Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven
Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven (* around 1580 , † April 4, 1661 at Balgonie Castle , Fife ) was a Scottish soldier from the Leslie clan , who rose to become Field Marshal in the Swedish service .
origin
He was born the illegitimate son of George Leslie of Balgonie , captain of the Blair Castle garrison . Shortly afterwards he was subsequently legitimized by the marriage of his parents.
Already in early childhood he was sent to the Campbell of Glenorchy clan according to the Scottish custom of “ Fosterage ” and lived with them from then on. As a result, Leslie came into contact with the Campbell of Argyll clan , as Lord Lorne, the son of the Marquess of Argyll , was also a so-called "Fosterling" who grew up with the Glenorchies. This connection also explains Campbells' affiliation to the Swedish Leslies regiment. The most famous among them was Captain Charles Campbell (called Karl Kammel) whose portrait can now be seen in Skokloster Castle in Sweden .
In Swedish service
Alexander Leslie joined the Swedish army in 1605 and served there for 33 years. Much of the time he took part in the Thirty Years War (1618–1648).
In 1626 Alexander Leslie was knighted by the King of Sweden . At this point he already had the rank of lieutenant general . In 1628 Gustav II. Adolf demanded, among other things, the appointment of Alexander Leslie as governor of Stralsund before he went ashore. In the winter of 1632, Leslie was badly wounded. After his recovery, he took over a command again and was finally appointed field marshal in 1636. In 1636 he was one of the army leaders in the battle of Wittstock , where he was subordinate to Johan Banér . The fact that the battle could be ended victoriously is attributed less to the leadership of Banér than to the coordinated tactical leadership of Alexander Leslie and General James Kings .
Return to Scotland
In 1638 events in his native Scotland led Leslie to return there. There he took over the leadership of the army of the so-called Covenanters in the Episcopal Wars . Scottish landowners and clan chiefs urged their subordinates to join the Covenanters, and an army of over 20,000 soldiers quickly formed. Her banner, made in 1639, carried the inscription: "For Christ's Crown and the Covenant". The English officers John Aston and Sir Cheney Culpeper reported that, not least because of Leslie's reputation and military abilities, many joined his army.
Since Leslie still had outstanding payments from his work in the Swedish army, he had them matched by the delivery of cannons and muskets. These were then very helpful in the surprise attack on Edinburgh Castle . Not a man was lost in this attack on the castle. He continued his campaign in the north of England and achieved an overwhelming victory against the royal troops at the Battle of Newburn . After taking Newcastle , the English king was forced to make the peace of London with the Scottish Covenanters .
In 1641 King Charles I awarded him the titles of Earl of Leven and Lord Balgonie at Holyrood Palace . At the same time he made him captain of Edinburgh Castle and one of his personal advisers. Even so, Leslie decided to serve in the English Civil War as a commander in the Scottish Army, which fought against the English king along with the parliamentary troops . Therefore, some accused him of breaking the oath he had given King Charles.
In 1644 he marched with an army to England and took part in the Battle of Marston Moor , in which the army of the English king was decisively defeated. When Charles surrendered to the Scottish Army in 1646, Alexander Leslie was commissioned to bring him to England in 1647. Leslie was still very active despite his seventies, but still passed the command to David Leslie, an extended relative whom he thought was very capable.
In 1651 Leslie was captured by a group of English dragoons and taken to London . He spent some time in the Tower of London and was only released after paying £ 20,000. He then retired from public life and moved to Northumberland . When he was in London again some time later, he was arrested again, but released after negotiations with the Queen of Sweden.
He died in 1661 at Balgonie Castle in Fife , Scotland.
Marriage and offspring
He married Agnes Renton († June 29, 1651), daughter of David Renton, landlord of Billie in Berwickshire in 1637 . With her he had seven children:
- Hon. Alexander Leslie, Lord Balgonie († around 1644), colonel in the Swedish service, ⚭ 1636 Lady Margaret Leslie, daughter of John Leslie, 6th Earl of Rothes ;
- Lady Barbara Leslie ⚭ General Sir John Ruthven;
- Gustavus Leslie († before 1661);
- Lady Christian Leslie ⚭ Walter Dundas of that Ilk;
- Lady Janet Leslie († 1640) ⚭ James Crichton, 1st Viscount of Frendraught ;
- Lady Anne Leslie ⚭ The Hon. Hugh Fraser, Master of Lovat, son and heir of Hugh Fraser, 7th Lord Lovat ;
- Lady Mary Leslie ⚭ William Cranstoun, 3rd Lord Cranstoun .
Since he survived his eldest son Alexander, his son of the same name inherited him in 1661 as 2nd Earl of Leven.
See also
literature
- W. Fraser: The Melvilles, Earls of Melville, and the Leslies, Earls of Leven. Edinburgh, 1890.
Web links
- Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven on thepeerage.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter H. Wilson: The Thirty Years War. A European tragedy . Darmstadt 2017, ISBN 978-3-8062-3628-6 , pp. 525 .
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| New title created |
Earl of Leven 1641-1661 |
Alexander Leslie |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Leslie, Alexander, 1st Earl of Leven |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Leslie, Alexander |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | scottish soldier |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1580 |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 4, 1661 |
| Place of death | Balgonie Castle , Fife |