Charles Dillon, 10th Viscount Dillon

Charles Dillon, 10th Viscount Dillon (1701–1741) fought in the War of the Polish Succession for France under Berwick as colonel-proprietor of Dillon's Regiment at the Siege of Kehl in 1733 and the Siege of Philippsburg in 1734. After the armistice he married, moved to Ireland, and succeeded his cousin Richard as the 10th Viscount Dillon.

Charles Dillon
Viscount Dillon
Reign	1737–1741
Predecessor	Richard Dillon, 9th Viscount Dillon
Successor	Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon
Born	1701 Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Died	24 October 1641 London
Spouse(s)	Frances Dillon
Detail Issue Charles Dillon
Father	Arthur Dillon, Count Dillon
Mother	Christina Sheldon
Religion	Catholic
Occupation	Landowner, colonel-proprietor of Dillon's Regiment

Birth and origins

Charles was born in 1701,[1] most likely at the Jacobite Court at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in France. He was the eldest of the five sons of Arthur Dillon and his wife Christina Sheldon. His father was born in 1670 in Ireland, fought for the Jacobites in the Williamite War and had gone to France as the colonel of Dillon's Regiment with the Irish Brigade in April 1690 when Irish troops were sent to France in exchange for French troops sent to Ireland with Lauzun. His father was a younger son of the 7th Viscount Dillon. His father's family was Old English Irish and descended from Sir Henry Dillon who came to Ireland with Prince John in 1185.[2]

Charles's mother's first name is given as Christina[3] or as Christiana[4]. She was a daughter of Ralph Sheldon. Dominic Sheldon, the English Catholic Jacobite, was her uncle.[4] She was a maid of honour and to Queen Mary of Modena, wife of James II.[3] Both parents were thus Jacobites and Catholics. They had five sons and several daughters.[5]

Charles listed among his brothers

He heads the list of his brothers below as the eldest: Charles (1701–1741); Henry (1705–1787), became the 11th Viscount Dillon;[6] James (died 1745), Knight of Malta, Colonel of Dillon's regiment, slain in the Battle of Fontenoy;[7] Edward (1720–1747), succeeded his brother as colonel and was mortally wounded in the Battle of Lauffeld;[8] and Arthur Richard (1721–1806), became a French archbishop.[9]

List of Charles's sisters
Frances, became a Carmelite nun and died at the Carmel of Pontoise;[10] Catharine (died 1753), became a Carmelite nun and died at St. Denis;[11] Mary (died 1786), died at Saint-Germain-en-Laye;[12] Bridget (died 1785), married the Baron Blaisel, a Lieutenant-General in the French Army;[13][14] and Laura (died 1741), married Lucius Cary, 6th Viscount Falkland.[15]

Family tree

Charles Dillon with wife, son, parents, and other selected relatives. Theobald 7th Viscount d. 1691 Jacobite Mary Talbot d. 1691 Henry 8th Viscount d. 1714 Arthur 1670–1733 French General Christina Sheldon 1684–1757 Richard 9th Viscount 1688–1737 Bridget Bourke d. 1779 Charles 10th Viscount 1701–1741 Henry 11th Viscount 1705–1787 Frances Dillon d. 1739 Charles Dillon 1738–1739 Henrietta- Maria Phipps 1757–1782 Charles 12th Viscount 1745–1813 Marie Rogier d. 1833 Arthur Dillon 1750–1794 Henry Augustus 13th Viscount 1777–1832 Henrietta Browne 1789–1862 Legend XXX Charles Dillon XXX Viscounts Dillon This family tree is partly derived from the Dillon family tree pictured in La Tour du Pin.[16] Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.

Early life and career

While Charles was a child, he lived with his mother at the Jacobite court at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye where James II of England died on 16 September 1701 N.S.,[17] the year of Charles's birth. James II was succeeded by James Francis Edward, whom Louis XIV immediately recognised as the rightful heir to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland. Dillon's Regiment, led by Charles's father, fought for France in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). Louis XIV made Charles's father lieutenant-general in 1706 and comte de Dillon in 1711.[18] However, in 1713 France signed the Peace of Utrecht, recognising the Hanoverian succession and ending its support for the Jacobites.[19] James Francis Edward had to leave France and went to the Duchy of Lorraine, then to Avignon, and finally to Italy. His mother, the dowager queen Mary of Modena, however, stayed behind at Saint-Germain-en-Laye where she died in 1718.[20]

On 13 January 1714 Charles's uncle Henry, the 8th Viscount Dillon, died in Ireland.[21][22][lower-alpha 1] This uncle had been attainted as Jacobite in 1690 but had been pardoned and had obtained the reversal of the attainder in 1693. He was succeeded by his son Richard as the 9th Viscount Dillon, to whom Charles would succeed later as the 10th Viscount.[23]

On 10 November 1718 Charles was made a captain in the regiment.[24] In 1722 James Francis Edward Stuart (the old pretender), who now resided in Rome, created his father Earl of Dillon.[25]

In 1730 his father retired from active service[26] and on 1 May 1730 Charles became colonel of Dillon's Regiment.[27] On 5 February 1733 N.S., Charles's father died at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[28][29] Charles, already colonel, now also succeeded in his father's titles: 2nd Earl of Dillon in the Jacobite peerage[30] and comte de Dillon in France.[31][32][lower-alpha 2]

During the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1735), the comte de Dillon, as he now was, and his younger brother Henry fought under Marshal Berwick, the commander of Louis XV's Rhine army. They fought at the Siege of Kehl, which fell on 28 October 1733.[33][34] In the campaign of 1734 they undertook the Siege of Philippsburg.[35] On 12 June 1734 Berwick was beheaded by a chance cannonball before Philippsburg[36] and was replaced by Asfeld and Noailles who shared the command of the army before Philippsburg.[37] The fortress surrendered on 18 July 1734.[38]

Later life: marriage and viscountcy

On 16 January 1735 Charles, comte de Dillon, married Frances Dillon, daughter of his first cousin Richard Dillon, the 9th Viscount.[39][40] In 1736 he went to Ireland to take possession of some land that was part of her dowry.[41] His wife must have come with him or joined him later. They never returned to France. His absence from the regiment did not pose a problem at that time as the War of the Polish Succession had ended in 1735 with an armistice and France was to enjoy peace until it became seriously involved in the War of the Austrian Succession with Maurice de Saxe's raid on Prague in 1741.[42]

In 1737 Richard, the 9th Viscount, his father-in-law, died and Charles, already comte and earl, succeeded as the 10th Viscount Dillon in the Irish peerage.[43] As his wife was Richard's only heiress, Charles, Viscount Dillon, as he now was, also inherited the land.[44]

In 1738 they had an only son:

• Charles Dillon (1738–1739), died young.[45]

His wife died on 17 January 1739 in London.[46]

Death, succession and timeline

He died on 24 October 1641, aged 40, also in London.[47][48] As his only son had predeceased him, he was succeeded by his younger brother Henry as the 11th Viscount,[49] and also as colonel-proprietor of Dillon's Regiment.[50]

