Godert de Ginkell, 1st Earl of Athlone

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Godert de Ginkell
Amerongen Castle, family seat of the Barons van Roads

Godert de Ginkell, 1st Earl of Athlone , Baron van Reede , (also Goddard von Ginkel , Godert de Ginkell or Godard van Reede , born June 4, 1644 at Amerongen Castle in Utrechtse Heuvelrug , † February 11, 1703 in Utrecht ) was a Dutch general in English service.

Godert de Ginkell was the eldest son of the Dutch diplomat, Godard Adriaan van Reede , Baron van Amerongen (1621-1691), born and carried the title Baron van Reede . He was a grandson of Godart van Reede . He joined the Dutch cavalry as a child and received his first command at the age of twelve. In 1688 he accompanied the Orange Prince William on his expedition to England as part of the Glorious Revolution , during which King James II of England was overthrown. The following year, de Ginkell distinguished himself by pursuing, defeating and capturing a Scottish regiment that mutinied in support of King Jacob at Ipswich and marched north across the Fens . This mutiny led to the first Mutiny Act in 1689 , according to which mutiny could be officially punished as a crime for the first time. The following year, de Ginkell accompanied William, who had meanwhile become King of England, to Ireland to fight the Franco-Irish Jacobites there. In the Battle of the Boyne he commanded a unit of Dutch cavalry. When the king returned to England in 1691, he entrusted General de Ginkell with the further conduct of the war in Ireland.

De Ginkell installed its headquarters in Mullingar . Henri de Massue , Marquis of Ruvigny, the recognized leader of the Huguenot refugees from France , also served under him . In June 1691, de Ginkell's soldiers captured Ballymore's fortress and captured the entire garrison of 1,000 men; the English lost eight men in battle. After rebuilding the fortifications of Ballymore, the army marched on Athlone , then one of the most important fortified cities in Ireland and a key position in the Jacobite defense, as the Shannon was bridged there. The Irish defenders were commanded by the distinguished French General Charles Chalmont, Marquis de St. Ruth . The shelling began on June 19th and the city was stormed on June 30th.

The Irish Army withdrew to Galway and took up their next defensive position at Aughrim . De Ginkell's troops followed him, and on July 12, 1691, the Battle of Aughrim broke out , which the English won. The Marquis de St. Ruth fell in battle, and his men fled; 4,000 soldiers of the Franco-Irish army were killed. This battle meant the decision in the armed conflict in favor of King William. Galway capitulated and its garrison withdrew to Limerick . There the Viceroy Tyrconnell had numerous troops under his command, but he died suddenly in August and the command went to Patrick Sarsfild and the French d'Usson. Led by de Ginkell, another 20,000 soldiers came and began the successful siege of Limerick , which ended a few days later with the Treaty of Limerick . The treaty sealed the end of the war between the Jacobites and Wilhelm III. and meant the conquest of Ireland by the English.

De Ginkell has been generously recognized and rewarded for his service. He received the formal thanks from the House of Commons and was naturalized as an English subject on February 24, 1692, and on March 4, 1692 by the king in the Peerage of Ireland to the hereditary Earl of Athlone and Baron Aughrim. On October 13, 1693, the huge lands of William Dongan, 1st Earl of Limerick , which had been drafted, were awarded to him, but this allocation was canceled on December 15, 1699 by the English Parliament to the great annoyance of the king.

The earl continued to serve in the English army and accompanied the king to the European continent in 1693. He fought in 1693 in the Battle of Neerwinden , in 1695 in the siege of Namur and was present in the destruction of the French artillery magazines in Givet . In the War of the Spanish Succession in 1702 he succeeded the Prince of Nassau-Usingen as Field Marshal of the Dutch Army and served under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough , the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg).

Marriage and offspring

On August 26, 1666, he married Urselina Philopota van Raesveld (1643-1721) in Ellekom in Gelderland . This was the daughter of Reinier van Raesveld , Herr von Middachten (1600–1650) and Margaretha van Leefdael. With her he had two sons:

He died of apoplexy in Utrecht on February 11, 1703 and was buried in Amerongen. His eldest son Friedrich inherited him as 2nd Earl of Athlone, who also served as a soldier for William III. and Queen Anne served. With the death of the 10th Earl of Athlone in 1844, the line died out. In 1917 the title was revived and bestowed on Alexander Cambridge , a younger brother of Queen Mary .

Literature and web links
predecessor Office successor
New title created Earl of Athlone
1692-1703 		Frederick de Ginkell
personal data
SURNAME Ginkell, Godert de, 1st Earl of Athlone
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch soldier
DATE OF BIRTH June 4, 1644
PLACE OF BIRTH Amerongen Castle , Utrechtse Heuvelrug
DATE OF DEATH February 11, 1703
Place of death Utrecht