James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth - Biography - Officer and Commander

Officer and Commander

On 14 February 1663, at the age of 14, shortly after having been brought to England, James was created Duke of Monmouth with the subsidiary titles of Earl of Doncaster and Baron Scott of Tynedale, all three in the Peerage of England, and on 28 March 1663 he was appointed a Knight of the Garter. On 20 April 1663 he was married off to the wealthy Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch. James took his wife's surname upon marriage. The day after his marriage, they were made Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, Earl and Countess of Dalkeith and Lord and Lady Scott of Whitchester and Eskdale in the Peerage of Scotland. Monmouth, as he became known, was popular, particularly since he was a Protestant, whereas the official heir to the throne, the King's brother James, Duke of York, had openly converted to Catholicism.

In 1665, at the age of 16, Monmouth served in the English fleet under his uncle the Duke of York in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. In June 1666, he returned to England to become a captain of a troop of cavalry. On 16 September 1668 he was made colonel of the His Majesty's Own Troop of Horse Guards. He acquired Moor Park in Hertfordshire in April 1670. At the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672, a brigade of 6,000 British troops was sent to serve as part of the French army (in return for money paid to King Charles), with Monmouth as its commander. He became Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire and Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull in April 1673. In the campaign of 1673 and in particular at the Siege of Maastricht in June 1673, Monmouth gained a considerable reputation as one of Britain's finest soldiers. In 1674 Monmouth became Chancellor of Cambridge University and Master of the Horse and King Charles II directed that all military orders should be brought first to Monmouth for examination so giving him effective command of the forces; his responsibilities included the movement of troops and the suppression of riots. In March 1677 he also became Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire.

In 1678 Monmouth was commander of the Anglo-Dutch brigade, now fighting for the United Provinces against the French and he distinguished himself at the Battle of St Denis in August 1678 during the Franco-Dutch War, further increasing his reputation. The following year, after his return to Britain, he commanded the small army raised to put down the rebellion of the Scottish Covenanters and despite being heavily outnumbered, he decisively defeated the (admittedly poorly equipped) Covenanter rebels at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge on 22 June 1679.