LUKE LILLINGSTON,
Appointed in 1674.
This officer commanded a company in one of the regiments raised by King Charles II, in 1672; after the peace of London his regiment was disbanded, when he proceeded to Holland with a number of men of his company, and entered the Dutch service. He served at the siege of Grave, and during the following winter he was appointed colonel of one of the English regiments raised on that occasion, now the Sixth foot; but his decease occurred before he attained any higher rank.
THOMAS ASHLEY,
Appointed 13th September, 1675.
Thomas Ashley held a commission in the English army previous to the treaty of London in 1674; when his regiment was disbanded, and he entered the Dutch service. He served under the Prince of Orange (afterwards William III.), and towards the end of the campaign of 1675 he was promoted to the colonelcy of a regiment, now the Sixth foot. He distinguished himself at the siege of Maestricht in 1676, and was at the disastrous battle of Mont-Cassel in the following year.
SIR HENRY BELLASIS, KNIGHT[41],
Appointed 3rd April, 1678.
Sir Henry Bellasis was educated in strict principles of loyalty and attachment to monarchical government, and though but a youth at the time, he suffered in the royal cause during the usurpations of Cromwell. Soon after the restoration he was appointed captain of an independent company of one hundred men, in garrison at Hull, of which fortress the Lord Bellasis (or Belasyse) was appointed governor; who resigned, in 1673, in consequence of the Test-act, he being a Roman Catholic. In the summer of 1674 Sir Henry Bellasis raised a company of musketeers and pikemen for the service of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and was engaged at the siege of Grave in the autumn of that year. He also served at the siege of Maestricht in 1676; at the battle of Mont-Cassel in 1677; and in the following spring he succeeded Colonel Ashley in the command of the regiment which is now the Sixth foot. At the battle of St. Denis, in 1678, he evinced signal valour and ability, vying in feats of gallantry with his commanders the Prince of Orange and the celebrated Earl of Ossory, and was wounded. During the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, in 1685, he accompanied his regiment to England; and in 1687 circumstances occurred which occasioned him to withdraw from the Dutch service; but he preserved his attachment to the protestant interest and to the Prince of Orange. In 1689 he succeeded the Duke of Norfolk in the colonelcy of a newly-raised regiment (now twenty-second foot), with which corps he served in Ireland under the veteran Duke Schomberg. He served as brigadier-general under King William in 1690; was at the battle of the Boyne; and at the siege of Limerick, where he again distinguished himself. In 1691 he acquired new honours at the siege of Athlone; he also displayed bravery and judgment at the battle of Aghrim; and on the reduction of Galway he was appointed governor of that fortress, and took possession of the town on the 26th of July, with his own and two other regiments of foot. The rank of major-general was conferred on this distinguished officer in April, 1692, and he commanded a brigade under King William in Flanders, in the autumn of that year. He acquired additional reputation at the battle of Landen, in 1693; also in the command of a brigade under King William during the following campaign; and in October, 1694, his Majesty rewarded him with the rank of lieutenant-general. His meritorious conduct procured him the favour and confidence of his sovereign, by whom he was employed on important services. He commanded the camp on the Bruges canal in May, 1695; and a division of the covering army was placed under his orders during the siege of Namur. At the close of the campaign he was appointed president of the general court-martial which tried the officers who surrendered Dixmude and Deinse to the enemy, and sentenced Major-General Ellemberg to be shot. He continued to serve in the Netherlands until the peace of Ryswick. In 1701 he obtained the colonelcy of the Queen Dowager's regiment (now second foot) in exchange with Colonel Selwyn. In 1702 he was second in command of the British troops in the expedition to Cadiz; and having been charged with participating in the plunder of Port St. Mary, he was tried by a court-martial and dismissed the service. His reputation was thus unfortunately tarnished; but his crime does not appear to have been considered of a heinous nature, as he was subsequently elected a member of parliament for the city of Durham; was appointed by Queen Anne, in 1711, one of the commissioners to inquire into several particulars respecting the accounts of the army in Spain; and in June, 1713, he was appointed governor of Berwick. He died on the 14th of December, 1717.
WILLIAM BABINGTON,