John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier

Governor of Guernsey
Governor of Guernsey
	In office; 1750–1752
Member of Parliament; for Bath
	In office; 1748–1763
Personal details
Born	7 November 1680; Castres, France
Died	28 April 1770 (aged 89); North Audley St, London
Resting place	St Andrews, Cobham, Surrey
Relations	Francis Ligonier (1693–1746)
Awards	Knight of the Bath
Military service
Allegiance	Great Britain
Years of service	1702–1759
Rank	Field marshal
Unit	Colonel, 7th Dragoon Guards 1720–1749 ; Grenadier Guards 1757–1770
Battles/wars	War of the Spanish Succession Schellenberg; Blenheim; Ramillies; Oudenarde; Malplaquet; ; War of the Quadruple Alliance Capture of Vigo; ; War of the Austrian Succession Dettingen; Fontenoy; Rocoux; Lauffeld; ; Seven Years' War;

Commander-in-chief

in 1757.

During the Seven Years' War, he also served as Master-General of the Ordnance, effectively acting as Minister of War for the Pitt–Newcastle ministry. He retired from active duty in 1763 and died at his home in London on 28 April 1770.

Military career

The son of Louis de Ligonier, a member of a

Huguenot family of Castres in the south of France that had emigrated to England in 1697,^[2] and Louise Ligonier (née du Poncet), John Ligonier was educated in France and Switzerland.^[3] He joined a regiment in Flanders commanded by Lord Cutts in 1702.^[3]

He fought, with distinction, in the

Vigo expedition, where he led the stormers of Pontevedra.^[4]

Two years later he became

Knight of the Bath on the field of Dettingen in June 1743.^[4] At Fontenoy in May 1745, Ligonier commanded the British, Hanoverian, and Hessian infantry.^[3]

During the

Midlands.^[8] In November 1745 he led a column of troops sent to Lancashire to oppose the rebels.^[9] Having been promoted to the rank of general of horse on 3 January 1746,^[10] he was placed at the head of the British and British-paid contingents of the Allied army in the Low Countries in June 1746.^[11]

He was present at

Louis XV, but was exchanged within a few days.^[15] The official despatch reported:

it is impossible to commend too much the conduct of the generals both horse and foot. Sir John Legonier, who charged at the head of the British dragoons with that skill and spirit that he has shown on so many occasions, and in which he was so well seconded...^[15]

He became

Member of Parliament for Bath in March 1748^[12] and colonel of the 2nd Dragoon Guards in 1749.^[12] From 1748 to 1770 he was governor of the French Hospital.^[16]

On 6 April 1750 he was appointed

Governor of Guernsey^[17] and on 3 February 1753 he became colonel of the Royal Horse Guards.^[18]

Seven Years' War

In September 1757, following the disgrace of the

planned French invasion in 1759 though it never ultimately occurred.^[3] He stood down as commander-in-chief in 1759 and became Master-General of the Ordnance.^[3] He was given a further Irish peerage on 1 May 1762 as Viscount Ligonier of Clonmell (with remainder to his nephew) and on 19 April 1763 he became a Baron, and on 6 September 1766 an Earl, in the British peerage.^[21]

Retirement

He spent his later years at Cobham Park in Cobham, Surrey, which he bought around 1750.^[22] He died, still unmarried, on 28 April 1770 and was buried in Cobham Church.^[23] There is a monument to him, sculpted by John Francis Moore^[24] in Westminster Abbey.^[23]

The earldom became extinct but the Irish viscountcy and Cobham Park passed to his nephew Edward, who would also be created Earl Ligonier (but in the Irish peerage) six years later. Ligonier's younger brother, Francis, was also a distinguished soldier.^[3]

References

^ Heathcote 1999, p. 204.
^ ^a ^b Pilkington p. 546
^
doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/16653. Retrieved 1 May 2012. (Subscription or UK public library membership
required.)

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Heathcote p. 202
^ Clarke p. 45
^ Mayo p. 12
^ "No. 8200". The London Gazette. 22 February 1742. p. 3.
^ "No. 8484". The London Gazette. 12 November 1745. p. 10.
^ The Scots Magazine. Vol. 7. 1745. p. 535.
^ "No. 8602". The London Gazette. 1 January 1746. p. 1.
^ "No. 8548". The London Gazette. 24 June 1746. p. 5.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Heathcote p. 203
^ "No. 8728". The London Gazette. 15 March 1747. p. 1.
^ Browne, p. 153
^ ^a ^b Albemarle p. 358
^ Murdoch and Vigne, pp. 17 and 18.
^ "No. 8942". The London Gazette. 3 April 1750. p. 1.
^ "No. 9238". The London Gazette. 30 January 1753. p. 2.
^ ^a ^b "No. 9744". The London Gazette. 3 December 1757. p. 1.
^ Walpole p.267
^ Kimber p.185
^ "Ancient History of Cobham Park". andywebber.com. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
^ ^a ^b Heathcote p.204
^ Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660–1851 by Rupert Gunnis

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ligonier, John Ligonier, Earl". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 679.
DNB00: "Ligonier, John"
Albemarle, George (2009). Fifty Years of My Life. BiblioBazaar.
ISBN 978-1-103-47382-3
.

