Background
He was born at Kilkenny on the 8th of July 1634. The eldest son of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde and Lady Elizabeth Preston.
He was born at Kilkenny on the 8th of July 1634. The eldest son of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde and Lady Elizabeth Preston.
Having come to London in 1652 he was rightly suspected of sympathizing with the exiled royalists, and in 1655 was put into prison by Oliver Cromwell. After his release about a year later he went to the Netherlands and married Emilia von Nassau. He accompanied Charles II to England in 1660.
In 1661 Butler became a member of both the English and the Irish Houses of Commons, representing Bristol in the former and Dublin University in the latter House; and in 1662 was made an Irish peer as earl of Ossory.
In 1665 a fortunate accident had allowed Ossory to take part in a big naval fight with the Dutch, and in May 1672, being now in command of a ship, he fought against the same enemies in Southwold Bay, serving with great distinction on both occasions.
The earl was partly responsible for this latter struggle, as in March 1672 before war was declared he had attacked the Dutch Smyrna fleet, an action which he is said to have greatly regretted later in life.
Whilst visiting France in 1672 he rejected the liberal offers made by Louis XIV to induce him to enter the service of France, and returning to England he added to his high reputation by his conduct during a sea-fight in August 1673.
The earl was intimate with William, prince of Orange, and in 1677 he joined the allied army in the Netherlands, commanding the British section and winning great fame at the siege of Mons in 1678.
In 1661 Butler became a member of both the English and the Irish Houses of Commons, representing Bristol in the former and Dublin University in the latter House.
In 1656 he married a Dutch lady of good family - Emilia von Nassau, accompanying Charles II to England in 1660. Ossory had eleven children.
