General William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan, ( – 17 July 1726) was a British army officer, diplomat and Whig politician. He began his military career during the Williamite War in Ireland in 1689 and ended it with the suppression of the Jacobite rising of 1715. A close associate and confidant of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Cadogan also sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1705 until 1716, when he was raised to the peerage of Great Britain as Baron Cadogan. A strong supporter of the Hanoverian Succession, Cadogan succeeded Marlborough in 1722 as Master-General of the Ordnance and senior army commander.
Early life
William Cadogan was born in his family's estate of Liscartan in County Meath. He was the son of the Anglo-Irish barrister Henry Cadogan and his wife Bridget. Cadogan was one of five children, including two brothers Ambrose and Charles and two sisters: Frances, who died young, and Penelope, who married Sir Thomas Prendergast.Watson p. 2 Cadogan's father served as high sheriff of County Meath and owned property in County Limerick. At the age of ten, Cadogan was sent to England to be educated at Westminster School, then run by Richard Busby. Cadogan's father intended him to take up a law career like himself and in March 1687 Cadogan was accepted as a student at Trinity College, Dublin.Alumni Dublinenses: a register of the students, graduates, professors and provosts of Trinity College in the University of Dublin (1593–1860), George Dames Burtchaell/Thomas Ulick Sadleir p. 125: Dublin, Alex Thom and Co., 1935.Watson p. 3
Williamite War in Ireland
Midway through Cadogan's studies the Glorious Revolution occurred when William of Orange invaded England in November 1688 and overthrew the Catholic James II, being crowned as William III in early 1689. In Ireland the largely Catholic Irish Army remained loyal to James as Jacobites while Irish Protestants declared their support for William as Williamites. In early 1689 the Williamite War in Ireland began and Ulster Protestants raised the Army of the North, which Cadogan joined as a cornet in a dragoon regiment. Though the Army of the North dispersed by mid-1689 after suffering repeated defeats at the hands of Irish Army troops, Cadogan subsequently took part in the successful defence of Enniskillen against the Irish army.Watson pp. 4–7
Following the relief of Derry and Enniskillen in July by a Williamite expeditionary force under Major-general Percy Kirke, Cadogan joined James Wynne's Regiment of Dragoons as an officer and served with the regiment for the rest of the war.Watson pp. 4–7 Cadogan was present at Dundalk Camp during the autumn of 1689 when Dutch and Williamite troops under William III suffered heavy casualties from disease. On 1 July 1690 Cadogan fought at the Battle of the Boyne, a major victory in which William III personally led his forces to victory over a Jacobite army, resulting in the capture of Dublin.Watson p. 7 In September Cadogan took part in the siege of Cork where he served alongside Lieutenant-general Lord Marlborough. It was possible at this siege that Cadogan, though only a junior officer, came to the attention of his future commander through his conduct.Watson p. 8
Following the decisive Williamite victory at the siege of Limerick in October 1691, which ended the war, Cadogan served in Ireland for a further three years, having decided to become a professional soldier rather than return to his law studies. In 1694 he joined the English Army by purchasing a captaincy in Thomas Erle's Regiment of Foot, which was then stationed in Flanders as part of the Nine Years' War. In 1695 Cadogan took part in the siege of Namur, an important Grand Alliance victory. Following the 1697 Peace of Ryswick he returned to Ireland where in 1698 Cadogan was promoted to major in James Wynne's Regiment of Dragoons, which had been renamed Charles Ross' Regiment of Dragoons in 1695 after its new colonel.Churchill, Marlborough:His Life and Time; Book 1, p. 465
War of the Spanish Succession
In March 1701 the War of the Spanish Succession broke out and in June Cadogan was appointed as quartermaster general to Marlborough when the latter was chosen to command the British troops in the Low Countries.Chandler, Marlborough as Military Commander; p. 70 In July Cadogan accompanied Marlborough and William III to Holland.Watson p. 17 Though England had not yet officially entered the war military preparations were already underway, and Cadogan learnt to speak Dutch during this period, having earlier become fluent in French. During his time in Amsterdam he fell in love with the Dutch heiress Margaretta Munter and married her two years later.Watson p. 20
England officially entered the war in May 1702 following William III's death and Queen Anne's ascension to the English throne. Cadogan was appointed as Marlborough's chief of staff and soon became a trusted figure to his commander. Demonstrating a flair for logistics and administration, Cadogan also came to oversee intelligence-gathering operations. In October an Anglo-Dutch army under Marlborough captured Liège from France which resulted in the French Royal Army retreating behind the Mehaigne river. For his services in the campaign which led to the city's capture Cadogan was made colonel of his own regiment of horse.Watson p. 21
In early 1704 Cadogan returned to England to organise reinforcements to send to the continent, having an audience with Queen Anne in London before returning to the Dutch Republic.Watson p. 26 Following his return he was one of the few men entrusted with the truth of Marlborough's march to the Danube from the Spanish Netherlands and played a major role in organising it.Spencer, Blenheim:Battle for Europe; p 131Spencer, Blenheim:Battle for Europe; p 141 Writing that "This march has hardly left me time to eat or sleep", Cadogan fought at the Battle of Schellenberg on 2 July, where his horse was shot out from under him. He subsequently fought at the Battle of Blenheim on 13 August as part of Marlborough's battlefield staff. On 25 August Cadogan was promoted to brigadier general.Watson p. 38
On 11 May 1705 Cadogan was elected to the House of Commons for Woodstock and on 18 July he fought at the Battle of Elixheim, where his regiment led a successful charge against the Bavarian Army. Later in the year Cadogan was sent to Vienna and then Hanover as a diplomatic envoy to Austria and the Electorate of Hanover. On the morning of 23 May 1706 Cadogan commanded the Allied army's scouts which located a French army, beginning the Battle of Ramillies; he acted as a senior messenger for Marlborough during the battle.Falkner, Great and Glorious Days, p. 98Churchill, Marlborough:His Life and Times; Book 2, pp. 111–2 Immediately after the battle Cadogan occupied Ghent with a force of infantry and cavalry along with successfully demanding Antwerp's Franco-Spanish garrison to evacuate the city.
