In 1713, his lordship
succeeded, by the death of his father, to the family titles and estates, and
was soon after invited, together with a younger and only brother and two
sisters, by the duchess of Argyle, their grand-aunt, to take up their
residence with her in the Highlands, where she then lived in retirement.
Here he remained until he had attained a proper age for college, when he was
sent to the university of Glasgow. His biographer, Rolt, informs us, that
while residing with the duchess of Argyle, the young earl had fallen
desperately in love with a little Highland girl; but he unfortunately gives
no account of the progress or termination of this boyish attachment. The
circumstance, however, affords an early indication of the warm, chivalrous,
and romantic disposition for which his lordship was afterwards so much
distinguished.
While at the university he
rendered himself famous amongst his fellow students by his boldness and
courage. He led them on in all their battles with the citizens, headed every
expedition of difficulty or danger, and stood forward on all occasions as
the champion of the college, when any of its members were injured or
insulted, or conceived themselves to be so. He, in short, took the whole
burden of the university’s honour on his own shoulders, and guarded and
protected it with the most watchful zeal and uncompromising intrepidity.
From the college of Glasgow
he went to that of Edinburgh, where he remained for some time, and then
returned to the retirement of the duchess of Argyle in the Highlands. Here
he now prosecuted his studies under the tuition of a private preceptor, and
continued this course until he attained his nineteenth year.
On arriving at this age, it
was thought proper that he should, agreeably to the usual practice in the
cases of young men of rank and fortune, proceed to the continent, at once to
complete his education, and to improve himself by travel. With this view, he
set out in the year 1721, first for London, where he remained for a short
time, and thereafter to Paris. Here he entered the academy of Vaudeuil, and
continued to attend that seminary during the two succeeding years. His
progress in learning, and in the acquisition of every elegant accomplishment
while he resided in the French capital, was so remarkable, as to excite a
strong feeling of respect for his talents amongst his fellow academicians,
who saw him surpassing many students of much longer standing, and attaining
an eminence which left him few competitors. In horsemanship, fencing, and
dancing, he was considered, even in the refined city of Paris, to be without
a rival.
In 1723, he quitted the
academy of Vaudeuil, but continued to reside in France till 1726. In the
same year in which his lordship left the seminary just named, an incident
occurred strongly illustrative of his daring and determined character.
Amongst the other sights exhibited during the festivities which were held in
celebration of the accession of the young French king, was that of drawing
one of the fish ponds in the gardens of Versailles. The earl of Crawford was
amongst the crowd assembled to witness this novelty. In pressing forward to
the edge of the water to obtain a sight of the young monarch, he was rudely
jostled by a French marquis. Irritated by this incivility, the earl
instantly caught up the Frenchman, who was in full court dress, in his arms,
and tossed him, robes, and feathers, and all, into the middle of the fish
pond. The spectators, highly delighted with the unexpected exhibition, burst
into immoderate fits of laughter, in which they were cordially joined by the
young king himself, who eagerly inquired who the person was that had thrown
the marquis into the water. The latter himself did not think fit to take any
notice of the affair either at the time or at any after period.
In 1726, his lordship
returned to Britain, acknowledged by all to be one of the most accomplished
gentlemen of the age. On the 25th of December of the same year, he obtained
a captain’s commission in one of the additional troops of the 2nd regiment
of royal Scots Greys. This appointment he held till 1730, when, these troops
being disbanded, he again repaired to the duchess of Argyle’s residence in
the Highlands, and remained there for the next eighteen months. In January,
1732, he once more left this retirement to mingle with the world, being
appointed to the command of a troop of the 7th, or Queen’s own regiment of
dragoons. He was also, in the same month, elected one of the sixteen
representatives of the Scottish peerage, in place of the earl of Loudon
deceased. This honour was again conferred upon him at the general elections
in the years 1734, 1741, and 1747.
In the month of June, 1733,
his lordship was appointed gentleman of the bed-chamber to the prince of
Wales. On the 18th of February, in the year following, he obtained the
captain-lieutenancy of the 1st regiment of foot guards, and on the 1st of
October in the same year, a company of the 3d foot guards. Notwithstanding
these various appointments, the earl, who entertained from his youngest
years a strong passion for military fame, finding his life but an inactive
one, and the English service unlikely at the time to present him with any
opportunity of distinguishing himself, sought and obtained the king’s
permission to go out as a volunteer to the imperial army, the emperor being
at that time engaged in a war with France.
