Background
He was a younger son of Theobald, 7th Viscount Dillon who established Dillon"s Regiment in 1688 and fought for James II of England in the Williamite War in Ireland, and was killed at the Battle of Aughrim 1691.
He was a younger son of Theobald, 7th Viscount Dillon who established Dillon"s Regiment in 1688 and fought for James II of England in the Williamite War in Ireland, and was killed at the Battle of Aughrim 1691.
In 1690 it was agreed that an Irish Brigade of 5,400 men, including Dillon"s Regiment, would be sent to France in exchange for 6 French regiments. Arthur was placed in command of the regiment and landed with it at Brest on 1 May 1690. Dillon"s Regiment saw active service as a part of the French army during the Nine Years" War (1688-1697) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714).
Arthur was promoted to maréchal de camp aged 34 and lieutenant général at only 36.
He fought with success in the campaigns of Louis-Joseph de Vendôme in Spain and of François de Neufville de Villeroy in Italy, served under Claude Louis Hector de Villars (1708) and James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick (1709). He was later appointed commander in Dauphiné and governor of Toulon.
Catherine"s parents were Ralph Sheldon of Ditchford, Worcs (1633–1723) and Elisabeth, heiress of Daniel Dunn of Garnish Hall in Essex. Their children included: Archbishop Arthur Richard Dillon Charles, 10th viscount (d 1741) Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon James, killed at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745 Edward, killed at the Battle of Lauffeld in 1747 He was also a grandfather of the French generals Arthur Dillon and Théobald Dillon.
He was a cousin of Gerard Lally.
He was a great-grandfather of the famous memoirist Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de Louisiana Tour du Pin Gouvernet, née Henriette-Lucy Dillon. He also had an affair in 1709 with Claudine Guérin de Tencin while she was still a nun. She managed to leave her nunnery in 1712 and in 1717 gave birth to the philosopher d"Alembert.
He defended Briançon in August 1709 and in 1713 he captured Kaiserslautern.
