Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg

For other uses, seeSchomberg (disambiguation).

His Grace The Duke of Schomberg KGPC
Master-General of the Ordnance
In office 1689–1690
Monarch	William III
Preceded by	The Lord Dartmouth
Succeeded by	The Earl of Romney
Personal details
Born	Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg (1615-12-06)6 December 1615 Heidelberg,Palatinate
Died	1 July 1690(1690-07-01)(aged 74) Oldbridge,County Meath
Spouse	Johanna Elizabeth (m. 1638)
Children	6, includingCharlesandMeinhardt
Parent(s)	Hans Meinhard von Schönberg Anne Sutton

Quartered arms of Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, KG

Frederick Herman de Schomberg, 1st Duke of SchombergKGPC(6 December 1615 – 1 July 1690) was a German-born army officer who served as the EnglishMaster-General of the Ordnancefrom 1689 to 1690. Having fought in theFrench,PortugueseandEnglish armies,he was killed in action fighting on theWilliamiteside at theBattle of the Boynein 1690.

Early career

Descended from an old family of theElectorate of the Palatinate,he was born atHeidelberg,the son ofCount Hans Meinhard von Schönberg(1582–1616) andAnne,a daughter ofEdward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley,andTheodosia Harington.An orphan within a few months of his birth, he was educated by various family friends, among whom wasFrederick V, Elector Palatine,in whose service his father had been. He began his military career underFrederick Henry, Prince of Orange,and in 1634 passed into the service ofSweden,entering that ofFrancein 1635. His family, and the allied house of the Saxon Schönbergs, had already attained eminence in France withHenri de SchombergandCharles de Schomberg,both marshals of France.

After a time he retired to his family estate atGeisenheimon the Rhine, but in 1639 he re-entered theDutch States Army,in which, apparently, apart from a few intervals at Geisenheim, he remained until about 1650. He then rejoined the French army as a general officer (maréchal de camp), served underTurennein thecampaignsagainstCondé,and became a lieutenant-general in 1665, receiving this rapid promotion perhaps partly owing to his relationship withCharles de Schomberg,duc d'Halluin.

After thepeace of the Pyrenees(1659), the independence ofPortugalwas threatened bySpain,and Schomberg was sent as military adviser toLisbonwith the secret approval ofCharles II of England.Louis XIV of France,in order not to infringe the treaty just made with Spain, deprived Schomberg of his French officers. Schomberg thus took command of theEnglish brigadewhich consisted of three regiments in total 3,000 men. Many of these were ex Royalist andNew Model Armytroops from theCivil War.After many difficulties in the three first campaigns resulting from the opposition of Portuguese officers, the Portuguese commanderAntónio Luís de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Marialva,together with Schomberg won the victory ofMontes Claroson 17 June 1665 over the Spaniards underLuis de Benavides Carrillo, Marquis of Caracena.

After participating with his army in the revolution which deposed the reigning kingAfonso VI of Portugalin favour of his brother DomPedro,and ending the war with Spain, Schomberg returned to France, became a naturalised Frenchman and bought the lordship ofCoubertnear Paris. He had been rewarded by the king of Portugal, in 1663, with the rank of Grandee, the title ofcount of Mértolaand a pension of f 5000 a year. In 1673 he was brought by Charles II to England to take command of the newly formedBlackheath Army,which was planned to take part in an invasion of theDutch Republicduring theThird Anglo-Dutch War.However the army did not go into action before theTreaty of Westminsterestablished peace, and was disbanded by the King following Parliamentary pressure.

He therefore again entered the service of France. His first operations inCataloniawere unsuccessful owing to the disobedience of subordinates and the rawness of his troops. On 19 June 1674, he was dealt a defeat at theBattle of MaureillasbyFrancisco de Tutavilla y del Rufo,but he retrieved the failure by retakingFort de Bellegardein 1675. For this he was made a marshal, being included in the promotion that followed the death of Turenne. The tide had now turned against theHuguenots,and Schomberg's merits had been long ignored on account of his adherence to the Protestant religion. The revocation of theEdict of Nantes(1685) forced him to leave his adopted country.

Ultimately he became general-in-chief of the forces of theFrederick William, Elector of Brandenburg,and at Berlin he was the acknowledged leader of the thousands of Huguenot refugees there. Soon afterwards, with the Electors consent, he joined thePrince of Orangeon his expedition to England in 1688, theGlorious Revolution,as second in command to the prince. The following year he was made aKnight of the Garter,was appointedMaster-General of the Ordnance,was createdDuke of Schomberg,and received from theHouse of Commonsa vote of £100,000 to compensate him for the loss of his French estates, of which Louis had deprived him.

Ireland

Benjamin West'sBattle of the Boyne(1778) shows the death of Schomberg in the bottom right-hand corner.

Main article:Williamite War in Ireland

In July 1689,Williamappointed him commander-in-chief of the expedition that he undertook to driveJames IIout of Ireland. Before departing to Ireland, Schomberg took his leave from parliament on 16 July 1689.On 20 July Schomberg arrived at Chester where the expedition's troops were gathering. Sailing with a fleet from Hoylake, he landed on 13 August 1689 atBallyholme BaynearBangor.He made the passage on the royal yacht Cleveland. He then marched over Bangor and Belfast to Carrickfergus, which had a Jacobite garrison. He began thesiege of Carrickferguson 20 August. The town surrendered on 28 August.Thereafter he marched unopposed through a country desolated before him toDundalk,but, as the bulk of his forces were raw and undisciplined as well as inferior in numbers to the enemyIrish Army,he deemed it imprudent to risk a battle, andentrenching himself at Dundalkdeclined to be drawn beyond the circle of his defences. Shortly afterwards pestilence broke out, and when he retired to winter quarters inUlsterhis forces were more shattered than if they had sustained a severe defeat.

His conduct was criticized in ill-informed quarters, but the facts justified his inactivity, and he gave what was said at the time to be a "striking example of his generous spirit" in placing at William of Orange's disposal for military purposes the £100,000 recently granted to him. In the spring he began the campaign with the capture ofCharlemont,but no advance southward was made until William arrived with reinforcements. At theBattle of the Boyne(1 July 1690O.S.), Schomberg gave his opinion against the determination of William to cross the river in face of the opposing army. After riding through the river to rally his men, he was wounded twice in the head by sabre cuts, and was shot in the neck by Cahir O'Toole of Ballyhubbock and instantly killed.

Family

His eldest sonCharles Schomberg,the second duke in the English peerage, died in the year 1693 of wounds received at theBattle of Marsaglia.His other son wasMeinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg.

Burial and inscription

Latin inscription to the memory of Schomberg inSt Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin,Ireland.

He was buried inSt Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin,where there is a monument to him, erected in 1731. On the monument is a Latin inscription byJonathan Swift,which reads:

Hic infra situm est corpus Frederici Ducis de Schonberg, ad Bubindam occisi, A.D. 1690. Decanus et Capitulum maximopere etiam atque etiam petierunt, ut haeredes Ducis monumentum in memoriam parentis erigendum curarent. Sed postquam per epistolas, per amicos, diu ac saepe orando nil profecere; hunc demum lapidem statuerunt; saltem ut scias, hospes, ubinam terrarum SCHONBERGENSIS cineres delitescunt. Plus potuit fama virtutis apud alienos quam sanguinis proximitas apud suos. A.D. 1731

The English translation:

The formerBoyne Obelisk(c.1890),Oldbridge,County Louth, Ireland.

Here below is placed the body of Frederick, Duke of Schomberg, killed at the Boyne, A.D. 1690. The dean and the chapter fervently sought, again and again, that the heirs of the Duke see to the erection of a monument in memory of (their) parent. But, after asking for a long time and often, through letters, through friends, they accomplished nothing; finally they set up this stone; so that at least, visitor, you might know where in the world the ashes of Schomberg are concealed. The fame of his valor had more influence among strangers than the relationships of blood did among his own (family). A.D. 1731

Additionally, theBoyne Obelisk(which was erected on the north bank of theRiver Boynein 1736, to commemorate the Williamite victory at the Battle of the Boyne, and later destroyed in 1923) contained an inscription to him on its south side base, reading:

Marshal the Duke of Schomberg in passing this river died bravely fighting in defence of liberty

The village ofSchomberg, Ontariois named after him.

References

• Glozier, Matthew.Marshal Schomberg, 1615–1690: the ablest soldier of his age: international soldiering and the formation of state armies in seventeenth–century Europe.Brighton, 2005.
• Le Fanu, T.P.Huguenots "Huguenots Veterans in Dublin"(72). Antiquaries of Ireland: 64–70.{{cite journal}}:Check|url=value (help);Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
• Kazner, Johann Friedrich August (1789).Leben Friedrichs von Schomberg oder Schoenberg.Mannheim: Schwan & Goetz.

External links

• Schomberg Society