Everything about Patrick Gordon totally explained
Patrick Gordon (
1635 –
November 29,
1699) was
general of the
Imperial Russian
army, of
Scottish origin. He was descended from a Scottish family of
Aberdeenshire, holders of the small estate of
Auchleuchries, and were connected with the house of
Haddo.
After completing his education at the
parish schools of
Cruden and
Ellon, he entered, at age fifteen, the
Jesuit college at
Braunsberg,
Prussia; however, due to his character he didn't tolerate well the strict and somber way of life at the school, and soon decided to return home. He changed his mind, however, before re-embarking on the journey back to Scotland, and after journeying on foot in several parts of what is today
Germany, he ultimately enlisted at
Hamburg in the military of
Sweden in
1655.
In the course of the next five years he served alternately for
Poland and
Sweden as he was taken prisoner by both. In
1661, after further experience as a
soldier of fortune, he took up service in the Russian army under
Tsar Aleksei I, and in
1665 was sent on a special mission to
Britain. After his return he distinguished himself in several wars against the Turkish and Tatar ethnic groups in southern Russia, and in recognition of his services he was made
major-general in
1678, was appointed to the chief command at
Kiev in
1679, and in
1683 was made
lieutenant-general.
He visited Britain in
1686, and in
1687 and
1689 took part as
quartermaster general in expeditions against the
Tatars in the
Crimean region, being made full
general for his services. On the breaking out of the revolution in
Moscow in 1689, Gordon with the troops he commanded virtually decided events in favor of
Tsar Peter I, and against the
tsarevna Sophia Alekseyevna. He was therefore during 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, employed him in organizing his army according to the European system; and latterly raised him to the rank of general-in-chief. The tsar, who had visited him frequently during his illness, was with him when he died, and with his own hands closed his eyes.
General Gordon left behind him a diary of his life, written in
English. This was preserved in
manuscript form in the archives of the Imperial Russian foreign office. A complete
German translation, edited by Dr Maurice Possalt (
Tagebuch des Generals Patrick Gordon) was published, the first volume at Moscow in
1849, the second at
St Petersburg in
1851, and the third at St Petersburg in
1853; and
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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