DALYELL, THOMAS [SSNE 3854]
Text source
Tam Dalyell was born in 1615, in the Binns, West Lothian and died in 1685 Edinburgh. He was a royalist general who was captured at Worcester but escaped from London Tower. In 1656 he was taken into Russian service with William Drummond and William Johnston on the recommendation of King Charles II. He commanded a regiment during the Russo-Polish wars, and obtained the rank of full general and estates near Polotsk and Smolensk where he succeeded Alexander Leslie as Governor. In 1665 he was allowed to return home on the request of King Charles and became commander of the King's army in Scotland. He suppressed the Covenanters who called him "bluidie Muscovite" and "Muscovy beast". In 1681 he raised the Royal Scots Greys. Some of the things he used in Russia are preserved at the Binns. His eldest son Thomas was also in Russia.DNB; G.P. Herd, 'General Patrick Gordon of Auchluchries - A Scot in Seventeenth Century Russian Service', Ph.D. thesis, Aberdeen, 1994; W. Barnhill and P. Dukes, 'North-east Scots in Muscovy in the seventeenth century' in Northern Scotland, vol. 1, no. 1, 1972, pp.49-63; D. Fedosov, The Caledonian Connection (Aberdeen, 1996).
Service record
- RUSSIA, SMOLENSK REGIMENTS
- Departed 1665-12-31, as LIEUT GENERAL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- Departed 1665-12-31, as GENERAL
- Capacity GOVERNOR, purpose MILITARY
- STUART KINGDOMS, STUART ARMY IN SCOTLAND
- Departed 1680-12-31, as GENERAL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SCOTLAND, ROYAL SCOTS GREYS
- Departed 1681-12-31, as COMMANDER
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY