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Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda
Born (1730-06-29)29 June 1730
Died 22 December 1822(1822-12-22) (aged 92)
Place of death Dublin, Ireland
Buried at Drogheda, Ireland
Allegiance Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch Flag of the British Army British Army
Years of service 1744–1797
Rank Field Marshal
Battles/wars Campaign against the Whiteboys
Awards Knight of the Order of St Patrick

Field Marshal Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda KP, PC (Ire) (29 June 1730 – 22 December 1822[1]) was a British peer and military officer, styled Viscount Moore from 1752 until 28 October 1758, when he succeeded as 6th Earl of Drogheda following the death of his father Edward Moore at sea while travelling from England to Dublin.[2] His mother Sarah was a daughter of Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough.[3]

Military career[]

Moore joined the Army in 1744 as a cornet in the 12th Dragoons,[4] and bore the colours at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.[2] In 1750 he was promoted captain, and reached the rank of major in 1752.[4] He was promoted brevet lieutenant-colonel on 18 January 1755 and on 7 December 1759 became lieutenant-colonel commandant of the 19th (later 18th) Light Dragoons. He was promoted to Colonel of Dragoons[5] by brevet on 19 February 1762, and colonel of his regiment on 3 August that year.[6] Drogheda commanded the 18th Light Dragoons in operations against the Whiteboys in Ireland from 1762 to 1764, and remained colonel of the regiment until it was disbanded in September 1821.[2]

Lord Drogheda was Governor of Kinsale and Charles Fort from 1765 until 1770.[7] He was promoted to major-general on 30 April 1770[8] and served as Master-General of the Irish Ordnance and colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Artillery from 1770 to 1797,[2] being promoted to lieutenant-general on 29 August 1777 and full general on 12 October 1793.[6] He served as Muster-Master-General in Ireland from May to November 1807 and was promoted to Field Marshal on 19 July 1821, despite never having seen active service.[2]

Political career[]

In 1756 he became Member of Parliament for St Canice.[9] He succeeded his father as Earl of Drogheda in 1758,[9] when his father and younger brother were drowned in the Irish Sea. Moore became Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1763. In 1776 he became Member of Parliament for UK Parliament constituency.[9] He was a Lord Justice of Ireland from 1766 to 1767. In 1791 he was created Marquess of Drogheda. In 1797 he was appointed one of the joint Postmaster General of Ireland, a post he held until 1806.[10] In 1801, he was made Baron Moore, of Moore Place in the County of Kent, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

Civilian life and family[]

Lord Drogheda was elected Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland in 1758, a post he held for the next two years.[11] He was a Governor of County Meath from 1759, Governor of King's County from 1764, Constable of Maryborough Castle from 1765, Custos Rotulorum of King's County from 1766, Custos Rotulorum of Queen's County from 1769 and Governor of Queen's County from 1774, holding all these offices until his death. In 1783 he became one of the Founder Knights of the Order of St Patrick.[12] Moore was an important patron of the artist William Ashford.[13]

Drogheda married Lady Anne Seymour-Conway, the daughter of Francis Seymour, 1st Marquess of Hertford, on 15 February 1766. They had eight children, including Charles Moore, 2nd Marquess of Drogheda, Henry, father of the 3rd and last Marquess, and Elizabeth, Countess of Westmeath.[10] His wife's family had a tradition of mental illness, which may have a bearing on the fact that their elder son went insane.[14]

References and sources[]

  1. The year is sometimes given as 1821. The Annual Biography for 1823 suggests the year was 1822, his remains arriving in Ireland in January 1823.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Robert Dunlop, "Moore, Charles, first marquess of Drogheda (1730–1822)", rev. Roger T. Stearn, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 9 April 2012
  3. Patrick Cracroft-Brennan, Drogheda, Earl of (I, 1661) in Cracroft's Peerage. Accessed 9 April 2012.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Mary M. Drummond, "Moore, Charles, 6th Earl of Drogheda [I] (1730-1822)" in The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754-1790, volume III (London, 1964) page 160
  5. "No. 10190". 13 March 1762. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/10190/page/ 
  6. 6.0 6.1 John Philippart, The Royal Military Calendar, third edition, volume I (London, 1820) page 280
  7. Robert Beatson, A Politician Index to the Histories of Great Britain and Ireland, volume III (1806) page 349
  8. "No. 11039". 5 May 1770. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/11039/page/ 
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Heathcote, p. 222
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Person Page 5501". thepeerage.com. http://www.thepeerage.com/p5501.htm#i55009. Retrieved 24 February 2010. 
  11. Waite, Arthur Edward (2007). A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. vol. I. Cosimo, Inc.. pp. 400. ISBN 1-60206-641-8. 
  12. Patrick Cracroft-Brennan, Drogheda, Marquess of (I, 1791-1892) in Cracroft's Peerage. Accessed 9 April 2012.
  13. "A mountainous lake landscape with travellers on a path in the foreground and boats on the lake beyond: Attributed to William Ashford". Christie's. 3 December 2008. http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5159389. Retrieved 24 August 2010. 
  14. Hyde, Montgomery The Strange Death of Lord Castlereagh William Heinemann 1959 p.157
  • Heathcote, T. A., The British Field Marshals 1736 - 1997, Leo Cooper, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5

External links[]

Unrecognised parameter
Preceded by
Richard Dawson
Hervey Morres
Member of Parliament for St Canice
1757–1759
With: Richard Dawson
Succeeded by
Richard Dawson
Eland Mossom
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
James Wallace
Jeremiah Dyson
Member of Parliament for Horsham
1776–1780
With: James Wallace
Succeeded by
James Wallace
Viscount Lewisham
Masonic offices
Preceded by
Lord Newtown-Butler
Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland
1758–1760
Succeeded by
The Earl of Charleville
Political offices
Preceded by
William Gerard Hamilton
Chief Secretary for Ireland
1764–1765
Succeeded by
Viscount Beauchamp
Peerage of Ireland
New creation Marquess of Drogheda
1791–1822
Succeeded by
Charles Moore
Preceded by
Edward Moore
Earl of Drogheda
1758–1822
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Moore
1801–1822
Succeeded by
Charles Moore
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