His lordship joined the
Imperialists in 1735, at Bruchsal on the Rhine, where he was received with
every mark of distinction and favour by the celebrated prince Eugene of
Savoy, then in command of the troops in that quarter. Finding, however, that
there was no immediate appearance of active service here, his lordship,
accompanied by viscount Primrose and captain Dalrymple, both volunteers like
himself, proceeded to the army under count Sackendorff. The first duty
imposed on them by this general was to reconnoitre the enemy, who were
posted near Claussen. As they advanced towards the French lines they were
met by a party of the enemy, three times the number of their own escort, and
a skirmish ensued, in which count Nassau, who accompanied them, was killed,
and lord Primrose severely wounded by a musket ball close beside the earl of
Crawford.
On the evening of the same
day, 17th October, 1735, the battle of Claussen was fought, affording his
lordship an opportunity of distinguishing himself, which he did not let
pass. He attached himself to the prince of Waldeck, who commanded the left
wing of the Imperialists, and attended him throughout the whole of the
battle. The position in which the earl was placed was the first attacked by
the enemy, and was the most sanguinary part of the field. The intelligence,
bravery, and good conduct of his lordship in this engagement excited the
warmest admiration of the prince, and laid the foundation of his future fame
as a soldier.
Preliminaries of peace
between the emperor and France having been soon afterwards signed, the earl
left the Imperial army, made a tour of the Netherlands and Holland, and
again returned to Britain. On his arrival he was graciously received by
George II., who honoured him with many warm expressions of esteem. His
lordship remained at home for two years. At the end of this period, he again
became desirous of exchanging the monotony of a peaceful and idle, for an
active life, and sought the king’s permission to serve as a volunteer in the
Russian army, under field marshal Munich, then engaged with the
Imperialists, in a war against the Turks. Having obtained the royal
permission to take this step, he embarked at Gravesend in April, 1738, for
Petersburg. On his arrival there he immediately waited upon the Czarina, who
received him with the most expressive indications of kindness and favour,
and instantly appointed him to the command of a regiment of horse, with the
rank of general in the Russian service.
Invested with these
appointments, his lordship left Petersburg in the middle of May to join the
army, which he effected after a dangerous and tedious journey of a month’s
duration. Several sanguinary engagements with the Turks soon followed, and
in all the earl eminently distinguished himself, both by his military skill,
and fearless intrepidity. In one of these murderous conflicts, which took
place on the 26th of July, and in which the Turks and Tartars were repulsed
with great loss, his lordship, who was at the head of a party of Cossacks,
excited the astonishment and admiration of even these bold and skilful
riders, by his dexterity in horsemanship. Nor were they less delighted with
the gallantry also which he exhibited in this battle, in the instance of a
single combat with a Tartar, whom, after a desperate encounter, he sabred
and stript of his arms. The latter he afterwards brought to England with him
as objects of curiosity.
The season being now far
advanced, marshal Munich thought it advisable to retire from the scene of
operations, and accordingly retreated to Kiow, whither he was accompanied by
the earl, who remained with him for three weeks after the cessation of
hostilities. He then left Munich, and joined the Imperialists near Belgrade.
The earl had now acquired a large stock of military knowledge, and had been
especially improved in the art by his experience under Munich, whom he
justly reckoned the first captain of the age. Six weeks after he joined the
Imperial army, it was marched into winter quarters. On this occasion he
attached himself to prince Eugene’s regiment, and proceeded with that corps
to Comorra, thirty-three miles S.E. of Presburg. Here, and at Vienna, to
which he occasionally resorted, he remained till the middle of April, 1739.
During this leisure his lordship employed himself in reducing to method and
system the military knowledge which he had acquired, by drawing plans, and
writing observations on the Russian campaign; thus availing himself of every
means and opportunity that offered, of improving himself in that art, to
attain an eminence in which had been from his earliest years the great
object of his ambition, and of his fondest hopes.
His lordship now joined the
Imperialists assembled near Peterwaradin, under the command of marshal
Wallis, and attached himself to his old friend and fellow soldier, the
prince of Waldeck, lieutenant-general of infantry. In a short time after,
the battle of Krotzka, near Belgrade, was fought in this engagement, the
earl, while fighting the Turks at the head of Palfi’s cuirassiers, had his
favourite black horse killed under him: another was immediately brought him,
but he had scarcely gained the saddle when he himself was struck with a
musket ball, which entering the outside of his left thigh, shattered the
bone to pieces, and brought him to the ground.
