Archery Guard was incorporated with his regiment, which consisted mostly of pikemen, and on the strength of this amalgamation Hepburn's troops claimed to be the oldest regiment in France, a claim resented by the Picardy regiment, raised in 1562, which nicknamed them ‘Pontius Pilate's Guards.’
Hepburn took part in the conquest of Lorraine, and in September was appointed maréchal-de-camp (brigadier-general). In 1634 he assisted, under the Duc de la Force, in the capture of Hagenau, Saverne, Lunéville, Bitche, and La Motte. He was then sent to relieve Heidelberg and Philipsbourg, where some of his former comrades under Gustavus were defending themselves against a superior force of imperialists. In 1635 he was present at the capture of Spires, the defeat of Duke Charles of Lorraine near Fresche, the capture of Bingen, the relief of Mentz, the capture of Zweibrücken, and the engagement at Vaudrevange. While arranging the encampment of the rear-guard he fell into the hands of the imperialists, but he pretended to be a German, and gave them orders in that language with so much assurance that they felt it quite an honour to let him go (Gazette de France, 6 Oct. 1635). About this time Duke Bernard of Weimar joined the French service, and the remnant of the Scots brigade which accompanied him was incorporated, much to the delight of the men, in Hepburn's regiment, which thus became 8,300 strong. In 1636 he shared with Cardinal de la Valette the credit of revictualling Hagenau, and, not unconscious of his own merit, he asked that ‘Meternic’ (perhaps an ancestor of the Austrian statesman) might be considered his prisoner, as the four thousand crowns ransom would be of service to him. He also requested that his brigade might take precedence of any other since raised to twenty companies, intimating that otherwise his dignity would not allow him to remain in the French army. Both petitions were granted, but before Meternic's ransom arrived Hepburn was killed. He was assisting Duke Bernard at the siege of Saverne, and while reconnoitring the fortifications on 8 July 1636 he received a musket-shot in the neck, and died two hours afterwards. He stood high in the favour of Richelieu, who frequently mentions him in his correspondence, was amused by his blunt manner and foreign accent (e.g. simère for chimère), and regarded the capture of Saverne as dearly purchased by his death. Hepburn was a catholic, and was buried in Toul Cathedral, a monument with recumbent effigy being, in 1669, erected near the spot, while his helmet, sabre, and gauntlets were deposited at the foot of it. This monument was destroyed in the French revolution, but the Latin inscription on the floor is still legible (Mém. Soc. de l'Arch. de Lorraine, 1863). Hepburn had a nephew who was page to Richelieu, and to whom Meternic's ransom was assigned.
[Lettres de Gustave Adolphe, Paris, 1790; Chronologie Historique Militaire, vi. 100; Gaz. de France, 1633–6; Lettres de Richelieu, 1853–1877 (these French authorities spell his name Hebron); James Grant's Memoirs of Sir John Hepburn.]
HEPBURN, PATRICK, third Lord Hailes and first Earl of Bothwell (d. 1508), was the eldest son of Adam, second lord Hailes, and Helen, eldest daughter of Alexander, first lord Home [q. v.] On 1 Feb. 1480–1481 he received a grant to him and his wife of the lands of the barony of Dunsyre (Reg. Mag. Sig. 1424–1513, entry 1459). He was also appointed governor of the castle of Berwick, and defended it for a time in 1482 when the town was invested by the English army, but consented to its final surrender through a secret understanding between the Duke of Albany and the English. He was one of the conservators of the truce with England, 21 Sept. 1484 (Cal. Documents relating to Scotland, vol. iv. entry 1505). On account of the annexation by James III of the temporalities of the rich abbey of Coldingham to the chapel royal of Stirling, Lord Home [see Home, Alexander, first Lord Home], who regarded them as belonging of right to him, procured the assistance of Hailes to enable him to assert his right. Hailes was a party to the hollow pacification at Blackness in May 1488, and along with James Stewart, earl of Buchan, and Andrew Stewart, bishop of Moray, he made a vain attempt to gain assistance against the Scottish king from Henry VII. At the battle of Sauchieburn on 11 June 1488 he led the van with Lord Home. James III lost his life during flight from the battle, and the consequent distractions enabled Hailes to lay the foundation of the remarkable influence and prosperity of the family. On the surrender of Edinburgh Castle, fifteen days after Sauchieburn, he was (26 June) made keeper of the castle and sheriff of the county of Edinburgh (Reg. Mag. Sig. 1424–1513, entry 1741). On 6 Sept. following he was constituted master of the household and lord high admiral of Scotland. Crichton Castle and the lordship of Bothwell, forfeited by John Ramsay, were on 13 Oct. bestowed on Hailes, and four days afterwards the lordship was erected into the earldom of Bothwell, and conferred on him in full parliament by giving him the sword. The same day it was also declared by parliament that he should
