Russell's Horse

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Schomberg
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Russell's Horse

Post by Schomberg » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:40 pm

After Tyrconnell removed Theodore Russell from his Colonelcy, what happened to his regiment of horse? Who took over as Colonel? Did they remain in Jacobite service? Was there a similar situation to Mountjoy and Forbes(?) where the regiment had a number of it's troops declare for the other side?

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Re: Russell's Horse

Post by barr7430 » Tue Feb 09, 2021 11:33 pm

I am sure I have a trace on the regiment post Russell's removal. I'll have to did through some old files to find it. As for the colonel himself he was active in Connaught in 1689 and was with the Williamite Sligo garrison I believe. He fought Sarsfield on the road to Sligo in October of 1689 near Ballysadare.
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Re: Russell's Horse

Post by Schomberg » Wed Feb 10, 2021 7:40 am

He was also given the colonelcy of Lord Delamere's regt of Horse as the incumbent Lord had been a political rather than a military appointment and once secure in England, William was doing his housekeeping. I think that this would have been early 1690 just after or possibly during the Dundalk Camp debacle.

I'm more interested though in what happened to the men of his previous regiment. Was the regiment broken and divided up into new commands under the likes of Parker, Sarsfield etc? Or was it retained under a new Colonel and if so, who?

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Re: Russell's Horse

Post by wdrenth » Tue Mar 02, 2021 9:03 am

Theodore Russell succeeded the Duke of Ormonde as colonel in September 1688. I am not sure if he was removed, or whether he decided to cast his fate with William III. In any case, his regiment was taken over by Patrick Sarsfield with the regiment becoming part of the Irish Jacobite Army. The regiment served throughout the Irish campaigns, with the remainders being merged to form the Jacobite King's and Queen's Regiments of Horse in French service in 1692. The Regiment de Sheldon was formed in 1698 from these two, and can be seen as successor of the original Irish regiment of the 1680s.

Russell himself took over Lord Delamer's regiment in September 1689, until it was disbanded in early 1691. Russell's further services are untraced, though he died around 1700.

Hope this fills in some blanks.

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Re: Russell's Horse

Post by Schomberg » Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:39 pm

Thank you yes, it does. I was thinking that his original regiment might have been taken over by Sarsfield.

Interestingly, just ike there are two Gustavus Hamilton's,there also appear to be potentially two Theodore Russell's.

D'Alton's Irish Army of James II shows that a Theodore Russell was given a Lt Colonelcy and a Colonelcy in a four month period of the same year. Father and son or just a very hasty promotion?
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Re: Russell's Horse

Post by wdrenth » Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:21 pm

What could also be of interest is that Theodore Russell (the colonel), commanded a regiment of foot under James II in Ireland before getting the regiment of horse.
This colonelcy of the foot regiment lasted until January 1687, when Russell became lieutenant-colonel of the horse regiment under Ormonde, with brevet as colonel. In September 1688 the colonelcy of the regiment followed, as below. It are indeed two promotions.

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Re: Russell's Horse

Post by Schomberg » Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:21 am

Excellent. That is that little mystery solved then.

I wonder how much impact there was on the numbers of fighting men in the regiment after the Protestants were purged from the ranks. Similar foot regiments such as Mountjoy's and Forbes' (?) had as much as a third of their number being Protestant before the hostilities broke out. I imagine that with his coming quite late to the Colonelcy of the regiment that there might not have been quite the same impact. On the other hand, I would doubt that the Irish cavalry would have been devoid of Protestant representation prior to Tyrconnell's changes. Food for thought.......🙂
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Re: Russell's Horse

Post by Schomberg » Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:23 am

Just thinking that Ormonde was a Protestant Grandee if I am not mistaken. W9uld it be likely then that Protestant gentlemen might have gravitated to that particular regiment in the same way that the foot gravitated to Mountjoy et al?
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Re: Russell's Horse

Post by wdrenth » Thu Mar 11, 2021 8:40 am

Ormonde was of course a person of note, and had been a supporter of the Stuarts ever since Charles and James were toddlers. I don't know his full bio, but understand that he was respected by James, and I don't believe Ormonde was much of a rebel -- he was also quite old when James attempted to pursue his Catholic agendas.
Regarding Mountjoy and Forbes/Granard (the 2nd Earl), they were loyal to James II (at least in 1685) and not removed from their posts. So I guess that not all Protestants were considered dangerous?
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Re: Russell's Horse

Post by Schomberg » Fri Mar 12, 2021 10:57 am

I think that James probably still had quite a bit of Protestant support until the trial of the seven Bishops. After that the die was cast and such Protestant support as he retained would have been among Tory Grandees and Scottish supporters of the Stewart divine right of rule.

Anyhow, I digress...🙂

What i am trying to establish is whether there would have been a tendency for Protestant Gentry to join Ormonde/Russell's regiment in the same way that there seems to have been a tendency for Protestant soldiers to join Forbes' and Mountjoy's regiments of Foot and if so, how would this have impacted upon the numbers of troopers available to Sarsfield upon his taking over of the Colonelcy?

Mountjoy's men were absorbed into the Derry Regiments during the Kirke reforms. Forbes' men would eventually become the Earl of Meath's Royal Irish iirc. I think that it is entirely likely,even if I am unable to provide definitive evidence, that a large(ish) number of men departed to become Lord Kingston's companies of Horse. These would then go on to serve as the nucleus of Colonel Murray's troopers at Derry alongside the mounted gentry of the Protestant Association from Eastern Ulster.
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Re: Russell's Horse

Post by Schomberg » Sat Mar 19, 2022 12:16 pm

Holy thread necromancy Batman!

@wdrenth

I've been trying to find out what happened to Russell's/Delamere's Horse after the Boyne Campaign. They were a part of Douglas' command during the 1690 seige of Athlone but then they seen to disappear.

I recalled your earlier post that suggested they were disbanded in early 1691. I found an obscure reference to them in a book by Alfred Ingham called 'Cheshire, it's Traditions and History'. There is a reference within to them having been deployed to Ireland and 'returning to Cheshire at the end of the 1689-91 campaign'.

Would you happen to have a reference that confirms their earlier disbandment? I'm trying to establish their possible whereabouts(or existence) during the Aughrim campaign.

Thanks
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