LIGONIER, John Louis (1680-1770), of Cobham Place, Surr.

A naturalized Huguenot refugee, Ligonier joined the English army in 1702 as a volunteer, acquired a commission in 1703, and served throughout the war of the Spanish succession. At the age of 40 he bought the colonelcy of a cavalry regiment stationed in Ireland, where he remained for the next 20 years. During the war of the Austrian succession he was taken prisoner at Lauffeld, but was released with an offer of peace from Louis XV, which led to the ending of the war.

On the conclusion of peace Ligonier, now 67, succeeded Field Marshal Wade as Member for Bath, for which he sat without opposition till he received an English peerage in 1763. He died 28 Apr. 1770, in his ninetieth year.