GODART

VAN

See also:

• GODART VAN GINKEL (163o-17o3)

GINKEL (163o-17o3)  , 1st earl of Athlone, Dutch general in the service of England, was born at Utrecht in 1630 . He came of a noble family, and bore the title of Baron van Reede, being the eldest son of Godart Adrian van Reede, Baron Ginkel . In his youth he entered the Dutch army, and in 1688 he followed William, prince of Orange, in his expedition to England . In the following year he distinguished himself by a memorable exploit—the pursuit, defeat and capture of a Scottish regiment which had mutinied at Ipswich, and was marching northward across the fens . It was the alarm excited by this mutiny that facilitated the passing of the first Mutiny Act . In 1690 Ginkel accompanied William III. to Ireland, and commanded a body of Dutch cavalry at the battle of the Boyne . On the king's return to England General Ginkel was entrusted with the conduct of the war . He took the field in the spring of 1691, and established his headquarters at Mullingar . Among those who held a command under him was the marquis of Ruvigny, the recognized chief of the Huguenot refugees . Early in June Ginkel took the fortress of Ballymore, capturing the whole garrison of l000 men . The English lost only 8 men . After reconstructing the fortifications of Ballymore the army marched to Athlone, then one of the most important of the fortified towns of Ireland .

The Irish defenders of the

place were commanded by a distinguished French general, Saint-Ruth . The firing began on June 19th, and on the 3oth the town was stormed, the Irish army retreating towards Galway, and taking up their position at Aughrim . Having strengthened the fortifications of Athlone and left a garrison there, Ginkel led the English, .on July 12th, to Aughrim . An immediate attack was resolved on, and, after a severe and at one time doubtful contest, the crisis was precipitated by the fall of Saint-Ruth, and the disorganized Irish were defeated and fled . A horrible slaughter of the Irish followed the struggle, and 4000 corpses were left unburied on the field, besides a multitude of others that lay along the line of the retreat . Galway next capitulated, its garrison being permitted to retire to Limerick . There the viceroy Tyrconnel was in command of a large force, but his sudden death early in August left the command in the hands of General Sarsfield and the Frenchman D'Usson . The English came in sight of the town on the day of Tyrconnel's death, and the bombardment was immediately begun . Ginkel, by a bold device, crossed the Shannon and captured the camp of the Irish cavalry . A few days later he stormed the fort on Thomond Bridge, and after difficult negotiations a capitulation was signed, the terms of which were divided into a civil and a military treaty . Thus was completed the conquest or pacification of Ireland, and the services of the Dutch general were amply recognized and rewarded . He received the formal thanks of the House of Commons, and was created by the king 1st earl of Athlone and baron of Aughrim .

The immense forfeited estates of the earl of Limerick were given to him, but the

grant was a few years later revoked by the English parliament . The earl continued to serve in the English army, and accompanied the king to the continent in 1693 . He fought at the sieges of Namur and the battle of Neerwinden, and assisted in destroying the French magazine at Givet . In 1702, waiving his own claims to the position of commander-in-chief, he commanded the Dutch serving under the duke of Marlborough . He died at Utrecht on the 11th of February 1703, and was succeeded by his son the 2nd earl (1668-1719), a distinguished soldier in the reigns, of William III. and Anne . On the death of the 9th earl without issue in 1844, the title became extinct .