Lord James Douglas (1617–1645) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier. He was born at

Douglas Castle Douglas Castle was a stronghold of the Douglas (later Douglas-Home) family from medieval times to the 20th century. The first castle, erected in the 13th century, was destroyed and replaced several times until the 18th century when a large man ...

Douglas, South Lanarkshire Douglas ( gd, Dùbhghlas) is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located on the south bank of the Douglas Water and on the A70 road that links Ayr, on the West coast of Scotland, to Edinburgh on the East, around 12 miles south west ...

, the son of

William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas and 11th Earl of Angus (1589–1660) was a Scottish nobleman. Life Master of Angus William Douglas was the eldest son of William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus and his Countess, Elizabeth Oliphant, elde ...

, and his wife Margaret Hamilton, a daughter of

Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley (3 June 1546 – 3 May 1621) was a Scottish nobleman who fought at the Battle of Langside in 1568 for Mary, Queen of Scots. He is the ancestor of the earls, marquesses and dukes of Abercorn. Birth and origin ...

. Douglas was sent at an early age to the court of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

, where he was served the King as a

Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

, where he steadily moved through the levels of the

Maison du Roi The Maison du Roi (, "King's Household") was the royal household of the King of France. It comprised the military, domestic, and religious entourage of the French royal family during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration. Organisation ...

Thirty Years War

At the age of twenty, he was appointed

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the '' Scots Regiment'' (one of five Scottish units in French service in this period), the first of three brothers to do so. The Scots Regiment, was raised as its name suggests in Scotland in 1625, and had fought in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in the early part of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, it returned to Scotland as the ''Royal regiment of Foot'' in 1633. In 1635, the regiment was bound to King Louis, "in all service except against the King of Great Britain". Originally it was commanded by Sir John Hepburn, who was killed at the siege of

Saverne Saverne (french: Saverne, ; Alsatian: ; german: Zabern ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km (2 ...

in 1636; it was then taken over by his nephew, Sir James Hepburn who was killed in action the following year. Douglas was appointed the new Colonel, and the name of the corps was altered to the ''Régiment de Douglas'', and numbers increased to twenty companies of 100 Scotsmen. The regiment fought with distinction, under Douglas, occasionally under the ultimate command of

Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshal of France, Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustr ...

. Douglas was injured in August 1645, and received a letter of sympathy from

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

. He was killed in a skirmish on the road between

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

and

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...

on 21 October 1645, in an attempt to take the latter city from the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

s. According to Fraser, Louis XIV had indicated his wish to raise Douglas to the rank of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

, on the very day that he died, though the appointment was never made.Fraser, vol II, p.427 Douglas' body was returned to Paris and buried at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, beside other members of his family, including

William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus (15543 March 1611) was a Scottish nobleman. He was the son of William Douglas, 9th Earl of Angus (1533–1591). He was a direct descendant of King James I through his paternal grandmother, Agnes Keith, a d ...

, his grandfather. A fine memorial was erected to his memory in the Chapelle de Sainte-Thérèse, within the Abbey Church. Douglas was succeeded as colonel by his elder brother,

Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, 1st Earl of Ormond (1609–1655) was the eldest son of William Douglas, 1st Marquis of Douglas, from whom he obtained the courtesy title of Earl of Angus.Vian in the DNB spells the title Earl of Ormonde. Lee in ...

. The ''Régiment de Douglas'' returned to British service in 1662, and by 1812 it took its more famous name:

The Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

References

Regiments.org
Timelines and Colonels of the Royal Scots * Balfour Paul, Sir James. ''Scots Peerage Vol I''. Edinburgh 1907 * Fraser, Sir William Fraser. ''The Douglas Book'' IV Vols. Edinburgh 1885. * Maxwell, Sir Herbert. ''A History of the House of Douglas''. London 1902 * Steve Murdoch and Alexia Grosjean, ''Alexander Leslie and the Scottish Generals of the Thirty Years' War, 1618–1648'' (London, 2014)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Lord James 1617 births 1645 deaths Royal Scots officers James Douglas Scottish pre-union military personnel killed in action Burials at Saint-Germain-des-Prés (abbey) Scottish people of the Thirty Years' War Younger sons of marquesses People from Douglas, South Lanarkshire

Thirty Years War

See also

References

External links