Timeline
The accuracy of the given ages depends on that of his birth (only the year is known) and those of the dated events.
Age	Date	Event
0	1701	Born, probably at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[1]
	1701, 16 Sep	James II died at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[17]
10	1711	His father was created comte de Dillon by Louis XIV.[18]
13	1714, 13 Jan	His uncle Henry, the 8th Viscount, died in Dublin and was succeeded by his son Richard as the 9th Viscount.[22]
17	1718, 10 Nov	Made a captain in the regiment.[24]
21	1722	His father created Earl of Dillon by James Francis Edward Stuart (the old pretender).[25]
29	1730	Became colonel of Dillon's Regiment as his father retired.[26]
32	1733, 5 Feb N.S.	His father died at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye and he succeeded to his French and Jacobite titles.[29]
32	1733, 14–28 Oct	Fought at the Siege of Kehl during the War of the Polish Succession.[35]
33	1734, May–Jul	Fought at the Siege of Philippsburg during the War of the Polish Succession.[35]
34	1735, 16 Jan	Married his Irish cousin, Frances Dillon, daughter of his cousin Richard Dillon, the 9th Viscount.[40]
36	1737, Feb	Succeeded his cousin Richard as the 10th Viscount.[43]
38	1739, 17 Jan	His wife died in London.[46]
40	1741, 24 Oct	Died in London and was succeeded by his younger brother Henry as the 11th Viscount.[47]

Notes and references

1. (Burke 1949) gives 13 January 1713, but (Cokayne 1916) gives 13 January 1713/4.
2. Arthur Dillon is called "comte" in the Dictionnaire général de biographie[31] but not in the Dictionnaire de la noblesse where the family nevertheless has an article.[32]

