Scotland and the Thirty Years' War deals with the complicated involvement of the kingdom of Scotland in the Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648. Scotland and Scots were heavily entangled in both the diplomatic and military events centred on the Holy Roman Empire (roughly equating to modern Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic). There were a number of reasons for this participation.
Among these, the fate of the Scottish princess Elizabeth of Bohemia (daughter of King James VI & I) proved to be a key concern. Up to 50,000 Scottish troops arrived on the continent having been levied on warrants issued by the Privy Council and countersigned by their king, usually at periods corresponding to the participation of a particular ally in a campaign against the Habsburgs. They mostly served initially in established Scottish brigades in the Dutch Republic and Sweden which had existed before 1618. Later, specially commissioned army groups were also created in Denmark-Norway and France to facilitate further Scottish participation. Some fought for better prospects, some for kin loyalty, not a few for dynastic and confessional considerations. A few, the minority, were plain mercenaries. Although Scots participated from the start of the war until the end, formal participation by the nation was limited. Scotland formally declared war on Spain (1625–1630) and France (1627–1629), but for the most part, Scots engaged in foreign service with consent from their monarch and under warrants issued by the Privy Council but in armies commanded by their European allies.
Through such service a number of ambitious individual Scots in different European courts had a profound influence on the course of the war both conducting diplomacy and commanding entire army groups in the campaign. These included General Sir James Spens of Wormiston, Lieutenant General Patrick Ruthven, Lieutenant General James King and Field Marshal Alexander Leslie who all served in Sweden. These men were joined in Germany by an auxiliary British army under notional Swedish command and led by James, 3rd Marquis Hamilton (1631–1632).
In France the main officers were Marechal de France John Hepburn (1634–1636), a former colonel in Swedish service, and Sir Robert Moray (1640s). In Denmark Robert Maxwell Earl of Nithsdale led a contingent including Donald Mackay Lord Reay and Colonel Robert Monro and Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie among others (1627–1629).
It is important to remember that not all Scots fought for or believed in the cause of either Elizabeth of Bohemia or the Protestant northern alliances. A number fought for the Habsburgs (Austrian and Spanish) for the same complex reasons as their countrymen; there were some committed to the counter-reformation, some compelled by circumstance and some opportunists such as Albrecht von Wallenstein's assassin, Count Walter Leslie.
Many noted Scots participated in the Thirty Years' War or had strong interests in it, including:
Scottish Monarchs and Royalty
James VI & I – King of Scotland (1567–1625) & England and Ireland (1603–1625)Elizabeth of Bohemia – Daughter of James VI. The Scottish-born princess became Queen of Bohemia after her husband Frederick V of the Palatinate accepted the Bohemian Crown.Charles I – Son of James VI. The Scottish-born prince ruled as King of Scotland, England and Ireland, 1625–1649.Field Marshals and Generals
Archibald Douglas, lieutenant general of artillery in the Hamilton Army in GermanyRobert Douglas, Count of Skenninge, eventually elevated to field marshal in the Swedish army (1655), Douglas reached the rank of lieutenant general by the end of the war in 1648. He commanded the left wing of Torstensson's army at JankowitzDavid Drummond, major general in the Swedish armyAlexander 'Arvid' Forbes, also known as Finn Forbes, an ethnic Scot and major general in the Swedish army.Alexander Hamilton, also known as 'Dear Sandy', General of Artillery in the Swedish army, later General of Artillery in the Army of the Covenant.James Hamilton, Marquis of Hamilton (later Duke of Hamilton), "General of British" in the Swedish army in GermanyJohn Hepburn, Marechal de France and field marshal in the French armyThomas Kerr, major general in the Swedish armyJames King, Lord Eythin, lieutenant-general in the Swedish army in Germany, Governor of VlothoAlexander Leslie, Earl of Leven, field marshal in the Swedish army in Germany, Governor of the Baltic Provinces and victor of Wittstock in 1636.Robert Maxwell, Earl of Nithsdale, titular 'General of Scots' in the Danish army.James MacDouglall, a.k.a. Jacob Duwall, an ethnic Scot and major general in the Swedish armyJames Ramsay 'the Black', major general in the Swedish army.John Ruthven, major general in the Swedish armyPatrick Ruthven, Earl of Forth, field marshal in the Swedish army in Germany, Governor of UlmRobert Scott, General of Artillery in the Danish army.James Spens, "General of British", and "General of Scots" in the Swedish army.Frances de Traytorrens, general of fortifications in the Swedish armySome of the more notable Colonels
