Meinhardt Schomberg, 1st Duke of Leinster

Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg
Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg
Born	30 June 1641 Cologne, Germany
Died	16 July 1719(1719-07-16) (aged 78) Hillingdon, London, England
Allegiance	England  Great Britain
Service/branch	English Army  British Army
Years of service	1689-1707 (England) 1707-1719 (Great Britain)
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Franco-Dutch War Williamite War in Ireland War of the Spanish Succession
Awards	Knight of the Garter

Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, 1st Duke of Leinster, KG (30 June 1641 – 16 July [O.S. 5 July] 1719), was a general in the service of Willem, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of Holland, later King William III of England. He fought in the Franco-Dutch War, then played a crucial role at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690 during the Williamite War in Ireland and finally commanded the British troops deployed to Portugal during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Born the son of Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg (who was of Huguenot descent), and Johanna Elizabeth de Schomberg (née von Schönberg), Meinhardt Schomberg joined his father in the service of the English Expeditionary brigade to Portugal and served as a lieutenant-colonel and then as a colonel. He then settled in La Rochelle with his father and became a French subject. He attained the rank of brigadier and, afterwards, maréchal de camp (major general), during the Franco-Dutch War in 1678. He fought under Marshal François de Créquy at the Battle of Kochersburg in October 1677, the Battle of Freiburg im Breisgau on 14 November 1677, at the Battle of Rheinfelden in July 1678 and at the Battle of Kinzing later that month, before serving under Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg as a general of cavalry.