Here he lay for some time in
a state of utter insensibility, when he was accidentally discovered by
general count Sucheri, who, on perceiving him, ordered some grenadiers to
raise him up, and place him on one of his horses. This, however, was all the
attention which the urgency of the moment would permit. Having been mounted
on the horse he was left to his fate, and received no further assistance
until the following morning, when he was found by one of his own grooms; his
face deadly pale, his head uncovered, and himself holding fast by the
horse’s mane with both hands to prevent his falling off.
He was now immediately
carried to Belgrade, where surgical assistance was obtained. On examination
of the wound it was at first deemed mortal; but although it certainly
shortened his days, it was not immediately fatal. After making some progress
towards recovery, his lordship left Belgrade on the 26th of September, being
carried on board a vessel on the Danube, with which he proceeded to Comorra,
where he arrived on the 27th of December. This place he left on the 28th of
April, 1740, and sailed up the Danube to Vienna, which he reached on the 7th
May. During all this time his lordship was confined to a recumbent posture
by the state of his wounded limb, which still subjected him to the most
excruciating agony, and continued constantly emitting splinters from the
fractured bone. So desperate and severe was this wound, that his lordship
walked for the first time, and even then with the assistance of crutches,
only in the beginning of September, 1740; about a year and a half after he
had received it.
In Vienna he remained till
the 20th of September, when, being advised to try the effects of the baths
of Baden, he proceeded to that quarter, and remained there till the 11th of
August, 1741. His lordship, still suffering from his wound, which no
expedient had yet been able to heal, now proceeded by Presburg, Vienna, and
Leipsic, to Hamelen, where be arrived on the 3rd October, and had an
interview with George II., who happened to be there at the time. His majesty
received the earl with much kindness, and entered into a long conversation
with him. On the 23rd of October he took leave of his majesty, and embarked
for England. Notwithstanding his absence, the earl’s interest had not been
neglected at home. In July, 1739, he was made a colonel of horse and
adjutant-general, and on the 25th October of the same year, was appointed
colonel of the 42nd regiment of foot, or Royal Scots Highlanders. The same
inclination to forward his military views marked his return. On the 25th of
December, 1741, the year in which he came to England, he was appointed
colonel of the second troop of horse grenadier guards.
His lordship’s wound still
annoying him, he was now advised to try the bath of Bareges in France, and
having obtained, for this purpose, a pass from the French king, the Lynx
British man-of-war was ordered to carry him out. With this vessel he sailed
from Portsmouth on the 23rd of May, 1742, and arrived at Bourdeaux on the
30th of the same month.
Soon after landing he
proceeded to Bareges, which he reached on the 12th June, and commenced a
regular system of bathing, but without much effect; being still able to walk
only with the assistance of a crutch and high-heeled shoe. From Bareges he
went on the 16th October to Aix in Provence, where he again used the bath,
and with much more benefit than he had derived from the same remedy in the
former place. Leaving Aix his lordship arrived at Chambery on the 2nd of
November, where he waited on the king of Sardinia, with whom he remained
till the 18th, when he proceeded to Geneva. In this city he remained till
the 1st of January, 1743. He then visited Milan, Genoa, Modena, Verona, and
Venice, and from thence proceeded by Trieste, Gala, Lintz, and through
Bohemia and Saxony, and finally joined the British army, of which
field-marshal Stair was commander, at Hochstet, on the 24th of May, where
George II. happened to be at the time. At the battle of Dettingen, which
took place on the 16th of the following month, the earl commanded a brigade
of life-guards, and conducted himself throughout that conflict with a
coolness and intrepidity which greatly enhanced his reputation for courage
and military skill. During the action, his lordship, on one occasion,
ordered the officers of his brigade to the front, the enemy being within
fifty paces of them. He then addressed his men, "Hark, my dear lads," he
said, "trust to your swords, handle them well, and never mind your pistols."
Placing himself then at their head, he led them on to the charge,
encouraging them and animating them by his example as they advanced, the
trumpets the while sounding the martial strain of "Britons, Strike Home."
The soldiers obeying the instructions of their gallant leader, and
participating in his enthusiasm, closed on the French, and drove them before
them with prodigious slaughter. In the beginning of the battle a musket ball
struck his lordship’s right holster case, penetrated the leather, and,
hitting the barrel of the pistol which it contained, fell harmlessly into
the case. Here it was found by his lordship, who showed it the day after the
engagement to the king at Hanau, where he then was, and who, on seeing the
earl approaching, exclaimed, "Here comes my champion;" following up
afterwards this flattering expression of his opinion of his lordship’s
merits, by the most gratifying remarks on the gallantry of his conduct on
the preceding day.