William Baillie, later major general in ScotlandWilliam Balfour, colonel in the Scots-Dutch brigade, later a general in EnglandWilliam Barclay, colonel in Swedish service, later major general in Sweden (1654)William Bonar, colonel and commandant (Glogau, Silesia) in Swedish serviceWilliam Brog, colonel in the Scots-Dutch BrigadeColonel Robert Cunningham, colonel in Swedish serviceJames Douglas colonel in the French armyAlexander Forbes 'the Bald', colonel in the service of Hessen-KasselWilliam Forbes, colonel of Germans in Swedish serviceAndrew Gray, Catholic and colonel of a "Regiment of Brittanes" in BohemiaHerbert Gladstone, colonel in Swedish serviceAlexander Gordon, colonel in the Swedish serviceJohn Gordon, colonel in Swedish serviceJohn Gunn, colonel in Swedish serviceWilliam Gunn, colonel in Swedish service, refused promotion higher due to his Catholicism, later a colonel in Imperial service.Hugo Hamilton, 1st Baron of Deserf colonel in the Swedish armyAlexander Hay, colonel in Swedish serviceAlexander Irving, colonel in Swedish serviceFrances Johnstone, colonel in Swedish serviceThomas Kinnemond, colonel in Swedish servicePatrick Kinnemond, colonel in Swedish serviceAlexander Leslie, 2nd Lord Balgonie, colonel in Swedish service, later colonel in the British Civil WarsAlexander Leslie of Auchintoul, colonel in Swedish and Russian service, later general in Russia (1653)George Leslie, colonel in Swedish serviceDavid Leslie, Lord Newark, colonel in the Swedish army.Robert Leslie (brother of Lord Newark), colonel in Hessen-KasselWalter Leslie, Count of the Holy Roman EmpireAlexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie, colonel and governor in Danish serviceGeorge Lindsay, Earl of Crawford, colonel in the Swedish armyHarry Lindsay, colonel in Swedish serviceJames Lumsden colonel in Swedish service, later lieutenant general in ScotlandDonald Mackay, 1st Lord Reay, colonel in Danish and Swedish serviceRobert Monro, major in the Danish army, colonel in the Swedish army, later lieutenant general in Scotland and IrelandRobert Moray, colonel in French service and sometime quartermaster general of the Army of the CovenantPatrick More, colonel in the Swedish army during the war, later promoted to major general in Swedish service (March 1675) based in Buxtehude near HamburgRobert Munro, Baron of Foulis, colonel in Swedish serviceJohn Nairn, colonel in Swedish serviceJames Ramsay 'the Fair', colonel in Swedish service under Marquis Hamilton.William Phillip, colonel in Swedish serviceAndrew Rutherford, 1st Earl of Teviot, colonel in French service, promoted to lieutenant general in 1653Frances Ruthven, colonel in Swedish serviceRobert Sanderson, colonel in Swedish serviceAlexander Seaton, colonel in Danish service, later 'admiral' of a fleet in Denmark during the Torstensson WarJohan Skytte, ethnic Scot and colonel of a Scottish regiment in SwedenRobert Stewart, colonel in Swedish serviceImportant Scottish diplomats
Sir Robert Anstruther, Stuart ambassador to Denmark (and Danish ambassador to Britain), Sweden, the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman EmpireWilliam Douglas, Stuart ambassador to Poland-Lithuania and Elizabeth of BohemiaJames Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle. Stuart ambassador to France and SpainJohn Henderson, colonel in Swedish service, later Stuart Diplomat to Denmark-Norway and alleged Cromwellian agent.Walter Leslie, assassin, Imperial Count and diplomat for the House of Stuart and the Holy Roman EmpireHugh Mowatt, agent, spy and later accredited diplomat between Sweden and the Scottish and English parliamentsAndrew Sinclair, Stuart ambassador to DenmarkSir James Spens, Stuart ambassador to Sweden (and Swedish ambassador to Britain), Denmark and the Dutch RepublicThousands of Scots returned home from foreign service to join the Covenanters, including experienced leaders like Alexander Leslie and General of Artillery Alexander Hamilton. These veterans played an important role in training the Covenanter recruits. However, more senior officers including Lieutenant General Patrick Ruthven, Lieutenant General James King, Major General John Ruthven also returned to confront their former comrades. Both Covenanters and Royalists returned with cohorts of officers, and both introduced the 'Swedish Discipline' into their respective armies. When the wars spread to England, a situation arose in 1644 where the senior commander of the parliamentary allied army was Alexander Leslie, Earl of Leven while his opposition was led by Patrick Ruthven, now Earl of Forth and Lord General of the Royalist forces in England. Both men survived the war and died peacefully in their beds.
Dallas, O., A Ragged Renown: A Romance of the Thirty Years’ War (1934)Dallas, O., The Daughter of the Scots’ Brigade (1938)Dickason, C., The King’s Daughter (2010)Henty, G.A., The Lion of the North: The adventures of a Scottish lad during the Thirty Years’ War (2 vol., 1997 reprint). Available under a number of sub-title variants including a comic strip.Lorimer, J., The Green Brigade (1935)Friedrich Schiller's Wallenstein trilogy (1799) is a fictional account of the downfall of this general. Not Scottish as such, but contains fictionalised accounts of Wallenstein's assassins, including Count Walter Leslie.Scott, E., The Best Soldier: The Life of Sir John Hepburn, Marshal of France, Founder and First Colonel of the Royal Scots, 1628–1636 (Hawick, 2011)Stevenson, J., The Winter Queen (2003)