Related
1692] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 179 Patrick Gordon of Cults
170 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1690 delighted that he made the Boyars
1690] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 171 Most Christian King
168 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1690 The twenty-eiglith of January
1699] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 193 ' A number of Strelitzes were executed
1686] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 163 and equity which I had on my syde
42 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1661 misfortune
186 DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. [1697 put out the white flag
1686] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 153 our kind Scots
1689] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 165 memory, the younger Czar
Summary
Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
1689] DIARY OF PATRICK GORDON. 165
memory, the younger Czar went to all the prikases, gave money to some prisoners, and set
others free.
On the twentieth of February, at Woskresenskoje, there was firing of cannon and burning February 20.
of fireworks in presence of the younger Czar.
On the twenty-eighth of June, there was service in the cathedral in honour of the birthdav t.,„» oq
o uiic ^o*
of the younger Czar. The Boyars and other great people got brandy from his Majesty, and a
cup of wine firom his mother, the Empress Dowager,
On the thirtieth of August, Gordon writes. ' I was in Kolomensk and dined by the Boyar, August 30
when the Boyar said to me : Wee could agree well enough with your Kings father and brother,
but we cannot come to right with this ; he is prowd beyond all measure. I, makcing as if I
understood only his not sending any hither, answered. That the King, because of his great
troubles in his owne dominions, had not leasure to think of business lying so farr off, as I thou<^ht.
He said, moreover, That the English could not subsist without their commodities, as leather,
hempe, potash, tallow, and masts ; to the which I gave a dubious complying answer.'
On the second of September, eight soldiers were selected from Gordon's regiment to serve c t h •?
as grooms to the younger Czar.
On the seventh of September, the Czar Peter sent an express for five fifers and as many September 7
drummers from Gordon's regiment. The Boyar Golizyn was highly displeased that they
should have been despatched without his knowledge. The Czar soon sent for more drummers,
and Gordon gave him five.
On the eighth of September, the Czar sent to the Boyar for more drummers and fifers, and Seotember 8
the Boyar complied with the demand, although much against his will.
On tlic twenty-third of September, the younger Czar sent for a drunken scrjcant, or clerk of September 23
a company, and inquired if the Serjeants or clerks had any distinctive rank and pay. He asked
questions about other small matters. This was not well taken.
On the fourteenth of October, Gordon celebrated the King of England's birthday in company q ^ ^
with several of his countiymen. They were all very merry, and at parting, the Dutch resident,
remarked that His Majesty was happy in having subjects who observed his birthday so joyfully
at such a distance from his dominions.
On the thirteenth of November, all the drummers of Gordon's regiment were called away by November 13
the Czar Peter, along with ten soldiers, to serve as grooms.
On the twenty-second of November, Gordon had a conversation with ' the second favourite,' November ''2
Feodor Leontjewitsch Schaklowitoj, and with other persons in authority, on the designs of the
Dutch against England.
On the ninth of December, Gordon received tidings from Riga that the Prince of Orange December 'J.
had landed at Torbay on the fifth of November. It was not until the thirteenth of Januaiy
that he heard of King James' flight from England.
A.D. 1689.
On the twentieth of January, the Czar Peter, now in his seventeenth year, was married to January 20.
Eudoxia Feodorowna Lapuchin. The marriage festivities were held at court on the seventh of
February.
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.