Historical Record of the Sixth, or Inniskilling Regiment of Dragoons / Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1689, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1846

by Richard Cannon

This officer held the commission of lieutenant-colonel in the Inniskilling dragoons, and was so conspicuous for personal bravery, attention to duty, and devotion to the principles of the Revolution of 1688, that after the death of Sir Albert Cunningham, King William III. promoted him to the colonelcy of the regiment. He was advanced to the rank of brigadier-general in 1703; to that of major-general in 1704; and of lieutenant-general in 1707. A change in the political sentiments of Lieutenant-General Echlin appears to have taken place towards the close of Queen Anne's reign, and soon after the accession of King George I. he was required to dispose of his commission of colonel of the Inniskilling dragoons.

John Earl of Stair, K.T.

Appointed 4th March, 1715.

Lord John Dalrymple served as a volunteer under King William III., in Flanders, and was with the Cameronian regiment (twenty-sixth foot) at the battle of Steinkirk, in 1692. Immediately before the decease of His Majesty, he was nominated lieutenant-colonel of the Scots foot-guards, and his commission was one of the first signed by Queen Anne after her accession. He served as aide-de-camp to the Earl of Marlborough during the campaign of 1702, and in the following year he obtained the colonelcy of a Dutch regiment, which he exchanged, on the 1st of January, 1706, with Colonel James Borthwick, of the Cameronian regiment. In the same year he obtained the rank of brigadier-general; served in that capacity at the battle of Ramilies; and in August he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Scots Greys. On the decease of his father, in January, 1707, he succeeded to the title of Earl of Stair. He commanded a brigade at the battle of Oudenarde, in 1708; and was sent to England with the news of that victory.

Having been appointed major-general on the 1st of January, 1709, he served in that capacity at the battle of Malplaquet; and was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-general on the 1st of January, 1710. He passed the winter of 1709-10 in Poland, as envoy extraordinary to that court; but returning to the army in the spring, he served at the siege of Douay, and was honoured in the same year with the order of the Thistle. He was promoted to the rank of general on the 5th of April, 1712, and afterwards served in Flanders under the Duke of Ormond; but having subsequently opposed the ministry, he was ordered to sell the colonelcy of his regiment to the Earl of Portmore.

Shortly after his accession to the throne, King George I. appointed the Earl of Stair, one of the lords of the bedchamber, a member of the privy council, and commander-in-chief in Scotland in the absence of the Duke of Argyle; and in the following spring conferred upon his Lordship the colonelcy of the Inniskilling dragoons. In the same year he was sent to France in a diplomatic character, and afterwards displayed great abilities as ambassador extraordinary at that court, from which he was recalled in 1720. In 1729 he had the appointment of vice-admiral of Scotland; but having joined the opposition against Sir Robert Walpole, his lordship was removed in 1733 from that post, and in the following year from the colonelcy of the Inniskilling dragoons.

After his return from France, in 1720, the active mind of the Earl of Stair was turned to agricultural improvements; but on the dissolution of the Walpole administration, in 1742, his lordship was called from his retirement, appointed governor of Minorca, field-marshal of the forces, and commander-in-chief of the troops sent to Flanders; also ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the States General of Holland. In April, 1743, he was restored to the colonelcy of the Inniskilling dragoons; and he commanded the British troops on the continent during the early part of the campaign of that year. He also commanded, under King George II., at the battle of Dettingen; but, observing that His Majesty gave preference to the advice of the Hanoverian generals, he shortly afterwards obtained permission to resign.

In 1744 the Earl of Stair was appointed commander-in-chief in Great Britain. After the death of his gallant brother-in-law, Sir James Campbell, who fell at Fontenoy, the colonelcy of the Scots Greys was again conferred upon his lordship, and he was appointed general of the marine forces in 1746. He died in 1747.

Charles Lord Cadogan.

Appointed 19th June, 1734.