Sir George Douglas
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Sir George Douglas, formerly Lt Colonel in Ramsays' Regiment, was
King Charles I's Ambassador Extraordinary in the southern Vasa kingdom from 1634
-1636. He took part in peace negotiations between the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden that began in Sztumska
Wies (Stuhmsdorf) in 1635.
He was the son of Sir George
Douglas of Mordington, gentleman of the
bed-chamber to king James VI, the son of George Douglas of Parkhead,
'a man of good parts, great bravery and courage', and was captain of
the castles of Edinburgh and Douglas in the reigns of King James V.
and Queen Mary. His great-grandfather was Sir George Douglas of
Pittendreich, second son of George master of Angus. (Source:The
Peerage of Scotland by Robert Douglas)
(Note: I am having difficulty tying this in with my genealogy data, which has him as the
illegitimate great-grandson of James, 4th earl of Morton Add to this
the suggestion that he was actually William
Gordon..!)
A George Douglas [aka William Gordon] served in James
Ramsay's regiment in Sweden in 1628 and later as a
Lieutenant-Colonel. In March 1629 Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna
intervened on Douglas's behalf by recommending that Douglas's
agent, Richard Jenks could receive payment for Douglas' invoice
in Livonia.
A lieutenant-colonel Douglas (presumably the same
guy) was engaged by Oxenstierna to obtain recruits for Ramsay's
regiment in autumn 1630 - Douglas had promised to return with
500 men in spring 1631 at his own expense. The Chancellor had
given him 2000 riksdaler and promised further reimbursement on
the arrival of the recruits, whom were still expected at the end
of March.
They arrived in time for the siege of Creuznach where
Douglas lodged his men within 150 paces of the walls. He lost 47
men one night to heavy fire from the enemy earning him
considerable respect for not withdrawing. During the storming of
the sally port the next day Douglas led his men on causing the
garrison to flee to the castle.
When Ramsay was wounded, Douglas
took over the Governorship of Creuznach while his commander
recovered.
Shortly thereafter he left the Swedish army,
apparently due to a disagreement with Gustav II Adolf. One
source notes that in 1632 a Colonel George Douglas was to levy
an "English" (probably British) regiment of horse for Swedish
service to be used on behalf of Russia in their campaign against
Poland.
Then Douglas undertook a variety of diplomatic tasks
serving the Stuart Kingdoms and Elizabeth of Bohemia. From 1634
to 1637 Douglas acted as Charles I's Ambassador to Poland and
came highly recommended by Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia.
He visited his former colonel who was now governor James Ramsay
at Hanau in 1634.
In January 1635 the Swedish envoy to Poland,
Per Brahe, noted Douglas' arrival at Danzig, and that he bore
two letters from Oxenstierna for him [Brahe]. Douglas also acted
as an envoy to Sweden at Humsdorff/Stuhmsdorff in 1635 for the
Stuart kingdoms. His secretary was John Fowler.
As Douglas
travelled home from his mission in March 1636 he stopped in at Demmin, then governed by Colonel Robert Cunningham.
Lieutenant-Colonel or Colonel (it is unclear when he was
promoted) Robert Douglas, then stationed at New Brandenburg, was
called over to join them.
The next morning George Douglas was
ill and died soon after. His body was escorted by Robert Douglas
and two of his companies to Hamburg where he was buried.
*Documentary evidence from 1619 suggests that George Douglas was
also known by the name of William Gordon. The Fortescue Papers
contain two letters from Sir Robert Naughton to the Marquis of
Buckingham. One from 2 December 1619 reads "I have this evening
spoken with George Douglas (Your Lordship knows his true name)
who presented me the enclosed from Mr Trumbull". The second
letter dated 6 December from the same to the same reads "I
beseech your Lordeship let me receive directions how his
Majestie will have William Gordon proceeded with of whose
arrival and attendance haqve I advertised your Lordship by the
name of George Douglas".
Information from the Fortescue Papers supplied by David
Worthington.
R. Monro, His Expedition with a worthy Scots Regiment called
Mac-Keyes (2 vols., London, 1637), II, The List of the Scottish
Officers in Chiefe; The Swedish Intelligencer: The Second Part
(London, 1632), pp.71-72; Swedish Krigsarkiv, Muster Roll,
1628/8-15; 1629/5-10, 12,14,16,18,19; 1630/25; 1631/12,15;
Swedish Riksarkiv, Svenske Sandebuds till Utlandske Hof och
Deras Sandebud till Sverige, (1841), p.83.; Rikskansleren Axel
Oxenstiernas Skrifter och Brefvexling, first series, IV, p.416;
ibid, first series, VI, pp.42, 58, 59, 175, 192; ibid., second
series, IV, p.487; PRO, SP 88/8-9 ; G.M. Bell, A Handlist of
British Diplomatic Representatives 1509-1688 (London, 1990); A.
Douglas, Robert Douglas en krigaregestalt fran var storhetstid,
(Stockholm, 1957), 34, and 55-58; T. Fischer, The Scots in
Germany (Edinburgh, 1902), 97; S.R. Gardiner (ed), Fortescue
Papers (Camden soc., London, 1871), I, pp.105 and 108; D.
Norrman, Gustav Adolfs politik mot ryssland och polen under
tyska kriget (1630-1632), (Uppsala, 1943), p.126; Steve Murdoch,
Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations
in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Brill, Leiden, 2006), p.294.
See also:
Autopsy of Sir George Douglas
Note:
A manuscript exists detailing: 'Moneyes issued &
assigned at the receipt of his Mate Exchqr to Sr George Douglas
Knt. & others for his ordinary and extraordinary charges as
Agent in Germany & Ambr Extraordinary in Poland &c'
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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