page_title: John Cope (British Army officer)
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: John Cope (British Army officer) / Career
caption_attribution_description: Portrait of James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope (c.1673-1721), see James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope
context_page_description: Sir John Cope was a British soldier, and Whig Member of Parliament, representing three separate constituencies between 1722 and 1741. He is chiefly remembered for his defeat at Prestonpans, the first significant battle of the Jacobite rising of 1745.
  His military service included the wars of the Spanish and Austrian Successions. Like many of the senior officers present at Dettingen in 1743, victory resulted in promotion, and he was appointed military commander in Scotland shortly before the 1745 Rising.
  Although exonerated by a court-martial in 1746, Prestonpans ended his career as a field officer. The battle was commemorated by the tune "Hey, Johnnie Cope, Are Ye Waking Yet?", which still features in Scottish folk music and bagpipe recitals.
  In 1751, he was appointed governor of the Limerick garrison, and deputy to Viscount Molesworth, commander of the army in Ireland. He died in London on 28 July 1760.
context_section_description: Educated at Westminster School, in 1706 he joined the household of Lord Raby (1672–1739), British ambassador to Prussia. In 1707, Raby arranged for Cope to be commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Dragoons, then fighting in Spain under James Stanhope, part of the War of the Spanish Succession. Appointed aide-de-camp to Stanhope, Cope took part in the 1708 capture of Minorca and the Battle of Almenara in 1710.
  When George I succeeded in 1714, the Whigs formed the new government, with Stanhope as its dominant figure. In 1715, Cope was commissioned captain in the 2nd Foot Guards, then the Horse Guards in 1720. Both units were normally based in London, the Horse Guards having served there continuously since 1691, providing security for the monarch and government. This gave officers like Cope regular contact with highly influential people, while being in London made it easier to combine political and military careers. 
  After Stanhope died in 1721, Sir Robert Walpole replaced him as chief minister and in the 1722 election, Cope was elected MP for the Whig-controlled constituency of Queenborough. While relatives like Edward Cope Hopton (1708–1754) were Tory MPs, Cope, his former brother-in-law Feversham, his cousin Sir John, and nephew Monoux Cope (1696–1763), were all Whigs. In 1727, he was MP for Liskeard; defeated at Orford in 1734, he was returned unopposed in a 1738 bye-election. However, as Walpole's influence weakened, many Whig MPs did not contest the 1741 election, including Cope.
  His military career continued to progress. In 1730, he became colonel of the 39th Foot, then successively the 5th Foot, the 9th Dragoons and finally the 7th Dragoons in 1741. He served in Flanders during the War of the Austrian Succession and was promoted lieutenant general in February 1743. He led a cavalry brigade at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743, where King George II became the last ruling British monarch to command troops in battle. In the aftermath of victory, Cope was appointed commander of military forces in Scotland.
caption: James Stanhope, whose patronage was the foundation of Cope's early career
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