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]
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.,
[7] 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.[8] However, in 1713 France signed the Peace of Utrecht, recognising the Hanoverian succession and ending its support for the Jacobites.[9] 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.[10]
On 13 January 1714 Charles's uncle Henry, the 8th Viscount Dillon, died in Ireland.
[11][12][b] 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.[13]
On 10 November 1718, Charles was made a captain in the regiment.[14] In 1722 James Francis Edward Stuart (the old pretender), who now resided in Rome, created his father Earl of Dillon.[15]
In 1730 his father retired from active service[16] and on 1 May 1730 Charles became colonel of Dillon's Regiment.[17] On 5 February 1733 N.S., Charles's father died at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[18][19] Charles, already colonel, now also succeeded in his father's titles: 2nd Earl of Dillon in the Jacobite peerage[20] and comte de Dillon in France.[21][22][c]
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.[23][24] In the campaign of 1734 they undertook the Siege of Philippsburg.[25] On 12 June 1734 Berwick was beheaded by a chance cannonball before Philippsburg[26] and was replaced by Asfeld and Noailles, who shared the command of the army before Philippsburg.[27] The fortress surrendered on 18 July 1734.[28]
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.[29][30] In 1736 he went to Ireland to take possession of some land that was part of her dowry.[31] 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.[32]
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.[33] As his wife was Richard's only heiress, Charles, Viscount Dillon, as he now was, also inherited the land.[34]
He died on 24 October 1741, aged 40, also in London and was buried in St Pancras cemetery[37][38] where Catholics were usually buried in London.[39] As his only son had predeceased him, he was succeeded by his younger brother Henry as the 11th Viscount,[40] and also as colonel-proprietor of Dillon's Regiment.[41]
Timeline
The accuracy of the given ages depends on that of his birth (only the year is known) and those of the dated events.
^This family tree is partly derived from the Dillon family tree pictured in La Tour du Pin.[6] Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.
^Arthur Dillon is called "comte" in the Dictionnaire général de biographie[21] but not in the Dictionnaire de la noblesse where the family nevertheless has an article.[22]
Citations
^ abCokayne 1916, p. 360, line 10. "Charles (Dillon), Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallen [I.], 1st cousin and h. [heir] male, b. [born] 1701 ..."
^Webb 1878, p. 149, line 7. "... [Sir Henry Dillon] came to Ireland in 1185 as secretary to Prince John ..."
^ abBurke & Burke 1915, p. 646, right column, line 18b. "He m. [married] Christina, Maid of Honour to Mary, wife of James II), dau. [daughter] of Ralph Sheldon, and d. [died] 5 Feb. 1733 ..."
^ abLodge 1789, p. 196, line 17. "He married Christiana, daughter of Ralph Sheldon, Esq. and niece to General Sheldon"
^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."
^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 [___]."
^Cust 1857, p. 195. "the command of the french army was then divided between the Duke de Noailles and the Marquis d'Asfeldt ..."
^Dyer 1877, p. 68. "The command now devolved on Marshal d'Asfeld to whom the place surrendered, July 18th."
^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."
^ abO'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 45. "... having married his Irish cousin-germain, Lady Frances Dillon in January 1735 ..."
^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;"
^Skrine 1906, p. 54. "He [de Saxe] captured Prague by escalade in the night of November 25 1741."
^ abDebrett 1828b, p. 748, line 24. "... whose only son Richard, 9th viscount, d. without male issue, 1737;"
^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."
^ abCokayne 1916, p. 360, line 18. "He [Charles] d. [died] there [in London] s.p.s., 24 and was buried 27 Oct 1741 at St. Pancras, Midx."
^"A List of Deaths for the year 1741". Gentleman's Magazine. New series. Vol. 11. 1741. p. 554, left column, bottom. [24 October] The Lord Dillon of Ireland and Colonel of a Regiment in the French Service.
^Palmer 1870, p. 27}ps=. "... inside the church and on the churchyard, both of which were long noted as burial site of Roman Catholics who died in London and its vicinity.".
^Burke & Burke 1915, p. 646, right column, line 57. "Charles, 10th Viscount Dillon, Col. proprietor of Dillon Regt., 1730–1741 (refer to Arthur, son of Theobald, 7th Viscount). He m. [married] 16 Jan. 1734-5 his cousin Frances, only child of 9th Viscount Dillon and had an only son Charles b. [born] 10 Nov. 1738; d. [died] May 1739. He d. 24 Oct. 1741 ..."