Browne, James (1838). A history of the Highlands and of the Highland clans, Volume 4. A. Fullarton & Co.

Clarke (2010). The Georgian Era: Military and Naval Commanders. Judges and Barristers. Physicians and Surgeons. BiblioBazaar.
ISBN 978-1-143-36646-8
.

Combes, Émile (1866). J. L. Ligonier, une étude. Castres.

Guy, Alan (1985). Oeconomy and discipline: officership and administration in the British army, 1714-1763. Manchester University Press.

Heathcote, Tony (1999). The British Field Marshals 1736–1997. Pen & Sword Books Ltd.
ISBN 0-85052-696-5
.

Kimber, Edward (1771). The new peerage, or, present state of the nobility of England, Scotland and Ireland, Volume 1.
Mayo, Lawrence Shaw (1916). Jeffrey Amherst: A Biography. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Murdoch, Tessa;
ISBN 978-0-9524322-7-2
.

Pilkington, Laetitia (1997). Memoirs of Laetitia Pilkington, Volume 1. University of Georgia Press.
ISBN 978-0-8203-1719-9
.

Rabaud, Camille (1893). Jean-Louis de Ligonier, généralisme des armées anglaises. Dole.

Walpole, Horace (1822). Memoires of the last ten years of the reign of George the Second, Volume 2. J. Murray.
ISBN 978-1-151-57118-2
.

Whitworth, Rex (1958). Field Marshal Lord Ligonier: A Story of the British Army, 1702-1770. Oxford.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by George Wade Robert Henley	William Pitt 1757–1763	Succeeded by William Pitt Sir John Sebright
Military offices
Preceded by Charles Sybourg	Colonel of Sir John Ligonier's Regiment of Horse (Black Horse) 1720–1749	Succeeded by John Mordaunt
Preceded by George Wade	Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance 1748–1757	Succeeded by Lord George Sackville
Preceded by The Duke of Montagu	Colonel of The Queen's Regiment of Dragoon Guards 1749–1753	Succeeded by William Herbert
Preceded by The Duke of Somerset	Governor of Guernsey 1750–1752	Succeeded by The Lord De La Warr
Preceded by The Earl of Dunmore	Governor of Plymouth 1752–1759	Succeeded by Richard Onslow
Vacant Title last held by The Duke of Richmond	Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards Blue 1753–1758	Succeeded by Marquess of Granby
Preceded by The Duke of Cumberland	Commander-in-Chief of the Forces 1757–1759	Vacant Title next held by Marquess of Granby
Preceded by The Duke of Cumberland	Colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards 1757–1770	Succeeded by The Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Preceded by Vacant	Master-General of the Ordnance 1759–1763	Succeeded by Marquess of Granby
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation	Earl Ligonier 1766–1770	Extinct
New creation	Baron Ligonier 1763–1770	Extinct
Peerage of Ireland
New creation	Viscount Ligonier 1757–1770	Extinct
New creation	Viscount Ligonier 1762–1770	Succeeded by Edward Ligonier

[FOOTNOTEHeathcote1999204-1] Heathcote 1999, p. 204.

[pilk-2] Pilkington p. 546

[odnb-3] 
doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/16653. Retrieved 1 May 2012. (Subscription or UK public library membership
required.)

[heath202-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Heathcote p. 202

[5] Clarke p. 45

[6] Mayo p. 12

[7] "No. 8200". The London Gazette. 22 February 1742. p. 3.

[8] "No. 8484". The London Gazette. 12 November 1745. p. 10.

[9] The Scots Magazine. Vol. 7. 1745. p. 535.

[10] "No. 8602". The London Gazette. 1 January 1746. p. 1.

[11] "No. 8548". The London Gazette. 24 June 1746. p. 5.

[heath203-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Heathcote p. 203

[13] "No. 8728". The London Gazette. 15 March 1747. p. 1.

[14] Browne, p. 153

[alb-15] Albemarle p. 358

[16] Murdoch and Vigne, pp. 17 and 18.

[17] "No. 8942". The London Gazette. 3 April 1750. p. 1.

[18] "No. 9238". The London Gazette. 30 January 1753. p. 2.

[gazette-19] "No. 9744". The London Gazette. 3 December 1757. p. 1.

[20] Walpole p.267

[21] Kimber p.185

[22] "Ancient History of Cobham Park". andywebber.com. Retrieved 6 March 2008.

[heath204-23] Heathcote p.204

[24] Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660–1851 by Rupert Gunnis

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v t e Commanders-in-Chief of the Forces and Chiefs of the General Staff of the British Army
Commanders-in-Chief of the Forces	Duke of Albemarle Duke of Monmouth Earl of Marlborough Duke of Leinster Duke of Marlborough Duke of Ormonde Earl of Stair George Wade Duke of Cumberland Viscount Ligionier Marquess of Granby Lord Amherst Henry Conway Lord Amherst Duke of York Sir David Dundas Duke of York Duke of Wellington Viscount Hill Duke of Wellington Viscount Hardinge Duke of Cambridge Viscount Wolseley Earl Roberts
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