John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton ( – 3 July 1674) was a professional soldier and mercenary from

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Beginning his career in the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

, during the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...

he fought for the Covenanters and Parliamentarians until 1648, when he switched sides to the

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

. One of his colleagues in the 1639 to 1640 Bishops' Wars was Montrose, who later became a Royalist. Despite their similar backgrounds and views, Middleton pursued him with considerable vigour, reportedly because his father died when Montrose's men set fire to his house. Middleton supported the Royalists in the

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

and

Third English Civil War Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * H ...

s and took part in the unsuccessful 1654

Glencairn's rising Glencairn's rising was a Royalist revolt in Scotland against the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell from 1653 to 1654. It was led by William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn (1610–1664), who was given command of the Royalist forces in Scotland ...

. Rewarded by being appointed Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland after the 1660

Stuart Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to ...

, he fell out with his political colleagues and was removed from office in 1663. However, viewed by Charles II as a capable and reliable soldier, he was compensated with two key strategic commands, first

Rochester Castle Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Situat ...

, then English Tangier where he died in July 1674.

Personal details

Born around 1608, John was the eldest son of Robert Middleton of Caldhame and his wife Catherine Strachan; his younger brother Alexander and nephew George both served as Principal of

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

great uncle of George's son John Middleton; and great-great uncle of

Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, PC (14 October 172617 June 1813) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action during the Seven Years' War. Middleton was given command of a guardship at the Nore, a Roy ...

Military career

In early life Middleton served as a soldier in France; later he fought against

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

both in England and in Scotland, being especially prominent at the

Battle of Philiphaugh The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13 September 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Royalist army of the Marquis of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, ...

and in other operations against

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier, Lord Lieutenant, lord lieutenant and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wa ...

. Middleton held a high command in the

Engager The Engagers were a faction of the Scottish Covenanters, who made "The Engagement" with King Charles I in December 1647 while he was imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle by the English Parliamentarians after his defeat in the First Civil War. Back ...

army which took part in the

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641� ...

and was taken prisoner at the Battle of Preston in August 1648. He joined Charles II when he arrived in Scotland in 1650 to be crowned, but fell out with the ruling

Kirk Party The Kirk Party were a radical Presbyterian faction of the Scottish Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They came to the fore after the defeat of the Engagers faction in 1648 at the hands of Oliver Cromwell and the English Parlia ...

and was compelled to do public penance at

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. He commanded the Royalist cavalry at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...

in August 1651 and was captured before escaping to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 1653, Middleton was chosen to lead a projected Scottish rising; he reached Scotland in February 1654, but the participants were deeply divided and the revolt ended in defeat at the Battle of Dalnaspidal in July. He remained in Scotland until 1655 when he rejoined the exiled court and was created Earl of Middleton in 1656, with the subsidiary title of Lord Clermont and Fettercairn. He was made colonel of a Scottish infantry regiment in the

Royalist Army in Exile The Royalist Army in Exile was the army formed by those loyal to Charles II from 1656 to 1660 during his exile from the throne. They were a mixture of Royalist troops from his three Kingdoms including men from England and Scotland, with the bulk ...

, although actual command was exercised by Lord Newburgh.Barratt, John. ''Better Begging Than Fighting': The Royalist Army in Exile in the War Against Cromwell 1656-1660''. Helion, 2016. p.30-32

Political career

Following the

in May 1660, Middleton was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops in Scotland and Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland, which he opened in January 1661. His extreme Royalism led to a political struggle with the

Earl of Lauderdale Earl of Lauderdale is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The current holder of the title is Ian Maitland, 18th Earl of Lauderdale. The title was created in 1624 for John Maitland, 2nd Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire. The second Ea ...

and in 1663 he was deprived of his offices. He then served as Lieutenant-General of the Kent militia and Governor of Rochester Castle from 1663 until 1668, before being appointed governor of English Tangier in 1670, acquired when Charles married

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to King Charles II, which lasted from 21 May 1662 until his death on 6 February 1685. She ...

. he died there on 3 July 1674 of injuries sustained by falling down the stairs after a drinking bout.

Family

John Middleton married (contract July 1639), Grizel Durham, who died in September 1666. They had five children together: *

Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton, Jacobite 1st Earl of Monmouth, PC (1649/1650 – 9 August 1719) was a Scottish and English politician who held several offices under Charles II and James II & VII. He served as Secretary of State ...

(1649/1650–1719), married Lady Catherine Brudenell, daughter of Robert Brudenell, 2nd

Earl of Cardigan Earl of Cardigan is a title in the Peerage of England, currently held by the Marquesses of Ailesbury, and used as a courtesy title by the heir apparent to that Marquessate, currently David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan, son of the 8th M ...

, and Ann Savage, had children. * Lady Grizel Middleton, married

William Douglas, 9th Earl of Morton William Douglas, Earl of Morton (died before 1 November 1681) was a Scottish nobleman and Earl of Morton. He was the son of Robert Douglas, 8th Earl of Morton, and Anne Villiers. He succeeded as the 9th Earl of Morton on 12 November 1649. Willi ...

. One child who died in infancy. * Lady Helen Middleton, married

Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (29 May 1643 – 15 May 1695) was a Scottish peer and nobleman. He was the son of John Lyon, 2nd Earl of Kinghorne and his wife Lady Elizabeth Maule, daughter of Patrick Maule, 1st Earl of Panmu ...

. They had eight children. * Two daughters, names not known, who both died in 1669 unmarried and without issue. Middleton's second wife was Lady Martha Carey (1635/6–1706), married 16 December 1667 at St. Andrew's, Holborn, daughter of

Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, KB (15 January 1596 – 13 June 1661) was an English nobleman and translator. Life He was born in Denham, Buckinghamshire, to Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth, and Elizabeth Trevannion. He appears to have ...

and his wife Martha Cranfield. They had two children: * John Middleton (1668–1696). Died unmarried without issue. * Lady Elizabeth Middleton (1672–1748), married William Spelman. They had one child who died young.

References

Sources

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