KERR, WILLIAM [SSNE 8103]

Surname

KERR, KER

First name

WILLIAM

Title/rank

GENERAL, 1st/3rd EARL OF LOTHIAN

Nationality

SCOT

Region

WAUGHTON, HADDINGTONSHIRE, LOTHIAN

Social status

OFFICER, NOBILITY

Education

CAMBRIDGE, PARIS

Text source

William Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian was a veteran of continental service and an officer during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He was the son of courtier Sir Robert Ker, Laird of Ancram [SSNE 8213]. He attended the University of Cambridge but completed his studies at Paris before serving under the Duke of Buckingham and the Earl of Morton during the disastrous siege of La Rochelle in 1627-1628. He remained in the regiment of the Earl of Morton when it transferred to Sir George Hay of Kinfauns [SSNE 5056], and was one of the 16 original captains who served in the regiment during its temporary service in the Scots-Dutch Brigade. He served at the siege of 's-Hertogenbosch from 1 May to 13 September 1629 and was present at the city's surrender. 

In 1630, William Kerr married Lady Anne Kerr and he became Earl of Lothian by right of his wife in 1631. In 1638 signed the National Covenant in Greyfriar's Kirkyard and was the colonel of a regiment of horse during the First Bishops' War in 1639. He raised a regiment of foot for the Second Bishops' War out of Teviotdale and the regiment consisted of 1200 men in 10/12 companies. Apparently Lothian regretfully informed the Earl of Ancram, his father, that he "could not provide [Ancram] with a fiddler from the regiment, because the only one was an alcoholic," (Furgol, p. 60). After the outbreak of the rebellion in Ireland, Lothian was made the lieutenant-general of the Ulster Army and had another regiment of foot in service there, although Ed Furgol reports he "never visited Ulster during the army's stay there," (Furgol, p. 65, 98-99). Lothian's Teviotdale foot served at Hilton, York, Marstoon Moor, Newcastle, and Hereford (Furgol, p. 182). Although Lothian himself was not always present with his regiment, he was present at the siege of Newark where he confronted Charles I and demanded "the surrender of Newark, [the signing] of the Solemn League and Covenant, [the establishment] of presbyterianism in England and Ireland, and [the surrender] of Montrose," (Furgol, p. 182). Charles I refused and Lothian placed him under guard before Charles' arrival in New Castle. Lothian finally served in the Home Army under the Earl of Argyll against Montrose. 

 

Sources:

Coffey, John. "Kerr, William, third earl of Lothian (c. 1605–1675), politician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 23 Sep. 2004; Accessed 3 Aug. 2020. https://www-oxforddnb-com.ezproxy.st-andrews.ac.uk/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-15468.

Correspondence of Sir Robert Kerr, First Earl of Ancram and his son William, Third Earl of Lothian, Vol. I: 1616-1649 (2 Vols., Edinburgh, 1875), passim.

Ferguson, J. Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade in the service of the United Netherlands,1572-1697 (Edinburgh, 1899), p. 400.

Furgol, E., A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies (Edinburgh, 1990), pp. 18, 29, 48, 60, 63, 65, 72, 91, 98-103, 158, 200, 255, 318, 321.

Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 1629-1630, p. 164

 

This entry created by Mr. Jack Abernethy and updated with the help of Dr. Jamie Reid-Baxter. 

 

Keywords:

 

British Civil Wars; English Civil War, Veteran, British Civil Wars

 

Service record

THE STUART KINGDOMS, LA ROCHELLE

Arrived 1627-01-01, as CAPTAIN

Departed 1628-12-31, as CAPTAIN

Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY

THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, THE SCOTS BRIGADE, HAY'S

Arrived 1629-05-01, as CAPTAIN

Departed 1629-12-31, as CAPTAIN

Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY

THE STUART KINGDOMS, ARMY OF THE COVENANT

Arrived 1638-02-28, as COLONEL

Departed 1641-12-31, as GENERAL

Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY

THE STUART KINGDOMS, ULSTER ARMY, ARMY OF THE COVENANT

Arrived 1641-01-01, as GENERAL

Departed 1645-12-31, as COLONEL

Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY