GeneralHis Grace The Duke of Ormonde KG PC
Portrait byMichael Dahl
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
In office 19 February 1703 – 30 April 1707
Monarch	Anne
Preceded by	The Earl of Rochester
Succeeded by	The Earl of Pembroke
In office 26 October 1710 – 22 September 1713
Monarch	Anne
Preceded by	The Earl of Wharton
Succeeded by	The Duke of Shrewsbury
Personal details
Born	(1665-04-29)29 April 1665 Dublin,Leinster Ireland
Died	16 September 1745(1745-09-16) (aged 80) Papal Enclave of Avignon
Spouse(s)	Lady Anne Hyde Lady Mary Somerset
Children	4
Parent(s)	Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory Emilia van Nassau-Beverweerd
Awards	Knight of the Garter
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of England Kingdom of Great Britain Spain
Branch/service	English Army British Army Spanish Army
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Monmouth Rebellion Williamite War in Ireland Nine Years' War War of the Spanish Succession Jacobite rising of 1715

James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde,KG, PC (29 April 1665 – 16 September 1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit theearldom of Ormond. Like his grandfather, the 1st Duke, he was raised as aProtestant, unlike his extendedfamily who held to Roman Catholicism. He served in the campaign to put down theMonmouth Rebellion, in theWilliamite War in Ireland, in theNine Years' War and in theWar of the Spanish Succession but was accused oftreason and went into exile after theJacobite rising of 1715.

James was born on 29 April 1665 atDublin Castle. He was the second but eldest surviving son ofThomas Butler by his wifeEmilia van Nassau-Beverweerd.^[1] His father was known as Lord Ossory. He was heir apparent ofJames Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond but predeceased him and so never became duke. His father's family, theButler dynasty, wasOld English and descended fromTheobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland byKing Henry II in 1177.^[2] James's mother was Dutch. She descended from a cadet branch of theHouse of Nassau. Both parents were Protestant. They married on 17 November 1659.^[3]

They had eleven children.^[4]

He was educated in France and afterwards atChrist Church, Oxford.^[8] On the death of his father on 30 July 1680 he became Baron Butler in the English peerage and the 7th Earl of Ossory in the Irish Peerage.^[9] On 9 February 1683 he was admitted to theMiddle Temple, alongside his grandfather,James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, and several other peers.^[10]

He obtained command of a cavalry regiment inIreland in 1683,^[11] and having received an appointment at court on the accession ofJames II, he served against theDuke of Monmouth at theBattle of Sedgemoor in July 1685.^[12] Having succeeded his grandfather as2nd Duke of Ormonde on 21 July 1688, he was appointed aKnight of the Order of the Garter on 28 September 1688.^[13] In 1688 he also becameChancellor of the University of Dublin^[14] andChancellor of the University of Oxford.^[15]

In January and February 1689 he voted against the motion to putWilliam of Orange andMary on the throne and against the motion to declare that James II had abdicated it.^[16] Nevertheless, he subsequently joined the forces of William of Orange, by whom he was made colonel of theQueen's Troop of Horse Guards on 20 April 1689. He accompanied William in hisIrish campaign, debarking with him inCarrickfergus on 14 June 1690^[17] and commanded this troop at theBattle of the Boyne in July 1690.^[18] In February 1691 he becameLord Lieutenant of Somerset.^[19]

He served on the continent under William of Orange during theNine Years' War and, having been promoted tomajor-general, he fought at theBattle of Steenkerque in August 1692 and theBattle of Landen in July 1693, where he was taken prisoner by the French and then exchanged for theDuke of Berwick, James II's illegitimate son.^[20] He was promoted tolieutenant-general in 1694.^[21]

After the accession ofQueen Anne in March 1702, he became commander of the land forces co-operating withSir George Rooke in Spain, where he fought in theBattle of Cádiz in August 1702^[22] and theBattle of Vigo Bay in October 1702 during theWar of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714).^[23] Having been made aPrivy Councillor, Ormonde succeededLord Rochester asLord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1703.^[24] In 1704 he leased and rebuilt a property that became known asOrmonde Lodge inRichmond outsideLondon.^[25]

Following the dismissal of theDuke of Marlborough, Ormonde was appointedCommander-in-Chief of the Forces and colonel of the1st Regiment of Foot Guards on 4 January 1712^[26] andCaptain-General on 26 February 1712.^[27][28] In the Irish Parliament Ormonde and the majority of peers supported theTory interest.^[29]

He played a dramatic role at the notorious meeting of thePrivy Council on 8 March 1711 whenAntoine de Guiscard, a French double agent who was being questioned about his treasonable activities, attempted to assassinateRobert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford, against whom he had a personal grudge for drastically cutting his allowance, by stabbing him with a penknife (how he managed to get into the Council room with a weapon remains a mystery).^[31] Harley was wounded, but not seriously, due largely to the fact that he was wearing a heavy gold brocadewaistcoat, in which the knife got stuck. Several Councillors, including Ormonde, stabbed Guiscard in return.^[32] Guiscard implored Ormonde to finish the deed, but Ormonde replied that it was not for him to play the hangman.^[33] In any case, he had the sense to see that Guiscard must be kept alive at least long enough to be questioned, although as it turned out Guiscard's wounds were fatal and he died a week later.^[34]