1. Cokayne 1916, p. 360, line 10: "CHARLES (DILLON), VISCOUNT DILLON of COSTELLO-GALLEN [I.], 1st cousin and h. male, b. 1701 ..."
2. Webb 1878, p. 149, line 7: "... [Sir Henry Dillon] came to Ireland in 1185 as secretary to Prince John ..."
3. Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, line 73: "He m. Christina, Maid of Honour to MARY, wife of JAMES II), dau. of Ralph Sheldon, and d. 5 Feb. 1733 ..."
4. Lodge 1789, p. 196, line 17: "He married Christiana, daughter of Ralph Sheldon, Esq. and niece to General Sheldon"
5. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 36a: "Lieutenant-General Arthur Dillon, besides daughters, had 5 sons."
6. Debrett 1828b, p. 748, line 29: "HENRY, 11th Viscount, who served in the French army as col. of Dillon's regiment, which command he resigned before the act of preventing British subjects from entering into foreign service ..."
7. Burke 1949, p. 603, left columns, line 78: "James, Kt. of Malta, Col. of the Dillon Regt., fell at its head at Fontenoy, 30 April, 1745."
8. Burke 1949, p. 603, left columns, line 80: "Edward, b. 1720, s. his brother in the command of Dillon's Regt. and was mortally wounded at Lauffeld, 1747."
9. Burke 1949, p. 603, left columns, line 82: "Arthur, in Holy Orders, b. at St Germains in 1721, successively Bishop of Evreux, 1753, Archbishop of Toulouse, 1758, and Archbishop of Narbonne, in 1762, Cmdr. of the Order of the Holy Ghost 1776, Primate of the Gauls, and Pres. of the States of Languedoc; d. in London 5 July 1806 ..."
10. Lodge 1789, p. 196, line 1: "Daughter Frances, a Carmelite nun, died at Pontoise."
11. Lodge 1789, p. 196, line 2: "Catharine, also a Carmelite nun, died at St. Denis in 1753."
12. La Tour du Pin 1913, p. 15: "Mary Dillon, mourut à Saint-Germain-en-Laye en 1786."
13. Lodge 1789, p. 196, line 4: "Bridget, was married to the Baron Blaisel, a Lieut.-General in the service of France."
14. La Chesnaye des Bois 1863, p. 311, left column, line 29: "BLAISEL (DU) Seigneur de Belle-Isle, de la Neuville en Picardie ..."
15. La Tour du Pin 1913, p. 15, extreme right: "Laura Dillon, épousa LUCIUS CARY, LORD VISCOUNT FALKLAND, pair d'Ecosse. Elle mourut en 1741, laissant une fille unique LUCY."
16. La Tour du Pin 1913, pp. 14–15: "Note généalogique sur la Maison des Lords Dillon"
17. Burke 1949, p. cclxvii, line 45: "JAMES II (who d. 16 Sept. 1701, at St. Germains, where he was bur.) ..."
18. Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, line 70: "He was created COUNT DILLON by Louis XIV, 1711 ..."
19. Miller 1971, p. 147, line 8: "On 11 April 1713 the peace was signed at Utrecht: in return for the acknowledgement of his grandson as Philip V of Spain, Louis had had to recognize the Hanoverian and Protestant succession in England."
20. Debrett 1828a, p. cxxv, line 14: "... [Mary] survived him and d. 8 May 1718nbsp;..."
21. Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, line 96: "He [Henry] died 13 Jan. 1713 and was s. by his son."
22. Cokayne 1916, p. 359, line 34: "He [Henry] d. in Dublin, 13 and was bur. 23 Jan 1713/4 at Ballyhawnis, co. Mayo."
23. Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, last line: "He [the 9th Viscount] ... was s. by his cousin, CHARLES 10th Viscount Dillon ..."
24. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 42a: "... [charles] became a full captain November 10th, 1718;"
25. Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, line 72: "... and was created Earl Dillon, 1722, by the Old Pretender."
26. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 36b: "In 1730, quitting the service, as he was then in his 60th year, resigned his regiment to his eldest son;"
27. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 42b: "... [Charles Dillon became] and Colonel, May 1st 1730."
28. Lodge 1789, p. []: ""
29. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 38: "... died February 5th, at the Palace of St. Germain-en-Laye, aged 63 years."
30. Ruvigny 1904, p. 40, line 8: "On 24th June 1721 he [Arthur Dillon] was further created, by the same King, an Earl and Peer of Parliament, as EARL OF [DILLON], VISCOUNT OF [___] and Lord of [___]."
31. Dezobry & Bachelet 1869, p. 800: "DILLON, Arthur, comte de ..."
32. La Chesnaye des Bois 1865, p. 892: "DILLON, ARTHUR DILLON, né en 1670 ... "
33. Dyer 1877, p. 67: "Marshal Berwick crossed the Rhine and captured Kehl, October 9th, 1733."
34. Gerba 1891, p. 50, line 7: "... sich entschloss, am 28. October um 8 Uhr Abends Chamade schlagen zu lassen und die Capitulation zu verlangen ..."
35. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 49, line 3b: "... in the war from 1733 to 1735, against the Germans, served at the sieges of Kehl and Philipsburgh ..."
36. Handley 2004, p. 883, right column, line 26: "While he was inspecting the front line on 12 June 1734, 'three cannon balls came directly to the place' ..."
37. Cust 1857, p. 195: "the command of the french army was then divided between the Duke de Noailles and the Marquis d'Asfeldt ..."
38. Dyer 1877, p. 68: "The command now devolved on Marshal d'Asfeld to whom the place surrendered, July 18th."
39. Cokayne 1916, p. 360, line 15: "He m. 16 Jan. 1734/5, Frances, only da. and h. of his predecessor, RICHARD (DILLON), 9th VISCOUNT DILLON [I.], by Bridget his wife abovenamed."
40. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 45: "... having married his Irish cousin-germain, Lady Frances Dillon in January 1735 ..."
41. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 46: "... he came over to Ireland in September, 1736, to take possession of the property to which he was entitled;"
42. Skrine 1905, p. 54: "He [de Saxe] captured Prague by escalade in the night of November 25 1741."
43. Debrett 1828b, p. 748, line 24: "... whose only son RICHARD, 9th viscount, d. without male issue, 1737;"
44. O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 48: "... on the decease of her [Charles's wife's] father, Richard, 9th Viscount Dillon, in 1737, succeeding to the family honours and estates, he [the 10th Viscount] did not return to France."
45. Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 4: "... had an only son, Charles, b. 10 Nov. 1738; d. May 1739."
46. Cokayne 1916, p. 360, line 17: "She d. 17 Jan. 1738/9, in London."
47. Cokayne 1916, p. 360, line 18: "He [Charles] d. there [in London] s.p.s., 24 and was buried 27 Oct 1741 at St. Pancras, Midx."
48. "A List of Deaths for the year 1741". Gentleman's Magazine. New series. 11. 1741. p. 554, left column, bottom. [24 October] The Lord Dillon of Ireland and Colonel of a Regiment in the French Service.
49. Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 1: "CHARLES, 10th Viscount Dillon, Col. proprietor of Dillon Regt., 1730–1741 (refer to Arthur, son of Theobald, 7th Viscount). He m. 16 Jan. 1734-5 his cousin Frances, only child of 9th Viscount Dillon and had an only son Charles b. 10 Nov. 1738; d. May 1739. He d. 24 Oct. 1741 ..."
50. Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 7: "[Henry] Col. proprietor of Dillon Regt., 1741–1744 and 1747–72;"

