1649. Dillon's estates were confiscated by Cromwell, and he and his family lived in exile on the Continent until the Restoration. In 1663 most of his extensive landed property was restored, and several high ofices in the state were conferred upon him. He died about 1672. The family appear to have had a house in Winetavern-street, Dublin, as his wife and one of his sons died there, and were buried in St. James's churchyard. 216
Dillon, Arthur, Count (son of Theobald, 7th Viscount Dillon, an officer in King James II.'s army), was born in Roscommon in 1670. His mother is said to have been killed by the second bomb thrown into Limerick by King William. Dillon went to France in May 1690, as Colonel of one of the two regiments that his father had raised among his tenants for the service of James II. Colonel Dillon's regiment was sent to France as part of Lord Mountcashel's brigade, in exchange for some veteran French regiments. His lengthened services of nearly forty years in the French army are fully set forth in O'Callaghan's History of the Irish Brigades'. There was scarcely a prominent operation in the campaigns of the time, under the Duke de Vendome, Marshal Villeroy, and others, in which he did not actively take part. In 1704 he was made Marechal-de-Camp, was governor of Toulon, and was ultimately advanced to the rank of Lieutenant-General. In April 1730 he retired from active service. In person he was tall and handsome; he was esteemed a good officer and a brave soldier. He died at St. Germain-en-Laye, 5th February 1733, aged 63. His Memoirs perished in the French Revolution. He married Catherine Sheldon, Lady of Honour to James II.'s Queen, and by her had five sons and four daughters. His sons were: (i) Charles, loth Viscount, born in 1701, who became Colonel of the regiment after his father, served on the Rhine, married his cousin, and took possession of the family estates in 1735. He lived in Ireland, and died without issue, in London, in 1741. (2) Henry, 11th Viscount, after seeing much service with his regiment, left the French army in 1743 after the battle of Dettingen, so as not to forfeit the family estates. He married Lady Charlotte Lee, daughter of the Earl of Lichfield, and died in London, 1787. (3) James, who was killed at the head of his regiment at Fontenoy, 11th May (N.S.) 1745. (4) Edward, who commanded the regiment from the date of his brother's death until he fell at the battle of Laffeldt in 1747. (5) Arthur, who entered the Church, rose to be Bishop of Evreux, Archbishop of Toulouse, and Archbishop of Narbonne, died in London, 5th July 1806, and was interred in Old St. Pancras. This ecclesiastic devoted considerable attention to the study of the history and antiquities of Ireland. 34 39 185
Dillon, Theobald, Count, son of the 11th Viscount, was born in Dublin about 1745. He joined the French army as a colonel of cavalry, was made Brigadier in 1780, and Marechal-de-Camp three years afterwards. He was sent to Flanders in 1792 when France declared war against Austria. While he commanded at Lille in April, General Dumouriez ordered him to march on Tournay with ten squadrons of horse, six battalions of infantry, and six pieces of artillery, to make a demonstration, but on no account provoke a conflict. In pursuance of these orders, he advanced slowly and with great precaution, having remarked among his soldiers some symptoms of insubordination. At Bessieux, on a road half way between the two towns, he perceived the enemy in superior numbers moving forward to give him battle. It was the first time for many years that the French and Austrians found themselves face to face. There was hesitation on both sides. The Austrians opened an artillery fire on the French troops without any effect. Dillon, true to his orders, directed a retreat, covering it with his cavalry. The infantry retired in good order; but the cavalry, notably those of the Queen's Regiment, attributing the movement to an tmderstanding with the enemy, turned bridle, and threw themselves on the infantry, whom they bore down with cries of "Sauve qui pent: on nous trahit!" Meanwhile the Austrians, far from pursuing, returned to Tournay, while the French, abandoning two of their pieces of artillery, and four caissons, fled precipitately to Lille, despite all Dillon's efforts to rally them. The men declared their officers had betrayed them, and massacred all without
mercy. Dillon fell by a pistol bullet, and his body after being dragged about the streets, was burnt in a fire lit in the marketplace (29th April 1792). His murderers were afterwards executed, and by order of the Legislative Assembly the honours of the Pantheon were accorded to his memory, and a pension was granted to his children. The regiment of Dillon had then been commanded by successive members of the same family for 101 years. At the French Revolution it was, like the other French regiments, deprived of its distinctive name, and numbered the 87th Regiment. His grandson. Count Theobald Dillon, died in Paris in June 1874. He was much interest-
