Related
1678] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 107 delivered to Gordon.
110 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1686 I gave up my petition
116 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1686 a third, on the way to Konigsberg
1667] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 97 storme, wee could not gett over to Embden
1666] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 71 residence of Graffe Philip of Schawenborg and Lippe
1666] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 79 I did writt to Sir John Hebden
1667] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 103 to me, desireing me to let him have him
126 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1686 religion* At night wee cast anchor
42 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1661 misfortune
1678] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 105 capital of the Saporogiim Cossacks
Summary
Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
1678] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 105
capital of the Saporogiim Cossacks. His successful (Icfciicc of tliis town, aiul expulsion of the
Mahometans iVom tiio Ulirainc, p;aineil liini liigli military reputation.
A.D. 1678.
Ho now renewed his cflTorts for leave to quit Russia. Hut tho Czar Fcodor was on this
point as iniplacahlc as liia father Alexis; nnil, although tho emleavours of the Scottish soldier
were bnclccd by a letter fVom King Charles II., presented by Sir John Ilcbdcn, his ambassador
extraordinary, they wore in vain. The value of Gordon's services In the Hold was now fully ap-
preciated ; and, ni tho year 1G78. ho was again sent, wiili liis dragoons and a regiment of
Strelit/A's, to the defence of T.schigirin from the renewed ntliicl; with which it was threatened by
the Turks and Tartars. In this task, his skill as au engineer enabled him to overcome great
difllculiies, and, for four weeks, to fight every inch of ground ngalust overwhelming numbers.
lie wns repairing and strengthening tho ramparts in expectation of tiu; siege, when the
twenty-ninth of May called him to celebnite the d<iy of the birth and restoration of the King
of Great Britain, by a dinner to the chief olllcers of the garrison. Tho feast was pprcad in his
garden ; salvoes were fired ; there was music of sundry sorts ; and all were very merry. The
rovcl was still high, when a letter arrived from Major-Goneral Kosarow, demanding to know
tho cause of tho shots which had so alarmed tlio camp. Tho bearers of tho dispatch added
that the army had been called to arms, and that tho cavalry were in their saddles ; and they
wondered how tho Scottish engineer and his company could bo so gay and reckless at a time
of such anxiety. Gordon, having quieted their alarm, dismissed them with a conciliatory answer.
It was on tho eighth of July that the van of the besieging army camo within sight of the
town. Gordon gathered from deserters that the Turks numbered about tlfly thousai\d men of
all arms, and that the Tartars who followed the Khan of the Crimea were about as many. They
had four great cannon, drawn eacli of them by thh"ty-two yoke of budalocs; twcnty-scvon
battery pieces of various sizes; a hundred and thirty field guns ; six mortars, throwing shells
of a hundred and twenty pounds in weight; and nine smaller pieces, throwing shells of fVom
thirty to ftu'ty pounds. There were eight tlio<i.sand waggons, and live thousand camcl.s, laden
with ammunition. There were a hundred thousand waggons with provisions, and eight
thousand herdsmen. These last, as well as the waggoners and tho miners, were Christian.s
fVom tlie F.uropean provinces under Ottoman rule. The commaiul of this formidable Iiost was
entrusted to tho Grand Vizier, Kara l\Iustapha.
The garrison which had to hold Tschigirin numbered rather less than twelve thousand.
Gordon had tho command of his own dragoons and of a regiment of Strolitzos. He was, besides,
the chief engineer, and both constructed the works before tho slego began, and directed the
subsequent operations. The Kussian army on the Dnieper came but slowly to tho relief of the
beleaguered city, and did but little when it camo. (Jordon's Diary chronicles the events of
each day, and describes in detail the assaults and sallies, mines and countermines, breaclios
and rctrenchmeuls.
P
Gordon was brought up and remained a lifelong Roman Catholic, at a time when the Church was being persecuted in Scotland. At age of fifteen, he entered the Jesuit college at Braunsberg, East Prussia, then part of Poland. In 1661, after many years experiences as a soldier of fortune, he joined the Russian army under Tsar Aleksei I, and in 1665 was sent on a special mission to England. After his return, he distinguished himself in several wars against the Turks and Tatars in southern Russia. In recognition of his service he was promoted to major-general in 1678, was appointed to the high command at Kiev in 1679, and in 1683 was made lieutenant-general. In 1687 and 1689 he took part in expeditions against the Tatars in the Crimea, being made a full general. Later in 1689, a revolution broke out in Moscow, and with the troops under his command, Gordon virtually decided events in favor of Peter the Great against the Regent, Tsarevna Sophia Alekseyevna. Consequently, he was for the remainder of his life in high favor with the Tsar, who confided to him the command of his capital during his absence from Russia. In 1696, Gordon's design of a "moveable rampart" played a key role in helping the Russians take Azov. One of Gordon's convinced the Tsars to establish the first Roman Catholic church and school in Muscovy, of which he remained the main benefactor and headed the Catholic community in Russia until his death. For his services his second son James, brigadier of the Russian army, was created Count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1701. At the end of his life the Tsar, who had visited Gordon frequently during his illness, was with him when he died, and with his own hands closed his eyes. General Gordon left behind him a uniquely detailed diary of his life and times, written in English. This is preserved in manuscript in the Russian State Military Archive in Moscow. Passages from the Diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries (1635–1699) was printed, under the editorship of Joseph Robertson, for the Spalding Club, at Aberdeen, Scotland, 1859.