John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier
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John (Jean Louis) Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier, KB, PC (1680 - 1770) was a British military officer. He was born to a Huguenot family of Castres in the south of France, and who emigrated to England at the close of the 17th century.
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), Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet (where he received twenty-three bullets through his clothing and remained unhurt). In 1712, he became governor of Fort St. Philip, Minorca, and in 1718 was adjutant-general of the troops employed in the Vigo expedition, where he led the stormers of Fort Mann.
Two years later he became colonel 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 a brigadier general 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 Dettingen. 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 British 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. His private secretary and friend, Richard Cox, later became military agent for most of the armed forces and established Cox & Kings.
He spent his later years at Cobham Park in Cobham Surrey, where the unmarried Earl boasted a harem of young girls.
See Combes, J. L. Ligonier, une étude (Castres, 1866), and the histories of the 7th Dragoon Guards and Grenadier Guards.
| Military Offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Sybourg |
Colonel of Sir John Ligonier's Regiment of Horse (Black Horse) 1720–1749 |
Succeeded by John Mordaunt |
| Preceded by George Wade |
Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance 1748–1757 |
Succeeded by Lord George Sackville |
| Preceded by The Duke of Montagu |
Colonel of The Queen's Regiment of Dragoon Guards 1749–1753 |
Succeeded by William Herbert |
| Preceded by Vacant |
Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards Blue 1753–1758 |
Succeeded by Marquess of Granby |
| Preceded by Vacant |
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces 1757–1759 |
Succeeded by Vacant |
| Preceded by The Duke of Cumberland |
Colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards 1757–1770 |
Succeeded by The Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh |
| Preceded by Vacant |
Master-General of the Ordnance 1759–1763 |
Succeeded by Marquess of Granby |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Earl Ligonier 1766–1770 |
Succeeded by Extinct |
| Baron Ligonier 1763–1770 |
||
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Viscount Ligonier 1762–1770 |
Succeeded by Edward Ligonier |
| Viscount Ligonier 1757–1770 |
Succeeded by Extinct |
|
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
