George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney
The Earl of Orkney | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Martin Maingaud, 1724 | |
| Born | 9 February 1666 |
| Died | 29 January 1737 (aged 70) |
| Buried | Taplow Court, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Allegiance | Scotland Great Britain |
| Branch | Scots Army British Army |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Knight of the Order of the Thistle |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Villiers |
| Children |
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Field Marshal George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, KT (February 1666 – 29 January 1737), styled Lord George Hamilton from 1666 to 1696, was a British army officer and the first officer of the British Army to be promoted to the rank of field marshal. After commanding a Scots Army regiment for the cause of William of Orange during the Williamite War in Ireland, he commanded another Scottish regiment in the Low Countries during the Nine Years' War.
Hamilton led the final assault at the Battle of Blenheim attacking the village churchyard with eight infantry battalions and then receiving the surrender of its French defenders during the War of the Spanish Succession. He also led the charge of fifteen infantry battalions in an extremely bloody assault on the French entrenchments at the Battle of Malplaquet. In later life, Hamilton became a Lord of the Bedchamber to George I and was installed as governor of Edinburgh Castle.