FORBES, JOHN [SSNE 2170]
- Surname
- FORBES
- First name
- JOHN
- Title/rank
- MAJOR
- Nationality
- SCOT
- Region
- ABERDENSHIRE
Text source
According to various biographical sources, John Forbes was born c.1600 and first served Denmark-Norway in Mackay's regiment in the 1620's, the Båhus regiment in the 1640's and the Dal regiment in the 1650-1660's. This is certainly a confusion of several officers. This John Forbes served as a captain with the Båhus regiment from c.1642 before transferring into Colonel Spang's and then the Tønsberg regiments until June 1645. In April of that year, he had been responsible for delivering weapons to Norway from Copenhagen, a fact noted by Hannibal Sehested in January 1646. In 1657, Forbes enlisted into the Dal regiment and was later promoted to major. It was possibly he who was noted as the 'Captain Farbusk' who was listed among the officers mentioned by Frederik III to Nils Trolle on 16 February 1657 as being one of those officers who wanted to remain in Danish-Norwegian sources. In any case, with the Dal regiment he prevented the Swedes from crossing the Elbe and they had to call off their operations. Forbes was exceptionally successful in 1660 during the siege of Halden, and is still mentioned in the Norwegian Smålensk regiment between August 1664 and November 1667, but nothing is known of his movements after that date. It is possible that this is Major John Forbes, illegitimate son of Arthur, 10th Lord Forbes although evidence is still required to make that link.
Sources:
Statholderskabets Extraktprotokol af Supplicationer og Resolutioner 1642-1652 (2.vols, Cristiania, 1896-1901), I, p.268, January 1646; E. A. Thomle (ed.), Norske Rigsregistranter, vol. XII (Christiania, 1891), p.202; O. Ovenstad, Militærbiografier: Den Norske Hærs Officerer (Oslo, 1948), p.308; G. Lind, Danish Data Archive 1573; T. Riis, Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot (Odense, 1988), II, p.193; J.C.W. Hirsch and K. Hirsch (eds.), 'Fortegnelse over Dansk og Norske officerer med flere fra 1648 til 1814 (12 vols. compiled 1888-1907), III, vol.4; A and H. Tayler, The House of Forbes (Bruceton Mills Reprint, 1987), pp.169 and 201.
Service record
- DENMARK-NORWAY, BAHUS REGIMENT, NORWAY
- Arrived 1644-06-13, as CAPTAIN
- Departed 1645-06-28, as MAJOR
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- DENMARK-NORWAY, DAL REGIMENT, NORWAY
- Arrived 1657-05-28, as CAPTAIN
- Departed 1667-11-01, as MAJOR
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY