Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Francis Palmes (died 1719) was a noted favourite general of the

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was a British army officer and statesman. From a gentry family, he ...

. He served in Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse and Hugh Wyndham's Regiment of Carabiniers, eventually rising to become lieutenant-colonel of the latter regiment. He fought 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 ...

in command of a brigade. Often employed as a diplomatic envoy as well as a soldier, Palmes died at

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

in 1719.

Early life

Palmes was the second son of Francis Palmes of Carcraig and Elizabeth Taylor, daughter of Thomas Taylor of Ballyport, County Limerick. The Palmes family of Carcraig was a cadet branch of the

Palmes family The Palmes family of Naburn Hall, and the cadet branches of Lindley, North Yorkshire, Lindley Hall, North Yorkshire; Ashwell, Rutland; and Carcraig in Ireland, is an ancient English aristocratic family, noted for their adherence to Catholi ...

Naburn Naburn is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the eastern side of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse about south of York. According to ...

.''Yorkshire Life'', April - June 1952

Military career

Palmes began a lengthy military career shortly after the Revolution, being granted a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

's commission in Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse on 31 December 1688.Dalton, ''The Blenheim Roll'', p. 4. He served 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 ...

through the 1690s, becoming lieutenant-colonel of Hugh Wyndham's Regiment of Carabiniers on 2 January 1694. He saw service during the

War of the 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 E ...

. The

recommended Palmes for appointment to the rank of brigadier-general. On 1 January 1704 he was promoted to this rank, having already been commissioned as a brevet

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of horse on 1 July 1702. Palmes commanded a brigade as well as his regiment at the

, Wyndham himself serving in Portugal and being unable to lead the regiment.Dalton, ''The Blenheim Roll'', p. 20. Reports from the battle state that 'hardly anyone was more instrumental to the success of that day' than Palmes. A poem from 1707 recognised the close relationship between Palmes and the Duke of Marlborough and stated that Palmes was to marry Marlborough's illegitimate daughter and receive a portion of £10,000. He was promoted to major-general on 1 January 1707 and

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

on 1 January 1709. He served as colonel of his old regiment the carabineers from 1 October 1707 to 2 April 1712, then serving as colonel of a 'newly raised' regiment of dragoons from 22 July 1715 until his death.

Political positions

Palmes stood at the by-election on 23 January 1707 for West Looe and was successful. He did not stand for re-election in 1708.

Diplomatic missions

From February 1708 Palmes travelled extensively, undertaking mission to the United Provinces,

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

in order to concert measures with the allies, serving as the envoy to the

Duke of Savoy The titles of the count of Savoy, and then duke of Savoy, are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the House of Savoy held the county. Several of these rulers ruled as kings at ...

in 1709. He became envoy to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1718. He died at

on 4 January 1719.Dalton, ''The Blenheim Roll'', p. 5.

Notes and citations

Notes

Citations

References

* Dalton, Charles (2006). ''The Blenheim Roll 1704''. Naval & Military Press.

External links

Sir Guy Palmes, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain, John Burke, 1835Appointment of Palmes in Rutland, Record Office Catalog, Leicestershire County CouncilParliamentary Pardon of Guy Palmes
British History Online
Palmes-Lindley family memorial, Otley, Yorkshire
Flickr.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmes, Francis Year of birth unknown 1719 deaths British Army lieutenant generals Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1707–1708 British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Holy Roman Emperor