On 23 April 1712 he leftHarwich forRotterdam to lead the British troops taking part in the war.^[35] Once there he allowed himself to be made the tool of the Tory ministry, whose policy was to carry on thewar in theNetherlands while giving secret orders to Ormonde to take no active part in supporting their allies underPrince Eugene.^[36] In July 1712 Ormonde advised Prince Eugene that he could no longer support the siege ofQuesnoy and that he was withdrawing the British troops from the action and instead intended to take possession ofDunkirk.^[37] The Dutch were so exasperated at the withdrawal of the British troops that they closed the towns ofBouchain onDouai to British access, despite the fact that they had plenty of stores and medical facilities available. Ormonde took possession ofGhent andBruges as well as Dunkirk, in order to ensure his troops were adequately provided for.^[38] On 15 April 1713 he becameLord Lieutenant of Norfolk.^[39]

Ormonde's position as Captain-General made him a personage of much importance in the crisis brought about by the death of Queen Anne and, during the last years of Queen Anne, Ormonde almost certainly hadJacobite leanings and corresponded with the Jacobite Court including his cousin,Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye, who kept barrels of gunpowder atKilkenny Castle.^[40]King George I on his accession to the throne in August 1714 instituted extensive changes and excluded the Tories from royal favour. Ormonde was stripped of his posts as Captain-General, as colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards and as Commander in Chief of the Forces with the first two posts going to the Duke of Marlborough^[41] and the role of Commander-in-Chief going to theEarl of Stair. On 19 November 1714 Ormonde was instead made a member of the reconstitutedPrivy Council of Ireland.^[42]

Accused of supporting theJacobite rising of 1715, during which the rebels had shouted "High church and Ormond",^[43] he was impeached forhigh treason byLord Stanhope on 21 June 1715.^[44] He might have avoided the impending storm of parliamentary prosecution, if he had remained in England and stood trial but instead he chose to flee to France in August 1715^[45] and initially stayed inParis withLord Bolingbroke.^[46] On 20 August 1715 he wasattainted by theAttainder of Duke of Ormonde Act 1714 (1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 17); his estate forfeited, and honours extinguished.^[47] TheEarl Marshal was instructed to remove the names and armorial bearings of Ormonde and Bolingbroke from the list of peers^[48] and Ormonde's banner as Knight of the Garter was taken down inSt George's Chapel.^[49]

On 20 June 1716, theParliament of Ireland passed theCounty Palatine of Tipperary Act 1715 (2 Geo. 1. c. 8 (I)), extinguishing the regalities and liberties of thecounty palatine of Tipperary; for vesting his estate in the crown^[50] and for giving a reward of £10,000 for his apprehension, should he attempt to land in Ireland.^[51] But the Parliament of Great Britain passed theCrown Lands (Forfeited Estates) Act 1720 (7 Geo. 1. St. 1. c. 22) on 24 June 1721 which enabled his brother,Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran, to purchase his estate, which he accordingly did.^[52]

Ormonde subsequently moved toSpain^[53] where he held discussions withCardinal Alberoni.^[54] He later took part in a Spanish and Jacobite plan to invade England and putJames Francis Edward Stuart on the British throne in 1719, but his fleet was disbanded by a storm in theBay of Biscay.^[55][56] In 1732 he moved toAvignon,^[57] where he was seen in 1733 by the writer,Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.^[58] Ormonde died at Avignon in exile on 16 November 1745, but his body was brought back to London and buried inWestminster Abbey on 22 May 1746.^[59][60]

On 20 July 1682 he, then called Lord Ossory, married Lady Anne Hyde, daughter ofLaurence Hyde, who was then Viscount Hyde of Kenilworth but became Earl of Rochester in November.^[61] The couple had a daughter, Mary, who died young in 1688.^[62]

Following the death of his first wife (which is known to have caused him intense grief) in 1685, Ossory planned to marry again, in order to secure a male heir. He gained permission from the House of Lords for the arranging of ajointure for another marriage in May 1685,^[63] and in August of that year, he marriedLady Mary Somerset,^[64] daughter of theDuke of Beaufort andMary Capel.^[65] The couple had a son, Thomas (1686–1689), and two daughters, Elizabeth (1689–1750) andMary (1690–1713).^[66] Ormonde's second wife was alady of the bedchamber to Queen Anne.^[67] Their younger daughter, Mary, marriedJohn Ashburnham, 1st Earl of Ashburnham.^[68]

• "No. 2386".The London Gazette. 27 September – 1 October 1688.
• "No. 4948".The London Gazette. 3–5 January 1711.
• "No. 4971".The London Gazette. 26–28 February 1711.
• "No. 4994".The London Gazette. 19–22 April 1712.
• "No. 5112".The London Gazette. 14–18 April 1713.
• "No. 5278".The London Gazette. 16–20 November 1714.
• "No. 5352".The London Gazette. 2–6 August 1715.
• "No. 5357".The London Gazette. 20–23 August 1715.
• "No. 5715".The London Gazette. 24–27 January 1719.
• "No. 5727".The London Gazette. 7–10 March 1719.
• "No. 5799".The London Gazette. 14–17 November 1719.

• Clarendon, Edward, Earl of (1736).A vindication of the conduct of James, Duke of Ormonde during his long and faithful administration in Ireland.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Faculty of Advocates (Scotland). Library (1867).Catalogue of the Printed Books in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates: A-Byzantium. 1867. Vol. 1. W. Blackwood and sons. p. 812.
• Murdoch, Tessa (ed.) (2022).Great Irish Households: Inventories from the Long Eighteenth Century. Cambridge:John Adamson, pp. 25–85ISBN 978-1-898565-17-8OCLC 1233305993.
• Wilson, Rachel (2015).Elite Women in Ascendancy Ireland, 1690–1745: Imitation and Innovation. Boydell and Brewer, Woodbridge.ISBN 978-1-7832-7039-2.

• Media related toJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde at Wikimedia Commons
• "Archival material relating to James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde".UK National Archives.

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