• Burke, Bernard (1949), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (99th ed.), London: Burke's Peerage Ltd.
• Cokayne, George Edward (1916), Gibbs, Vicary (ed.), The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, 4 (2nd ed.), London: St Catherine Press – Dacre to Dysart (for Dillon)
• Cust, Edward (1857), Annals of the Wars of the eighteenth Century, 1 (3rd ed.), London: John Murray – 1700–1739 (for Philippsburg)
• Debrett, John (1828a), Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1 (17th ed.), London: F. C. and J. Rivington – England (for dowager queen)
• Debrett, John (1828b), Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 2 (17th ed.), London: F. C. and J. Rivington – Scotland and Ireland (for Dillon)
• Dezobry, Charles; Bachelet, Théodore (1869), Dictionnaire général de biographie et d'histoire de mythologie de géographie ancienne et moderne (in French), 1 (5 ed.), Paris: Delagrave (for Dillon)
• Dyer, Thomas Henry (1877), Modern Europe from the Fall of Constantinople to the Establishment of the German Empire, 4 (2nd ed.), London: George Bell and Sons - 1714–1796 (for Kehl and Philippsburg)
• Gerba, Raimund (1891), Feldzüge des Prinzen Eugen von Savoyen, 29, Vienna: Verlag des K. und K. Generalstabes - 1733 & 1734
• Handley, Stuart (2004), "FitzJames, James (1650/51–1712)", in Matthew, Colin; Harrison, Brian (eds.), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 19, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 881–884, ISBN 0-19-861369-5
• La Chesnaye des Bois, François Alexandre Aubert de (1863), Dictionnaire de la noblesse (in French), 3 (3rd ed.), Paris: Schlesinger Frères - BER–BRA (for Blaisel)
• La Chesnaye des Bois, François Alexandre Aubert de (1865), Dictionnaire de la noblesse (in French), 6 (3rd ed.), Paris: Schlesinger Frères - COE–DOU (for Dillon)
• La Tour du Pin, Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de (1913), Journal d'une femme de cinquante ans (in French), 1 (7th ed.), Paris: Librairie Chapelot
• Lodge, John (1789), The Peerage of Ireland, 4, Dublin: James Moore – Viscounts (for Dillon)
• Miller, Peggy (1971), James: Old Pretender, New York: St. Martin's Press, ISBN 9780049230569
• O'Callaghan, John (1854), History of the Irish Brigade in the service of France, New York: P. O'Shea Publisher
• Ruvigny, Melville Henry, Marquis de (1904), Jacobite Peerage Baronetage Knightage and Grants of Honour, Edinburgh: T C & E C Jack
• Skrine, Francis Henry (1905), Fontenoy and Great Britain's Share in the war of he Austrian Succession 1741–48, Edinburg & London: William Blackwood & Sons
• Webb, Alfred (1878), "Dillon, Theobald, Viscount", Compendium of Irish Biography, Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son, p. 149

External links

• Genealogy of Charles Dillon, 10th Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallin on The Peerage website

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Richard Dillon	Viscount Dillon 1737–1741	Succeeded by Henry Dillon