Lt-General Lord George Douglas, 1st Earl of Dumbarton KT

George Douglas was born in 1635 at Douglas Castle, Lanarkshire. He was one of 13 children of the 1st Marquess of Douglas and Lady Mary Gordon. The Marquess’ first wife was the mother of Lord James Douglas and Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, both previous Colonels of the regiment. They were a Roman Catholic family but the Covenanter government of Scotland ordered them to raise their children as Protestants. To avoid this, George was sent to France. He, along with other exiled royalists, after the Civil War, joined the Scots Brigade in the army of Marshal Turenne. One regiment in the brigade was the Régiment de Douglas which was under the nominal command of his half-brother, the Earl of Angus. The Earl had converted to Protestantism and remained in Scotland. George Douglas was appointed Colonel of the regiment on 21 Oct 1655, a Catholic, with Catholic officers and thus they had the confidence of King Louis XIV. There were difficult times in the 1660s. The regiment was stationed in Chatham in 1667 during which time they were accused of looting and while waiting to board transports to France half of the 1,500 men deserted. In 1669 George was involved in a duel. He was so badly injured that he was reported to have died. After the Treaty of Dover in 1670 the regiment was increased to 3,432 men and fought for France against the Dutch. But the supply of British soldiers to France was unpopular. Charles II was being paid well by Louis for his military support so to encourage George Douglas to stay in France he conferred two titles on him. On 9 Mar 1675 he was created 1st Earl of Dumbarton and Lord Douglas of Ettrick. But these honours came with no estates so the new Earl complained that all it brought him was heavy costs. However, he was promoted to Maréchal de Camp by the French King in 1677. At the end of the Franco-Dutch War (1672 to 1678) the Régiment de Douglas was transferred to British service. June 1678 saw the regiment discharged from French service and reformed in Jan 1679 on the English military establishment. But from 1678 to 1685 Dumbarton was barred from the colonelcy of the regiment because of the Test Act that discriminated against Catholics. In Feb 1685 James II acceded to the throne, creating a better climate for Catholic aristocracy. Dumbarton was restored as Colonel and his regiment assisted in putting down Argyll’s Rebellion. In recognition of this he was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland. This was short-lived as he was replaced by a Presbyterian in Oct 1685. But his fortunes took a turn for the better in 1687 when he was given the estates of Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun who had been exiled in 1683 for plotting against Charles II. In the same year, 1687, he was also created a Knight of the Order of the Thistle (KT), one of the 16 founder members. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 saw the end of Catholic influence and Dumbarton was forced to go into exile with King James. He died at St Germain-en-Laye on 20 Mar 1692 and was buried at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés along with other members of the Douglas family. His legacy is the regimental march of the Royal Scots, Dumbarton’s Drums. He had been married to Anne Wheatley from Bracknell in Berkshire and they had a child, George, 2nd Earl of Dumbarton. Anne’s sister Catherine Wheatley was married to George Fitzroy, Duke of Northumberland, illegitimate son of Charles II and Barbara Villiers.