General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Joseph Sabine (c. 1661 – 24 October 1739) was a British Army officer who fought in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

, the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

and the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

. He was later a politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1727 to 1734, becoming Governor of Gibraltar in 1730.

Early life

Sabine was probably the son of Walter Sabine and grandson of Avery Sabine, alderman and mayor of Canterbury, who died in 1648. He joined the army at the time of the Glorious Revolution. In 1690 he married Hester Whitfield, daughter of Henry Whitfield, who, after having three sons who all died young, herself died at the age of 24.

Military career

Sabine was appointed captain lieutenant to Sir Henry Ingoldsby's regiment of foot on 8 March 1689 and became captain of the Grenadier company before 18 October 1689. He served in Ireland under William III and was granted estates in

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. On 13 July 1691, he became major of Colonel Charles Herbert's regiment. He took part in William III's campaigns in the Low Countries, during the

and became lieutenant colonel on 6 July 1695 and fought at the Siege of Namur. Sabine served with the 23rd or

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...

in the

. He obtained the brevet rank of colonel on 1 January 1703. Under Marlborough he was wounded on 2 July 1704 at the

Battle of Schellenberg The Battle of Schellenberg took place on 2 July 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement was part of the John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Duke of Marlborough's campaign to save the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg capital ...

and on 1 April following became colonel of his regiment. He commanded his regiment at the

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (; ; ) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, thus preventing the collapse of the reconstituted G ...

.Joseph Sabine at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> He took part in the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand AllianceAustria, England, and the Dutch Republicthe battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon armies of K ...

, being stationed with the fusiliers on the right of the English line. On 1 January 1707 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. At the

Battle of Oudenarde The Battle of Oudenarde, also known as the Battle of Oudenaarde, was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession, pitting an Anglo-Dutch force consisting of eighty thousand men under the command of the Duke of Marlborough, Lord Ove ...

on 11 July 1708, he led the attack on the village of Heynam. Afterwards he took part in the siege of Lille that same year. On 1 January 1710 he was appointed major-general, and was given command of the Citadel at

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, where he had to put down a mutiny in 1712. He married as his second wife Margaretta Newsham in 1711. When peace was concluded, Sabine returned with his regiment to England. In 1715 he purchased the estate of

Tewin Tewin is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England between the towns of Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Welwyn (village) and the county town Hertford. It is within commuting distance of London with trains taking under 30 minutes from W ...

in Hertfordshire and rebuilt the house in the following year. Then in 1716 he commanded a brigade sent to confront the

Pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term may often be used to either refer to a descendant of a deposed monarchy or a claim that is not legitimat ...

's army at

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Later that year he became Commander of the British Army throughout

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. in May 1716. In July, the

John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl, , (24 February 1660 – 14 November 1724) was a Scottish nobleman, politician, and officee. He served in numerous positions during his life, and fought in the Glorious Revolution for William III and Mary II. E ...

, complained of 'the conduct of General Sabine and other King's officers, in regard to rebel prisoners and ... of the plundering and other impositions made by the troops' in Perthshire. In 1719 he was appointed Governor of Berwick and of Holy Island.

Political career

At the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

, Sabine was returned on the Government interest as Member of Parliament for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. He voted with the Government until he was appointed

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of ...

in 1730, having been promoted to General. He did not stand at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scot ...

. Sabine died at Gibraltar on 24 October 1739. His portrait was painted by

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723) was a German-born British painter. The leading Portrait painting, portraitist in England during the late Stuart period, Stuart and early Georgian eras ...

in 1711 and engraved by Faber in 1742.

References

Robert Beatson, ''A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
* Concise Dictionary of National Biography (1930) Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabine, Joseph 1660s births 1739 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British Army generals British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Governors of Gibraltar British MPs 1727–1734