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xxviii CONTENTS. The Swedish levies. Gordon engages to serve as a trooper in the company of his countryman, Rittmaster Gardin
Summary
Passages from the diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699"
xxviii CONTENTS.
The Swedish levies. Gordon engages to serve as a trooper in the company of his
countryman, Rittmaster Gardin 17
March from Hamburg to Stettin 19
The Swedish camp. Object of King Charles X. in invading Poland 20
March from Stettin, and capture of Posen 21
March from Posen, and siege and capitulation of Cracow 21
Field-Marshal Robert Douglas 21
Gordon leaves the company of Rittmaster Gardin, to serve as a volunteer in the com-
pany uf Rittmaster Duncan 22
A.D. 1656— setat. 21.
Gordon is taken prisoner by the Poles. He quits the Swedish service and joins the
Polish army as a dragoon in the company of Constantine Lubomirski 22
March upon Warsaw. Siege and capture of that city by the Poles 22
Gordon learns Polish. The Podstaroste's daughter 22
Warsaw recaptured by the Swedes, who take Gordon prisoner 23
He leaves the Polish ranks, and again takes service with the Swede, in Lieutenant
Field-Marshal Douglas's regiment of Scots ,... 23
Lord Cranstoun's arrival with levies from Scotland 23
March upon Dantzic. Siege of Riga by the Muscovites, under Sir Alexander Leslie
of Auchintoul 24
A.D. 1657— aetat. 22.
Gordon taken prisoner by the Poles. Loss of his Thomas-a-Kempis 25
He is released by exchange 25
Patrick Gordon of the Steel Hand 25
King Charles X. and Rittmaster Meldrum 26
Gordon taken prisoner by the Austrians 26
Walter Count Leslie.... 26
Gordon's escape from the Imperial camp. He obtains his discharge from the Douglas
company, and is recommended to an Ensign's place in the body guard of the
Swedish King 27
A.D. 1658— aetat. 23.
Attempt of Gordon and others to assassinate the English ambassador to Moscow,
whom they mistake for Bradshaw the regicide 28
Gordon rejoins the Swedish army as Ensign. His escape from an ambuscade 28
He is again taken prisoner by the Poles. John Sobieski offers him a dragoon company, 29
James Count Leslie , 2^
A.D. 1659— aetat. 24.
Gordon takes service with the Pole. He is made Quarter- Master. Love passages.... 29
James Burnett of Leys. Dr. William Davidson 30
Storming of Graudenz by the Poles 30
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.
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