Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven

Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven (1582 – 4 April 1661) was a Scottish soldier in Dutch, Swedish and Scottish service

The nursery rhyme "There was a crooked man" is allegedly about Sir Alexander Leslie:

• "There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile, He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile. He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse. And they all lived together in a little crooked house.[8]"
  

From Historical records of the family of Leslie from 1067 to 1868-9: collected ... By Charles Joseph Leslie Page 355 - 363

THE FAMILY OF LESLIE, EARLS OF LEVEN

“The family of Leslie, Earls of Leven, is descended from the Drummuir, Kininvie, and New Leslie branches of the family of Leslie, Barons of Balquhain.

“George Leslie, second son of George Leslie, first Laird of Drummuir, acquired the lands of Balgonie. He was captain of the castle in Blair of Athole in the reign of King James VI., and was held in great esteem as a brave soldier. He married Sybil Stewart of Ballathan, and had issue -“

“ I. John, who entered the French service, and was a captain in the Life Guards of the King of France. He returned to Scotland, and lived with his sisters at Newtown in Fife.
“ II. George, who went to Germany, entered the army, and attained the rank of Colonel. He was killed at a siege, leaving a daughter, who was married in London to the Laird of Newhall. “ III. David, who died a student at Douai.

“George Leslie had also several daughters, with whom their brother John lived at Newtown in Fife, after he retired from the French service. Besides these, he had also a natural son, Alexander Leslie, afterwards created Earl of Leven. After the death of Sybil Stewart, George Leslie married Alexander’s mother to legitimatise him, who was then a general.

“Alexander Leslie betook himself early to the profession of arms. He was a captain in the regiment of Horatio, Lord Vere, in Holland, and assisted the Dutch against the Spaniards. He acquired the reputation of being a very good officer during this campaign. He then entered the service of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, who raised him to the rank of lieutenant-general, and field-marshal. In 1628 he was sent to take command of Stralsund, and successfully resisted the siege of that place by Wallenstein, the Imperial general, who was obliged to retire. In 1630, General Leslie drove the Imperialists out of the Isle of Rugen. He continued in the Swedish service, after the death of Gustavus Adolphus, under Queen Christina, with great glory and renown, till 1639, when he was invited to Scotland, by the Covenanters, to take the command of their army. He accepted the invitation, and joined with the Scotch covenanting nobles in requesting the assistance of the King of France, as appears by the following letter addressed to Louis XIII., King of France, in 1639:--

“Sir-Your Majestie being the refuge and sanctuary of afflicted princes and states, wee have found it necessary to send this Gentleman, Mr. Collvill, to represent unto your Majestie the candor and ingenuity, as well of our actions and proceedings, as of our intentions, which we desire to be engraved and written to the whole world with a beame of the sunne, as well as to your Majestie. We therefore most humbly beseech you, sir, to give faith and credit to him, and to all that he shall say on our part, touching us and our affaires, being most assured, sir, of an assistance equall to your wonted clemencie heretofore, and so often shewed to this nation, which will not yeeld the glorie to any other whatsoever to be eternally Sir, Your Majesties most humble, most obedient, and most affectionate servants, “ Rothes, Montrose, Lesly, Mar, “ Montgomery, Loudon, Forrester.

“With regard to Leslie’s signature to this letter, Lord Hailes, in his Memorials of Charles I., says, ‘The subscription of General Leslie is so awkward and mis-shapen that it confirms the tradition of his being absolutely illiterate. It is reported that once upon a march, passing by a house, he said, “There is the house where I was taught to read.” “How, General!” said one of his attendants; ‘I thought that you had never been taught to read;” “Pardon me!” replied he, “I got the length of the Letter G.” ‘

“Spalding, in his Memorialls of the Trubles, Anno 1639, writes as follows concerning General Leslie:-- ‘Now about this tyme, or a lttle befoir, their cam out of Germany fra the warrs, home to Scotland, ane gentleman off bass birth borne in Balveny, who had servit long and fortunatly in the Germane warris, and callit to his name Felt Marshall Leslie his Excellence. His name indeid wes Alexander Leslie, bot by his valour and good lok attaned to this title his Excellens, inferiour to none bot to the King of Swaden, wnder whome he servit amongis all his cavallierie. Well, this Felt Marschall Leslie haueing conquest fra nocht, honour and welth in gryte aboundance, resoluit to cum hame to his native countrie of Scotland, and sattill him self besyde his chief, the Erll of Rothass, as he did indeid and coft fair landis in Fyff; bot this Erll foirseing the truble quhariof himself wes one of the principall beginneris, took hold of this Lesly, who wes both wys and stowt, acquent him with the plot, and had his advyss for furtherance thairof to his pouer. And first he devysis cannon to be cassin in the Potterraw by one Capitane Hammiltoun; he began to dreill the Errlis men in Fyf; he causit send to Holland for ammvnitioun, pulder and ball, in gryte aboundans; for moskat, carrabin, pistol, pik, suord, cannon, cartow, and all vther sort of necessar armes fit for old and young soldieris. He causit send to Germanye, France, Holland, Denmark, and vther countreis, for the most expert and valiant capitanes, livetennantis, and wnder officiares, who cam in gryte numberis vpone hope of bloodie war, thinking (as thay war all Scottis soldiouris that cam) to mak wp their fortunis vpone the rwin of our kingdome; bot the Lord did vtheruaies blissit be his holie name.’

“General Leslie took the castle of Edinburgh, without the loss of a single man, in 1639. He commanded the Scottish army at Dunse Law in May 1639. On the pacification of Berwick in June following, the Scottish and English armies were disbanded without proceeding to hostilities. But the pacification was of short duration. In 1640 another army was raised in Scotland, and General Leslie was appointed command-in-chief. He marched into England in August 1640, and attacked and routed the Royal army at Newburn on the 28th of that month; and obtained possession of Newcastle, Tynemouth, Shields, and Durham. Peace was restored by the treaty of Ripon. The articles of peace were ratified by parliament in 1641, and Gerneral Leslie was created Lord Balgonie and Earl of Leven, by patent to him and his heirs whomsoever, 11th October 1641.

“In 1642 the Earl of Leven was appointed general of the Scottish forces raised for suppressing the rebellion in Ireland, and he went over to that kingdom, from whence he was recalled by parliament in 1643, to take the command of the Scottish army. The army, which consisted of 21,000 men, assembled at Berwick, crossed the Tweed in January 1644, joined the Parliamentary forces, and defeated the Royalists at Marston Moor, 2d July 1644.

“Afterwards, the Earl of Leven, being dissatisfied with Cromwell’s measures, withdrew from the Parliamentary party, and showed some inclination to join the Royalists. When an army was raised for the rescue of Charles I. in 1648, the command was offered to the Earl of Leven, but he declined it. He sat in parliament in 1649, and served as a volunteer at the battle of Dunbar, in 1650. When forces were raised to accompany Charles II. Into England, the Earl of Leven had a meeting with several noblemen to concert measures for furtherin that enterprise. They met at Eliot in Angus, and were surprised by a detachment from the garrison of Dundee, 28th August 1651, and were carried prisoners to the Tower of London. At the intercession of Christina, Queen of Sweden, the Earl of Leven was released, he sequestration taken off, and no fine imposed on him. He returned to Scotland in May 1654, and from thence he went to Sweden to thank the Queen for her intercession.

“Alexander, Earl of Leven, acquired great landed property. He bought the property of Balgonie in the parish of Markinch, on the banks of the river Leven in Fife. He much enlarged the mansion-house, and laid out new gardens, and enclosed a large park on both banks of the Leven. The property formerly belonged to the ancient family of Sibbald. Sir Andrew Sibbald of Balgonie, who died in the reign of James IV., left an only daughter Helen, heiress of his estates. She married Robert de Lundin, a younger son of the Baron of Lundin. The ancient baronial castle of Balgonie stands on a steep bank overhanging the Leven. The old part consists of a donjon or keep, 80 feet figh, and 45 feet by 36 feet in length and breadth. The basement storey is dimly lighted by a narrow slit in the massive walls; it and the storey above are both vaulted. The summit has projecting battlements with turrets at each angle, the roof being flat and laid with slabs of freestone. On the roof is a lodge or watch-tower, with a sloping roof. Besides the additions made to it by the first Earl of Leven, one of his successors added another wing on the foundations of former structures, thus forming two sides of a quadrangle, the other two sides being formed by a strong wall. The main entrance to the court is an arched gateway flanked by two towers. Over the arch was a chamber which communicated with the main tower or keep by a passage through the walls. The castle was formerly surrounded on three sides by an earthen rampart and deep fosse, the inaccessible nature of the position of the side next the river requiring no other defence. In 1823 the estate of Balgonie was sold by David, tenth Earl of Leven and seventh Earl of Melville, to James Balfour of Whittingham, for £104,000.

“Besides the estate of Balgonie, Alexander, first Earl of Leven, acquired the property of Inchmartin, in the Carse of Gowrie, which he bought from the Ogilvies in 1650, and to which he gave the name Inch Leslie. Charters were granted to Sir Alexander Leslie of Balgonie, major-general in Lower Saxony, to his wife and son, of the barony of Balgonie, and other lands, in the counties of Berwick, Fife, and Roxburgh, 6th July 1635; to Alexander, Earl of Leven, and Alexander Lord Balgonie, his son, of the lands of Eastnisbet, and of the barony of Balgonie, united into the Lordship of Balgonie, 18th November 1641; to Alexander, Earl of Leven, his son, and his grandson, of the same Lordship, 31st July 1643; and to Alexander, Earl of Leven, and his spouse, of the barony of Inch Leslie, 3d June 1650.

“Alexander, first Earl of Leven, married, first Agnes Renton of Billy, and had issue--

• I. Gustavus, who died without issue before his father.
• II. Alexander, Lord Balgonie, who married Lady Margaret Leslie, only daughter of John, sixth Earl of Rothes, and sister of John, Duke of Rothes; and by her who married, secondly, Francis, second Earl of Buccleuch, and, thirdly, David, second Earl of Wemyss, had issue- Alexander, Lord Balgonie, died before his father, in 1643. “
  • “ I. Alexander, who succeeded his grandfather as second Earl of Leven. “
  • II. Catherine, married to George, Earl of Melville. “
• III. Lady Anne, married, first to Hugh, Master of Lovat, who died in 1643, secondly, to Sir Ralph Delaval of Seaton-Delaval, Baronet. “
• IV. Lady Margaret, married to James, Viscount Frendraught. “
• V. Lady Mary, married to William, third Lord Cranstoun. “
• VI. Lady Barbara, married to Sir John Ruthven of Dunglass. “
• VII. Lady Christian, married to Walter Dundas of Dundas.

“Alexander, first Earl of Leven, married, secondly, Frances, daughter of Sir John Ferrers of Tamworth, relict of Sir John Packington of Westwood, and died 4th April 1661. He was succeeded by his grandson, Alexander, second Earl of Leven, son of Alexander, Lord Balgonie, who died in 1643."

links

• http://www.nad.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=11240
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Leslie,_1st_Earl_of_Leven
• https://www.thepeerage.com/p19364.htm#i193636 Cites
  • BP2003 volume 1, page 607.