Robert Count Douglas
Robert Graf Douglas (born March 17, 1611 on Gut Standingstone , East Lothian , † May 28, 1662 in Stockholm ) was a Swedish field marshal and founded the Swedish line of the Scottish clan Douglas . He was accepted as a member of the Fruitful Society under the company name of the Lively .
Life
He was the fourth son of Patrick Douglas of Standingstone († 1626) and Christina Leslie. His father was the second son of William Douglas, Laird of Whittingehame (around 1540-1595). His father was involved with his brother Archibald in the murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley , husband of Queen Mary Scots .
Orphaned at an early age, Robert, like many of his Scottish peers, went to the continent to work as a soldier abroad. Since the Thirty Years' War was raging in Europe , young men from all over the world were wanted to supply the armies with recruits. At the age of 16 he became a page in 1627 with the Count Palatine Johann Kasimir , a German prince fighting on the Protestant side, and soon afterwards ensign in the regiment of Alexander Leslie , a relative of his mother. As early as 1631 he became a lieutenant captain in a company led by Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Hamilton (also a Scot). In 1631 Douglas arrived with the Scots under the command of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton on the German theater of war, under him he took part in the Battle of Breitenfeld on September 17, 1631.
In the battle of Lützen he was injured in the cheek by a musket ball , on November 16, 1632 he was in command of the 1st company in the Yellow Regiment . In 1633 he became captain of the dragoon guard of the Swedish duke Bernhard von Weimar , in 1634 a lieutenant colonel in the same unit and finally colonel of a cavalry regiment under the Swedish general Axel Oxenstierna . In 1636 he took part in the battle of Wittstock under Johan Banér . In 1637 he visited home. In 1642 he was in the second battle of Breitenfeld . In 1643 he became major general in the "Torstenson War", where he suffered losses in Jutland in April 1644 from the Danish major Petersen. In 1645 he took part in the battle of Jankau .
On May 26, 1646, he married Hedvig Mörner, the daughter of the Swedish governor Stellan Otto Mörner and Maria von der Grunau, with great pomp in Leipzig . Also present was the later King Karl X. Gustav . Then he threatened the city of Arnsberg (like Eberhard Beckermann before him ) , but now on Wrangel's orders . On September 5, 1646 he was called to Swabia , where he first met in Lauingen , later he was involved in raids on Schrobenhausen , Heilbronn and Schwäbisch Hall . After the peace negotiations he led in Ulm , he was appointed governor in Swabia. He was also at the siege of the imperial city of Schweinfurt and the last campaign of this war in 1647/48, where he was seriously wounded by a musket shot during the siege of Gleichenstein . Gleichenstein Castle was then turned into a cairn by the Swedes on March 9, 1648 .
After his recovery, he and Wrangel took part in the conquest and eleven days of plundering Freising in June 1648 : from May 27th to June 6th the Swedish still had the headquarters in Freysingen, where Duglaß, Count himself. About the cavalry, held in the Thumbkirchen child baptism .
On July 10, 1647, the Zeven monastery was transferred to him by Queen Christina . After the peace treaty between Münster and Osnabrück , he remained in the Swedish service even after the Thirty Years' War, he dissolved his regiments in Swabia and was promoted to the status of Swedish baron (March 29, 1651), then became general of the cavalry on May 24, 1651 and Swedish War Council and was from November 6, 1652 - May 28, 1654 Swedish imperial stable master. After he was raised to the Swedish count status with the county of Skenninge in Östergötland on May 28, 1654 and had acquired the goods Stjärnorp and Hogsäter, he founded the Swedish line of the Douglas family, which is still based in Sweden today. He built Stjärnorp Castle after the Peace of Westphalia .
Returned to Sweden in 1651 he was made Baron von Skålby and in 1654 Count von Skänninge . After 1656 even Field Marshal Lieutenant had been made and promoted on May 13, 1657 to field marshal, he also took over political office. In 1658 he became a privy councilor in the Senate and finally, from May 25, 1658, he was Commander-in-Chief in Estonia and Livonia . Here he was involved in the Battle of Gniezno , the Battle of Warsaw and in 1658 in the capture of Ronneburg in the Second Northern War . By cunning he succeeded in the night of September 29th to 30th, 1658, to capture the predecessor building of Mitau Castle and capture the Duke of Courland Gotthard Kettler . After the Peace of Oliva in 1660 he became visibly weaker and suffered a stroke after his return home. He was buried at great expense in the Ritterholm Church. Later his bones were transferred to the chapel he built in the Vreta monastery .
progeny
From his marriage to Hedvig Mörner he had six sons and one daughter:
- Wilhelm Douglas (1646–1674), Swedish chamberlain in 1670, lieutenant colonel in the Swedish infantry in 1672;
- Gustav Graf Douglas (1648–1705), governor of Västerbotten ;
- Axel Douglas (1650–1673), officer in the French and Dutch service;
- Adolf Douglas (1651–1674), officer in the French and Dutch service;
- Christina Douglas (1652–1712) ⚭ 1680 Gustav Adolf Oxenstierna , Count of Korsholm and Vaasa (1648–1697);
- Karl Douglas (1656-1678);
- Robert Douglas (1662-1665).
reception
Robert Douglas was in high favor with Axel Oxenstierna since 1629. He served since 1630, supported by Oxenstierna, in Gustav Adolf's army in Germany. With Alexander Hamilton's troops he came to Frankfurt am Main , took part in the advance to Kreuznach , then followed the king with his company to Nuremberg and moved with him, now regimental commander, to Lützen , where he was wounded by a musket ball. As a soldier he was the first and last, a brave and courageous equestrian general, an officer with a natural disposition and the ability to quickly empathize with a position and to make quick and courageous decisions. During his long military career, he has often had the opportunity to fearlessly and courageously demonstrate personal courage. He also had great merits in civil and administrative fields. His temperament was impetuous but also flexible when necessary. In his younger years his economy was evidently not the best, in a letter to Axel Oxenstierna in 1643 he reported being constricted by the creditors, but ultimately he acquired a large fortune through marriage, legacies and probably also the spoils of war.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Genealogical Handbook of the Nobility , Volume G XII, page 169, CA Starke-Verlag, Limburg, 1988
- ↑ Bernd Warlich, website The Thirty Years War in personal testimonials, chronicles and reports
- ^ Svenskt biografiskt lexikon , Volume 11, Pages 372 ff, Albert Bonnier, 1945
- ↑ Douglas at adelsvapen.com (Swedish)
- ↑ Website Reichsarchiv (Swedish)
- ↑ Website Reichsarchiv (Swedish)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Douglas, Robert Graf |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swedish field marshal |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 17, 1611 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Standingstone |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 28, 1662 |
| Place of death | Stockholm |