Sir John O'Sullivan

Who is Sir John O'Sullivan?

Sir John O'Sullivan, aka John William O'Sullivan, was an Irish soldier in the service of France. He was born in County Kerry and educated in Paris and Rome, being intended for the priesthood. He returned to Ireland upon the sudden death of his father and, being unable to retain his parental estates due to the Penal Laws, he chose to forfeit them and made his way back to France, where he joined the army, eventually becoming a colonel.

According to A Compendium of Irish Biography, "He ... rose rapidly, and was coadjutor of Maillebois in the atrocious suppression of liberty in Corsica in 1739. There and on the Rhine he earned the reputation of an able captain in guerrilla warfare."

It was probably his reputation gained in the latter theatre that brought him to the attention of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, who chose him as his adjutant and quartermaster-general during his campaign in Great Britain in 1745. O'Sullivan was constantly at Stuart's side from his landing in Scotland on 5 August 1745 to his escape on 1 October 1746, escaping in a French frigate