Promoted to major general on 1 June 1706 Cadogan was captured by French troops while scouting their positions on 16 August and taken as a prisoner to Tournai. Marlborough was distressed when he heard that Cadogan was missing, proclaiming "I shall not be quiet till I know his fate". Within two days an exchange had been agreed upon, with Cadogan being released on parole the day after the agreement and eventually being exchanged for a French general captured at Ramillies.Webb p. 143 In late 1706 he played a leading role in preparing the Allied army to go into winter quarters and in February 1707 Cadogan explained English military plans to the Dutch field deputies before being appointed as England's ambassador to the Dutch Republic later in the year; Cadogan retained his military appointments and was rarely present at the Hague.
In February 1708 Cadogan supervised at Ostend the embarkation of ten British cavalry regiments for England to defend against the planned French invasion of Britain. On 11 July 1708 he commanded the Allied vanguard at the Battle of Oudenarde, crossing the River Scheldt and capturing four French battalions.Falkner, Great and Glorious Days, p. 140Churchill Marlborough:His Life and Times; Book 2, p 375 In late 1708 Cadogan oversaw the delivery of supplies to the Anglo-Dutch army besieging Lille and on 1 January 1709 was promoted to lieutenant-general. On 11 September he fought at the Battle of Malplaquet before participating in the siege of Mons, where he was wounded in the neck but quickly recovered.Chandler, Marlborough as Military Commander; p. 267 In December 1709 he was appointed as the Lieutenant of the Tower of London. During the siege of Bouchain Cadogan again commanded the Allied vanguard and established a bridgehead prior to Marlborough's arrival with the main army.Hussey, Marlborough; p. 209
Cadogan was present at a diplomatic conference with the field deputies at the Hague in January 1710. Having been replaced as ambassador to the Dutch Republic by Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend in 1709, much to Marlborough's displeasure, Cadogan returned to his staff duties and in mid-1710 participated in the siege of Douai before commanding several cavalry squadrons at the siege of Bouchain in 1711. The capture of Bouchain proved to Marlborough's last engagement as both he and his fellow Whig Cadogan were becoming rapidly unpopular among the Tory Harley ministry, who accused the pair of being war profiteers. When Marlborough was replaced by Captain-general Lord Ormonde in 1712 Cadogan was not given a command but successfully requested to stay in the field as a quartermaster general. When British troops in the Low Countries were recalled to Britain Cadogan retired to the Dutch Republic, with Marlborough following him in November 1712.
Exile
Cadogan's retirement had cost him his rank, positions and emoluments under the Crown. He was strongly opposed to the terms of the Peace of Utrecht which the Harley ministry agreed to, siding with opposition Whigs who called for "No Peace Without Spain". During Marlborough's voluntary exile during the last years of Queen Anne's reign Cadogan accompanied him and often acted as a go-between to maintain Marlborough's links with Britain.Churchill, Life and Times, Book 2, p. 983 When George I of Hanover succeeded to the British throne in 1714 he reinstated Cadogan to his military offices. Marlborough was reappointed commander-in-chief, although as his deputy Cadogan had increasingly to take on much of Marlborough's workload. Cadogan was rewarded by the new regime by being again made the ambassador to the Dutch Republic. He was tasked with restoring Anglo-Dutch relations which had been badly damaged by Britain's withdrawal from the War of the Spanish Succession in 1712. Cadogan oversaw negotiations for a fresh Barrier Treaty which was concluded in 1715.
Jacobite rising of 1715
In 1715 he replaced Lieutenant-general John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll as commander of the troops involved in suppressing the Jacobite rising of 1715.Falkner, Great and Glorious Days; p. 200, n 36 The rebellion had broken out in Autumn 1715 in the Scottish Highlands. Argyll, then serving as the Commander-in-Chief, Scotland, led the initial attempts to defeat the Jacobite rebels from his position at Stirling Castle. In November Argyll fought an intense but indecisive battle against the Jacobites at the Battle of Sherrifmuir, after which it was decided in London that he was insufficiently committed to the Hanoverian cause.