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 ...

Thomas Tollemache (12 June 1694) was an English Army officer and politician. Beginning his military career in 1673, in 1686 he resigned his commission in protest at the commissioning of Catholic officers into the Army by

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

. A supporter of military intervention by the Protestant William of Orange against James II, in early 1688 he joined a regiment of the Anglo-Scots Brigade, a mercenary unit in the

Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army () was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This army was brought to such a size ...

. In November 1688, he accompanied William to England in the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

and shortly afterwards became

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 the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards and MP for

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

. He fought in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and

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 ...

during 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 ...

, as well as being appointed Governor of Portsmouth in 1690 and elected for

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...

in 1692. In 1694, he was badly wounded at the Battle of Camaret; he died of his injuries on 12 June and was buried in St Mary's Church,

Helmingham Helmingham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 12 miles (20 km) east of Stowmarket, and 12 miles north (20 km) of Ipswich. It has a population of 170, increasing to 186 at the 2011 Census. It ...

Early life

Thomas Tollemache was born in 1651, second son of Sir Lionel Tollemache (1624–1669) of

Helmingham Hall Helmingham Hall is a moated manor house in Helmingham, Suffolk, England. It was begun by John Tollemache in 1480 and has been owned by the Baron Tollemache, Tollemache family ever since. The house is built around a courtyard in typical late med ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and Elizabeth, 2nd Countess of Dysart, whose second husband was John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale. Tollemache never married.

Military career

According to his own account, Tollemache spent several years travelling in Europe before returning to England in 1668, when he attended

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

, followed by legal training at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. Details of his early military career are unclear; by 1673 he was based in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

during the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

, where he served with John Churchill. In 1678, he was commissioned into the English Army at the rank of

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 ...

in the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, with which he served with the Tangier Garrison, along with

Percy Kirke Lieutenant-General Percy Kirke ( – 31 October 1691) was an English Army officer who was the son of George Kirke, a court official to Charles I and Charles II. Career In 1666 Kirke obtained his first Army commission in Lord Admiral's reg ...

and

Charles Trelawny Major General Charles Trelawny, also spelt 'Trelawney', (1653 – 24 September 1731) was an English soldier from Cornwall who played a prominent part in the 1688 Glorious Revolution, and was a Member of Parliament for various seats between 1685 ...

. Although he lost his commission after fighting a duel, in 1685 he was appointed lieutenant-colonel in the newly formed

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

. In 1686, he resigned in protest at the admission of Catholic officers by James II, and became a leading member of the "Treason Club", which supported armed intervention by the Protestant William of Orange on behalf of James' daughter

Mary II of England Mary II (30 April 1662 – 28 December 1694) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland with her husband, King William III and II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Sh ...

. He was also associated with the Association of Protestant Officers, whose members included Trelawny, Churchill and Kirke, all of whom opposed James. In early 1688, he joined one of the regiments in the Anglo-Scots Brigade, a long established mercenary unit in the Dutch army and accompanied William of Orange during the November 1688

. He was made governor of Portsmouth and colonel of the Coldstream Guards, as well as being elected MP for

in 1689. His regiment was posted to

during the

, seeing action at the

Battle of Walcourt The Battle of Walcourt was fought on 25 August 1689 during the Nine Years' War. The action took place near the ancient walled town of Walcourt near Charleroi in the Spanish Netherlands, and brought to a close a summer of uneventful marching, m ...

in August 1689. During 1691, he served in

as a major general, fighting 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 ...

and the sieges of

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. Following 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 ...

which ended the war, he returned to Flanders where he took part in the battles of Steenkirk and

Landen Landen () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Landen proper and the villages of Attenhoven, Eliksem, Eze ...

Death

In 1694 Tollemache led an assault on the port of Brest; warned of the proposed attack, the French under

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban Sébastien is a common French given name. It is a French form of the Latin name ''Sebastianus'' meaning "from Sebaste". Sebaste was a common placename in classical Antiquity, derived from the Greek word ''σεβαστος'', or ''sebastos'', mea ...

reinforced the garrison and strengthened the defences. The ensuing Battle of Camaret was disastrous for the English who were repulsed with heavy losses; Tollemache was wounded and later died of his injuries in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

on 12 June 1694. He was buried in the church of St Mary's at Helmingham.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tollemache, Thomas 1650s births 1694 deaths People from Mid Suffolk District Coldstream Guards officers Royal Fusiliers officers English generals Younger sons of earls Younger sons of baronets Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland English military personnel of the Nine Years' War 17th-century English soldiers Thomas Tollemache English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 Soldiers of the Tangier Garrison Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Military personnel from Suffolk English military personnel killed in action in the Nine Years' War