1 MELVILLE CRESCENT 45-61 MELVILLE STREET

Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Duff Tytler

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1760–1849) was an 18th-century Scottish soldier who oversaw

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

Life

He was born in the spring of 1760 in or near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

the son of

William Tytler William Tytler WS FRSE (1711–1792) was a Scottish lawyer, known as a historical writer. He wrote ''An Inquiry into the Evidence against Mary Queen of Scots'', against the views of William Robertson. He discovered the manuscript the ''"Kingis Q ...

and his wife, Anne Craig of Costerton. Trained as a career soldier he joined as an Ensign in the

57th Regiment of Foot The 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of line infantry in the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the Middlesex Regiment in 1881. His ...

and was dispatched to fight in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

in 1776 under Lord Cornwallis. He was stationed on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

under

Sir William Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three bro ...

. He saw action at the

Battle of Brooklyn The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yor ...

in August 1776. He purchased a lieutenancy and led troops in the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...

Courthouse against Washington in June 1778. His battalion was then placed under overall command of Sir Charles Grey and attacked the village of Topan. During this attack he personally captured Washington's aide-de-camp Captain Randolph. Randolph was later released, and Tytler later encountered him when he, himself, was captured. This led to him having breakfast with

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, whom he greatly admired. He also took part in the Battle of Jamestown and at Fort Montgomery.A Memoir of Patrick Fraser Tytler: John Burgon After the peace of 1782 he transferred to the 56th Regiment at the rank of Major. In 1793 he became aide-de-camp to Sir Ralph Abercrombie and fought with him in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

campaign. In Flanders he fought in the Battle of Cambray and

Battle of Famars The Battle of Famars was fought on 23 May 1793 during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. An Allied Austrian, Hanoverian, and British army under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeated the French Army of the North le ...

in May 1793. He was soon after promoted to Colonel in Lord Elgin's Fencibles. He was Fort Major of

during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

until around 1805. In the early 19th century he became Assistant Quarter Master General for Scotland and relocated to

. Although his official duties were at

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

he lived off-site with his family firstly at 3 Charlotte Street (off

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...

), then at 11 Melville Street in Edinburgh's West End. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1814 and resigned in 1836. He was still living at 11 Melville Street. He died at his son-in-law's estate, Ardona in

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the hi ...

(near Alva) on 14 March 1849 aged 89. He is buried in the grave of his father-in-law, Lord Alva, in St Cuthbert's churchyard at the west end of

. His will is held by the National Archive in Kew.

Family

He was married to Isabella Erskine, daughter of

James Erskine, Lord Alva James Erskine, Lord Barjarg and Alva (20 June 1722 – 13 May 1796) was an 18th-century Scottish lawyer who rose to be a Senator of the College of Justice. For convenience his name was usually contracted to James Erskine, Lord Alva. Life He ...

(one of his father's legal colleagues). Their children included Anne, William and Elizabeth Glencairn Tytler. The latter married

Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet, (29 December 179223 May 1867) was an England-born Scottish advocate (attorney) and historian. He held several prominent legal appointments. He was the younger son of the Episcopalian cleric and author Archibal ...

. Anne married

Berkeley Buckingham Stafford Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer t ...

(1797–1847) (

High Sheriff of Louth The High Sheriff of Louth was the Crown's representative for County Louth, a territory known as his bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, he held his office for the duration of a year. He had judicial, ceremonial and administrative func ...

in 1828), the father of Sir Edward Stafford (1819–1901), who served three terms as the

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

. He was younger brother to

Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee FRSE (15 October 17475 January 1813) was a Scottish advocate, judge, writer and historian who was a Professor of Universal History, and Greek and Roman Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh. Lif ...

and uncle to his sons,

Patrick Fraser Tytler Patrick Fraser Tytler FRSE FSA(Scot) (30 August 179124 December 1849) was a Scottish advocate and historian. He was described as the "Episcopalian historian of a Presbyterian country". Life The son of Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhou ...

and James Fraser Tytler.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tytler, Patrick Duff 1760 births 1849 deaths Military personnel from Edinburgh 57th Regiment of Foot officers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War 56th Regiment of Foot officers British Fencibles officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars