which he retained for 29 years. His regiment soon attained an extraordinary degree of efficiency. He was made brigadier in 1735, major general in 1739, and accompanied Lord Stair in the Rhine Campaign of 1742-1743. George II made him a Knight of the Bath on the field of Dettinger. At Fontenoy, Ligonier commanded the British foot, and acted throughout the battle as adviser to the Duke of Cumberland.

During the Forty-Five he was called home to command the British army in the Midlands, but in January 1746 was placed at the head of the British and British-paid contingents of the Allied army in the Low Countries. He was present at Roucoux ( October 11, 1746), and, as general of horse, at Val ( July 1, 1747), where he led the last charge of the British cavalry. In this encounter his horse was killed, and he was taken prisoner, but was exchanged in a few days. With the close of the campaign ended Ligonier's active career, but (with a brief interval in 1756-1757) he occupied various high civil and military posts to the close of his life.

In 1757 he was made, in rapid succession, commander-in-chief, colonel of the 1st Foot Guards (now Grenadier Guards), and a peer of Ireland under the title of Viscount Ligonier of Enniskillen, a title changed in 1762 for that of Clonmell. From 1759 to 1762 he was master-general of the Ordnance, and in 1763 he became Baron, and in 1766 Earl, in the English peerage. In the latter year he became field marshal. His younger brother, Francis, was also a distinguished soldier; and his son succeeded to his peerage.

See Combes, J. L. Ligonier, une étude (Castres, 1866), and the histories of the 7th Dragoon Guards and Grenadier Guards.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica