Related
110 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1686 I gave up my petition
1666] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 79 I did writt to Sir John Hebden
1667] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 97 storme, wee could not gett over to Embden
1667] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 103 to me, desireing me to let him have him
76 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1666 the cart was ready
1692] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 179 Patrick Gordon of Cults
42 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1661 misfortune
116 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1686 a third, on the way to Konigsberg
1686] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 143 Gordon, and as much to the Lord Chancellour
1678] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 107 delivered to Gordon.
Summary
Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
1678] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 107
delivered to Gordon. It was an order to evacuate the place, bringing away the lightest of the
cannon, burying the rest, and destroying all the ammunition, especially the powder, lie now
assembled what officers remained, and apportioned the guns to be taken away. Some main-
tained that it was impossible cither to carry off the cannon or even to bury them, their soldiers
being exhausted or having fled. Others ran off without saying a word. Only the foreign
officers, with few exceptions, stood to their posts, until they had scarcely soldiers left to carry the
colours. Gordon then dismissed them ; but he himself remained to collect the men still dis
persed through the fortress. He had succeeded in gathering them together, after placing
lighted torches in the loopholes, when suddenly loud ihouts, mingled with the rattle of mus-
ketry, were heard in the town below, striking such terror into the soldiers that they threw down
their arms and fled, Gordon was now left almost alone, the few stragglers who remained being
either so drunk or so intent on plunder, that they would obey no orders. Whatever was to be
done, he had therefore to do with his own hand. Having seen to the closing of the gates and
sally ports, he turned his steps towards the powder magazine. Breaking it open, he threw in
straw and boards, and then set fire to the nearest house. AVhen he returned to the market
place, he found his servants fled and his carriage plundered.
Hitherto he had not apprehended any difficulty in making his way to the camp. Three
Muscovite regiments had crossed the river to occupy the bridge and gate until tlie garrison
should effect its escape. But suddenly, and without warning, these regiments withdrew, pre-
cipitating the retreat of the garrison into a tumultuous flight. The Turks pursued, and, takin"
possession of the gate without resistance, signalised their victory by the shouts and salvoes
which had so startled the citadel. Gordon, finding retreat by the gate thus cut off, followed
some Russian marauders, in climbing over a wall, and making for the river. They threw them-
selves into the stream ; but Gordon, who could not swim, was obliged to seek some other way
of escape. He walked along the river side until he came to the bridge, where, although it was
night, he could see Turks flitting to and fro, bearing the heads of Russian fugitives, killed as
they swam to land. This sight somewhat troubled him ; but there was no time for hesitation, and
.so, devoutly commending himself to Divine protection, he rushed across the bridge, with a
sword in one hand and a pistol in the other. He met five or six Turks, each with a bare
scimitar in his right hand, and a Christian head in his left. Firing his pistol, he dashed past
them, and, gaining the other end of the bridge, turned to the right, and ran along the embank-
ment until his pursuers lost sight of him. Stumbling over the headless trunks of the slaughtered
Muscovites, he scrambled through the ditch, and made for the camp. When halfway, and
almost worn out, he met two ensigns of his own regiment, who conducted him to head
quarters, where he heaped bitter reproaches upon the Boyar. He had scarcely found a
sleeping-place for the night, when a terrible explosion shook the ground. The magazine at
Tschigirin blew up, destroying four thousand Turks. Gordon's services in this affair were
rewarded by promotion to the rank of Major-General.
Here the Diary is again interrupted by a chasm of five years. The volume which chronicled
the events from 1678 to 1684 has not been recovered.
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.