Dillon's Regiment ( French: ''Régiment de Dillon'') was first raised in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1688 by Theobald, 7th Viscount Dillon, for the Jacobite side in the

Williamite War The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobite supporters of James II and those of his successor, William III, it resulted in a Williamite victory. It is generally viewed as a related conflic ...

. He was then killed at the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...

in 1691.

Williamite War

Dillon's Regiment was first raised as part of the Irish Army in 1688 by Theobald, 7th Viscount Dillon who was killed at the

. During the

the regiment went to France in April 1690 as part of Lord Mountcashel's Irish Brigade, in exchange for some French regiments amounting to 6,000 troops. After the

Treaty of Limerick The Treaty of Limerick (), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the Nine Years' War (1688–1697). It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commander ...

in 1691, the regiment remained in the service of the kings of France under its present name. It was next commanded in France by Theobald's younger son, Colonel Arthur Dillon, until 1733.

Jacobite rising of 1745

In November 1745, soldiers of Dillon's Regiment with other regiments of the Irish Brigade landed in Montrose, Scotland, in support of Prince

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

and the Jacobite uprising. Edward Dillon, 4th son of Count Arthur Dillon, had taken over as commander of the regiment after his brother James was killed at the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...

. The regiment was present during several battles of the uprising, including the Jacobite victories at

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

and

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

. Major Nicholas Glasgow of Dillon's Regiment commanded the Jacobite forces when the

Hanoverians The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

were defeated at the battle of Keith. He was captured at Culloden with most of the Irish Brigade who weren't captured at sea. Colonel Walter Stapleton, overall Commander of the Irish Brigade, was mortally wounded at Culloden while the brigade was making a brave stand, saving many lives. After the uprising,

Charles Radclyffe Charles Radclyffe (3 September 1693 – 8 December 1746), titular 5th Earl of Derwentwater, was one of the few English participants in the Risings of 1715 and 1745. The Radclyffes were Catholics from Northumberland, with long-standing links to ...

5th

Earl of Derwentwater Earl of Derwentwater (pronounced "Durwentwater") was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1688 for Francis Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater, Sir Francis Radclyffe, 3rd Baronet. He was made Baron Tyndale, of Tyndale in the Cou ...

, a Captain in Dillon's Regiment, was executed on December 8th, 1746 at

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

, London.

American War of Independence

In 1767 Arthur Dillon the great grandson of Theobald Dillon, 7th Viscount Dillon took command of the regiment. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the regiment participated in the Capture of Grenada, the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the second battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...

, the

Invasion of Tobago The Invasion of Tobago was a French invasion of the British-held island of Tobago during the Anglo-French War. On 24 May 1781, the fleet of Comte de Grasse landed troops on the island under the command of General Marquis de Bouillé. By 2 Jun ...

, and the Capture of Sint Eustatius. Detachments of the regiment were assigned to the French Fleet under Admiral

François Joseph Paul de Grasse François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, Marquis of Grasse-Tilly, KM (13 September 1722 – 11 January 1788) was a French Navy officer. He is best known for his crucial victory over the Royal Navy at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 during t ...

during the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1 ...

. After the victory at Yorktown, the fleet sailed south and Dillon's Regiment participated in the

Siege of Brimstone Hill The French invasion of Saint Kitts also known as the siege of Brimstone Hill, from 19 January–13 February 1782, was a part of the American Revolutionary War. After landing on Saint Kitts, the French troops of the Marquis de Bouillé stormed and ...

. Brigadier General Arthur Dillon was made Military Governor of

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...

after the victory at Brimstone Hill.

Shadow formations

(Henry) Dillon's Regiment: Émigré elements of the French regiment passed into William Pitt's British Catholic Irish Brigade in 1794. These elements comprised the greater part of the officers who had emigrated from France, and new recruits raised on the Dillon lands in Ireland. Henry Dillon, a brother of Arthur Dillon was given command of the regiment. However, on campaign in Jamaica and Haiti, it had such losses, mainly due to the unhealthy climate, that it was disbanded in 1798. The flags and ensigns were returned to Charles, Lord Dillon, head of the Dillon family in Ireland. (Edward) Dillon's Regiment: (Edward) Dillon's Regiment of Foot was raised in northern Italy in 1795, by Col. Edward Dillon, formerly of the Irish Brigade in France, to fight for the British in the Mediterranean.René Chartrand, Patrice Courcelle ''Émigré & foreign troops in British service (1), 1793-1802 (Men at Arms Series)''. Osprey Publishing, (1999), pp12-13.

References

{{Reflist

Williamite War

Jacobite rising of 1745

American War of Independence

Shadow formations

See also

References

Further reading