In this year, (1743,) the
earl was appointed colonel of the 4th or Scottish troop of horse guards,
and, after the battle of Dettingen, was made a general of brigade. In May,
1744, his lordship joined the combined armies, in camp, near Brussels; but,
owing to the over caution of marshall Wade no opportunity offered of again
distinguishing himself during the whole of the campaign which followed. In
the next year, however, this was not wanting. The duke of Cumberland, having
been appointed captain general of the British forces, arrived at Brussels on
the 11th of April, 1745, his lordship being then with the army as
brigadier-general. The arrival of his grace was soon after (30th April)
followed by the battle of Fontenoy. In this engagement his lordship
conducted himself with his usual gallantry, and exhibited even more than his
usual skill, particularly in conducting the retreat, which he did in a
manner so masterly, as procured for him a reputation for military genius not
inferior to any of that age. His lordship also wrote an exceedingly able and
interesting account of the battle. On the 30th of May following, he was
promoted to the rank of major-general.
The rebellion in Scotland now
occurring, his lordship was ordered, in Feb., 1746, from Antwerp, where he
then was, to his native country, to take the command of the Hessians
employed by the government on that occasion, and whose numbers amounted to
six thousand. With these troops he secured Stirling, Perth, and the passes
into the lowlands, while Cumberland proceeded by the north-east coast in
quest of the rebels. On this visit to Scotland, his lordship formed an
acquaintance with, and afterwards married, lady Jane Murray, eldest
daughter, and presumptive heiress of James, second duke of Athole. On the
extinction of the rebellion, he returned to the army in the Netherlands,
where he arrived early in June. At the battle of Rocoux, which took place on
the 1st of October following, he commanded the second line of cavalry, with
which he drove back the French infantry, and threw them into irretrievable
confusion. His lordship soon afterwards accompanied the army into winter
quarters at Bois le Duc. His troop of horse guards being this year
disbanded, he was appointed to the command of the 25th regiment of foot on
the 25th Dec. 1746.
In February following,
(1747,) his lordship embarked at Flushing for England, landed at
Southampton, and proceeded to Belford, where he arrived on the 3d March.
Here his lordship met, by appointment, lady Jane Murray, to whom he was
married on the day of his arrival. His wound, which had never yet been
thoroughly healed, now again broke out from fatigue, and subjected him anew
to all the pain and suffering which he had experienced immediately after
receiving it. From Bedford, the earl and countess proceeded to London, from
thence to Helvoetsluys, and finally to Bois le Duc, where they arrived in
June. On the 22d May, his lordship, previous to his leaving England, was
appointed to the command of the 2d regiment of dragoons, or royal Scots
Greys, in room of the earl of Stair, deceased; and, on the 26th of September
following, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general.
On the conclusion of the
campaign, the earl, accompanied by his countess, went to Aix-la-Chapelle,
for the benefit of the baths there; being still seriously annoyed by his
wound, which had again broken out after a second temporary cure. While his
lordship was confined here to bed, his young countess---she had not yet
attained her twentieth year—was seized with a violent and malignant fever
which carried her off in four days. His lordship, who was deeply affected by
his loss, and for a time wholly inconsolable, ordered that the body of his
deceased lady should be embalmed, and sent over to his family burial place
at Ceres in Fife. He himself remained at Aix till the opening of the
campaign in 1748, when he joined the duke of Cumberland and confederate army
of 150,000 men. His lordship remained with the army till the conclusion of
the peace, which took place in the same year. On the 16th of February of the
following year, (1749,) he superintended the embarkation of the British
troops at Williamstadt, and soon after returned to London, where he died on
the 25th December, in the forty-eighth year of his age, after suffering
again severely from his wound. His remains were carried to Ceres, and
deposited beside those of his countess.
His lordship is represented
to have been of middle size, remarkably stout, but finely formed. His
manners were mild, elegant, and refined; his disposition generous, brave,
and charitable, often beyond his means. His purse, open to all, was
especially at the service of the distressed widows of officers, numbers of
whom were relieved from misery and destitution by his bounty. His lordship
always maintained a splendid retinue, and lived in a style becoming his
rank, but was moderate at table, and temperate in all his habits. His
judgment was strong, his temper serene and dispassionate. His lordship
having died without issue, the titles of Crawford and Lindsay devolved on
George, viscount of Garnock.