David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore

General David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore KT PC (c. 1656 – 2 January 1730) was a Scottish general and Governor of Gibraltar.

The Earl of Portmore
The Earl of Portmore
Born	1656
Died	2 January 1730 Weybridge, Surrey
Buried	Weybridge, Surrey
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Nine Years' War War of the Spanish Succession

Life

He was the elder son of Sir Alexander Robertson, of the family of Strowan, Perthshire, who settled in Holland, where he acquired a considerable property, and adopted the name of Colyear. [1]

Military career

Colyear was commissioned into the Army of William of Orange in 1674, becoming Lieutenant-General of the Scots Brigade, the three Scottish regiments which had been fighting in the service of the Netherlands for many decades.

He led the troops ashore when William landed at Torbay on 5 November 1688 and then served in most of William's Irish campaigns, being made Governor of Limerick in 1691. For his service in Ireland he was created Lord Portmore on 1 June 1699. In 1702, he obtained the rank of major-general, and on 27 February 1703 received the command of the Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot, later the 2nd Foot. On 13 April 1703, he was raised to the dignities of Earl of Portmore, Viscount of Milsington, and Lord Colyear.[1]

He took part in the War of Spanish Succession and participated in the Battle of Cádiz in 1702 and the Battle of Vigo Bay later that year.[1] In 1710, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces in Scotland, and in January 1711 was raised to the rank of general. In 1712, he served under the Duke of Ormonde in Flanders, and the same year he was named a member of the privy council and made a Knight of the Thistle. [1]

In August 1713, he was constituted Governor of Gibraltar, and in October of the same year he was chosen one of the sixteen representative peers of Scotland. When Gibraltar was besieged by the Spaniards in 1727, he embarked for that place to assume command, but on the approach of Admiral Wager with eleven ships the siege was raised. He died 2 January 1730.[1]

Family

David Colyear had two sons (pictured) with Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester.

He married Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, daughter of Sir Charles Sedley of Southfleet, Kent, and former mistress of James II.[1]

They had two sons:

1. David Colyear, Viscount Milsington (1698 - 1728-9)
2. Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore.[1]

Arms

Coat of arms of David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore

Coronet A Coronet of an Earl Crest A Unicorn rampant Argent armed and maned Or Escutcheon Gules on a Chevron between three Wolves' Heads erased Or as many Oak Trees eradicated proper fructed Or Supporters On either side a Wolf proper Motto Avance

References

1. Henderson 1887.

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Henderson, Thomas Finlayson (1887). "Colyear, David". In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 11. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 424–425.

External links

• Henderson, T. F. (2004). "David Colyear". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
• The Queen's Royal Surrey Regimental Association
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages