Lt Gen Archibald Douglas of Witham (1707-8 Nov 1778) ADC to
King George II, Colonel of the 13th Dragoons, MP for Dumfries
Lt Gen Archibald Douglas was the eldest son of William
Douglas of Fingland,
Kirkcudbright, by Elizabeth (Betty) his wife, eldest daughter and co-heiress
of Captain Alexander Clerk of Glendorth (Glendoick), Co. Lanark, and
of Edinbugh where he was a merchant. He was was born in the year 1707.
Like his
father, and cousins of Morton and Holmhill, he was to enter the army
early in life. His commission as a lieutenant in the 3rd Dragoons is
dated 10 May 1742. His next commission is dated 26 May 1745, when he
is raised to the rank of captain. On 27 May 1756, he was made Lt Col
of Foot, and ADC to HM King George II, and on 19 Jan 1761 he became
a Lt General.
When a Lieutenant, he was present and served
with distinction, at the Batlle of Dettigen, in Bavaria against the
French, 26 Jun 1743 - having three horses shot under him, and one of
his eye-brows shot away. The first brunt of the battle fell on the
Horse, who were hard pressed by the French cavalry; but the infantry
of the allies stood firm, and the battle was won for King George II.
When he was Colonel of the 13th Dragoons, he commanded that
regiment at the Battle of Minden, 1 Aug 1759(1), and was gazetted Maj-general
on 15 Sep following.
General Douglas was elected MP for
Dumfries Burghs from 1754-1761, and for Dumfriesshire 1761-1768,
and 1768-1774 (2). It is possible that he became MP through the influenece of his friend, Charles, 3rd duke of Queensberry, who
seems always to have acknowledged the kinship, and addressed letters
to him as 'My Dear Kinsman'.
_small.jpg) |
| In 1763 he purchased a country house in Newland Street,
Witham, Essex which was later known as White Hall, now the
Witham Public Library, formerly a cinema. |
 |
| Memorial in Witham parish church |
General Douglas purchased, on
1st Jun 1763, from Milbourn Carter, Esq, a good, substantial country
house at Witham, now called (in 1931) White Hall, in Essex, which he
had previously leased. The house is situated in 'the present' (1931)
Newland Street.
He married in Witham Church, Elizabeth,
daughter of Edmund Burchard (or Burcard) of Witham, by whom he had
six sons and five daughters. His wife was born in Witham on 9 Jan
1727, and baptized there on 28 Jan 1727. It is possible that she was
his second wife, the first having been a 'grande dame' of France.
Elizabeth (born 11 Jan 1754), a twin and the General's youngest
daughter, on the death of her nephew Alexander Douglas, purchased
her father's house at Witham from the family, and a year after her
death on 25 Jan 1832, the property was sold to Mr William Henry
Pattison, by the Westcombs, who inherited it from her.
As
Aide-de-Camp to King George II, he was one of those who escorted the
betrothed of the then Prince of Wales from the Continent to London,
the route happening to be through Witham. The Princess Charlotte
Sophia of Mechlenberg-streliz, as she was then, offered to make his
daughters, who she saw there, Maids of Honour when she became Queen
Consort. (1761).
A loyal supporter of Bute’s Administration, Douglas was equally
faithful to Grenville. On a letter to Grenville from Douglas in
February 1764, asking for a commission in the Guards for his
son, Jenkinson wrote: ‘This is the request of a very good
friend.’6 He was constantly in attendance during the debates on
Wilkes and general warrants, and even when ill declined to
absent himself without Grenville’s permission.7 When, overcome
by illness and the fatigue of late sittings, he was obliged to
go home to Witham on 24 Mar., he wrote to Jenkinson, offering to
return after a few days rest, if his presence was required.8
At the change of Administration Douglas followed Grenville
into opposition, voting against the Government on the repeal of
the Stamp Act, 22 Feb. 1766. He voted against the Chatham
Administration on the land tax, 27 Feb. 1767.
Re-elected
in 1768, his military duties in Ireland prevented his close
attendance in Parliament, but he returned to vote with the
Administration in the divisions on Wilkes and Middlesex, 3 Feb.,
15 Apr., and 8 May 1769. He supported the North Administration
over the Middlesex election and on the royal marriage bill of
1772, but seems to have been absent from the division of 25 Feb.
1774 on the Grenville Election Act.
Douglas does not
appear to have sought re-election in 1774
Lt General Archibald Douglas died in Dublin
on 8 Nov 1778, and was buried at St Nicholas, Witham, where there is
a memorial to him, his wife, daughters Charlotte and Hyde, and son,
Charles. Elizabeth, his wife, had predeceased him on 9 Feb 1770, and
is buried at Witham.
Douglas family memorial in Witham parish church.
Some of information on the stone is covered up and so not
visible. This is shown in the following by square brackets.
Where possible the missing information has been supplied in
the square brackets by JG from parish registers.
Location: to the west of no. 319 previously in central aisle
approx 1 metre from Rood Screen steps. Now concealed by
timber platform, with removable panel over monument.
Consists of incised Roman lettering into a black slate slab
approximately 1.2 m x 2 m.
Reads: IN MEMORY OF / ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS Esq r / A GENERAL IN
HER MAJESTY’S ARMY, / [A]ND COLONEL OF THE 5TH REGT OF
DRAGOON[S] / WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE 8TH DAY OF NOV R 177[8]
/ AGED 7[1] YEARS / AND OF / ELIZABETH DOUGLAS HIS WIFE, /
WHO DIED ON THE 9TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 1770 AGED [43] YEARS /
ALSO OF / CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS THEIR DAUGHTER, / WHO DIED ON
THE 18TH DAY OF MARCH 1773 AGED [10] YEARS / HYDE DOUGLAS
ANOTHER DAUGHTER, / WHO DIED ON THE [??] DAY OF APRIL 1773 /
AGED [8] YEARS / CHARLES DOUGLAS THEIR SON, / WHO DIED ON
THE 4TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 177[6] AGED [15] YEARS / CATHARINE
DOUGLAS THEIR DAUGHTER / WHO DIED ON THE 4 TH DAY OF MARCH
1810 AGED [56] YEARS / AND OF / ELIZABETH DOUGLAS THEIR
DAUGHTER / WHO DIED ON THE 9 TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 18[3]1 AGED
[77]’ |
It may be that his death in Dublin is what led Ramage, in his
book Drumlanrig and the Douglases to write that General
Douglas was Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Ireland. This does
not appear to be correct.
Children of General Archibald and his wife Elizabeth:
1. Captain Archibald Martin John Douglas
2. Judge William Douglas
3. Captain Alexander Douglas, RN
4. Rev Philip Douglas, D.D.
5. Charles James Douglas
6. Rev. Robert Douglas (youngest son)
7. Katherine Douglas, and her twin,
8. Elizabeth Douglas
9. Jane Douglas - married Bishop William van Mildert
10. Charlotte Sara Douglas
11. Hyde Elizabeth Rich Douglas
Notes:
1. I have not been able to
verify that the 13th Light Dragoons were at Minden.
2. It seems he was known as Douglas of
Kirkton (or Kirktoun) when an MP.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
Sources
Sources for this article include@
• History of Parliament Online
• Janet Gyford: The history of Witham, Essex
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