Patrick Ruthven, 1st Earl of Forth facts for kids
Patrick Ruthven, who became the 1st Earl of Forth and 1st Earl of Brentford, was born around 1573 and passed away on February 2, 1651. He was a brave Scottish nobleman, a skilled general, and an important diplomat.
Serving the King of Sweden
Patrick Ruthven was a professional soldier his whole life. He became famous while working for the King of Sweden, starting around 1609 and staying until 1637. He had to leave Scotland because his family name was banned there in 1600.
Ruthven was very good at negotiating for King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. He also became well-known for his bravery in battles. By 1621, Ruthven was a colonel for the Småland infantry regiment and fought in Livonia (which is now Latvia). He even had Alexander Leslie as his second-in-command. Leslie later became a field marshal and fought against Ruthven in the English Civil War. In 1627, King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden knighted Ruthven and three other Scottish colonels.
Ruthven's service in the Thirty Years' War was very impressive. He became the governor of Ulm in 1632 and was promoted to major-general that same year. The next year, Ruthven fought along the Danube River. He captured many Bavarian soldiers near Erbach, which led to his promotion to lieutenant general. After that, he served as second-in-command to the Swedish field marshal, Johan Banér, fighting along the Rhine River in 1634 and 1635. He was given a lot of credit for defeating the Saxon general, Wolfgang Baudissin, at Dömitz. About 2,500 prisoners he took there were made to join the Swedish army.
However, Ruthven and Banér didn't always get along. Banér accused him of being careless in 1636. After this, Ruthven went back to Scotland to recruit soldiers, but he had decided to leave the Swedish army. Even though Sweden kept paying him for another year, he traveled home through France. He claimed that King Louis XIII offered him a field-marshal's baton, which is a symbol of high military rank. He never actually served in this role, but the rank was mentioned when he was made a nobleman in England.
Serving the King of Great Britain
When the Bishops' Wars started in Scotland in 1639, Ruthven offered his help to King Charles I. He brought his two nephews, Major General John Ruthven and Colonel Frances Ruthven, who were also experienced soldiers from Sweden. They joined other Scottish Royalists, including his former colleague, Lieutenant General James King.
During the 1639 campaign, Ruthven turned down command of the Royalist forces in Scotland. He didn't want to be in charge if he had to listen to the nobility instead of having full authority. His decision was a good one, as Edinburgh Castle soon fell easily to his former student, Alexander Leslie. After a peace agreement called the Truce of Berwick, Ruthven was allowed to guard the castle for the king. He defended it throughout 1640, even becoming very sick when his supplies ran out. He and his English troops were allowed to leave the castle after negotiations. For his service, King Charles I made him a Scottish nobleman, Lord Ruthven of Ettrick, in 1639. Later, in 1642, he was given the higher title of Earl of Forth.
When the English Civil War began in 1642, Ruthven joined King Charles I at Shrewsbury. He was with about 29 other Scottish officers who had fought in Sweden. Ruthven led the Royalist army at the Battle of Edgehill. This happened after the original commander, Robert Bertie, Earl of Lindsey, stepped down. They disagreed about whether to arrange the army in the Dutch or Swedish style. The Swedish system was chosen, and Ruthven took command. After the battle, Ruthven was made the general-in-chief of the Royalist army.
The Earl forced the Earl of Essex to surrender at Lostwithiel. He was also wounded at both the first and second battles of Newbury. Some people said Ruthven's skills were declining, but he had also lost favor with Prince Rupert, a younger military leader whose arrogance he disliked. They argued on their way to face the Army of the Solemn League and Covenant, which was led by Ruthven's friend, Alexander Leslie. Believing Rupert was not capable, Ruthven returned to Oxford, leaving Rupert in command. Prince Rupert lost the battle to Alexander Leslie and his English allies on July 2, 1644. After this, Ruthven stopped fighting in the field and became the Chamberlain to the Prince of Wales.
Ruthven still wrote letters to Axel Oxenstierna, a powerful leader in Sweden. He visited Sweden on a mission for Charles II. He wanted to get military help for a planned expedition to Scotland led by the Marquis of Montrose. Using the good relationships he had built in Sweden over the years, Ruthven talked with Queen Christina. He managed to get officers, money, and guns to send to the Royalists in Scotland and Ireland. However, these supplies were wasted because Charles II stopped supporting the Montrosians. This basically left Montrose to face his enemies alone. Feeling disappointed, Ruthven and King gave up on the Royalist cause.
It is often said that Ruthven died at Dundee on February 2, 1651. But he actually passed away in Buxtehude, which is near Hamburg. He had been on a journey that took him from Kalmar to Copenhagen and Bremen. His body was taken to a nearby monastery and then returned to Scotland for burial. He was buried near Dundee at Monifieth Parish Church. The church was rebuilt in 1812, and it's not known what happened to Ruthven's grave. However, there is a plaque in the current church that remembers him.
Family Life
Ruthven was married twice, first to Jane Henderson and then to Clara Berner. He had at least two sons. One son, Alexander, was an officer in the Swedish army but died before his father. Patrick Ruthven's daughter, Jane, wrote to the English Parliament from Stockholm in 1652. She became involved in arguments about her father's inheritance with his third wife, Clara Berner, who lived until 1679.
In his will, made on May 9, 1649, Ruthven left all his Swedish lands to his son Alexander's widow, Anna Erasma Klencke, and to his son (also named Patrick) from his marriage to Jane Henderson. These lands included Brevik in Sweden. To his surviving wife, Clara Berner, and their son Patrick, he gave lands in Ljungbyholm (Sweden) and Sackendorf (Germany). He left his other belongings in Scotland to Clara Berner. Clara and his daughter-in-law Anna Klencke had long arguments over the Swedish lands, which even involved the king, until 1669. The people in charge of his will were General James King for the Swedish side and Jakob Pringle of Huitbank for the Scottish side.
