Sir James Leslie or Lesley (died 1702) was a British army officer of the seventeenth century. He was a son of Robert Leslie of Kinclaven, Perthshire (son of

Patrick Leslie, 1st Lord Lindores Patrick Leslie, 1st Lord Lindores (died between 22 May and 5 October 1608) was a member of the Peerage of Scotland, Scottish nobility. Biography He was the second son of Andrew Leslie, 5th Earl of Rothes, and his first wife, Grizel Hamilton. H ...

). James's mother was Robert's second wife, Catherine Bassett.

Biography

Lesley was said to have served as a private trooper in the Tangier Cavalry, but by 1664 he held a commission as cornet in one of three troops of Horse at

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

. On 15 December 1674 he was promoted captain in the

Tangier Regiment The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

,Dalton, ''English Army Lists'', vol. I
p. 177
with which he served with reputation and had opportunities of distinguishing himself against the Moors. By 1680 he had been knighted, and King Charles II promoted him to the majority of his regiment on 10 November that year; in 1681 he was sent as ambassador to the Court of Morocco. He served against the rebels under the Duke of Monmouth in the summer of 1685, was at the

Battle of Sedgemoor The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between the Kingdom of England and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerse ...

, and was rewarded by King James II with the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Queen Dowager's Regiment on 19 September 1687.Dalton, ''English Army Lists'', vol. II (London, 1894
p. 109
Joining the interests of the Prince of Orange at the Revolution, he was nominated colonel of the

15th Regiment of Foot 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious num ...

on 31 December 1688, with which corps he served against the insurgent clans in Scotland, and also under King William III in Flanders. He commanded a brigade at the attack of Fort Kenoque in 1695, and was afterwards engaged in the defence of

Diksmuide (; french: Dixmude, ; vls, Diksmude) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, N ...

. He yielded to the suggestions of the governor and voted in a council of war for the surrender of the town, for which he was

cashiered Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ro ...

by sentence of a general court-martial. The governor, the Dutch general Ellemberg, was beheaded at Ghent.Richard Cannon, ''Historical Record of the Fifteenth, or the Yorkshire East Riding Regiment of Foot'' (London, 1848
p. 85

References

Ambassadors of England to Morocco Queen's Royal Regiment officers East Yorkshire Regiment officers Knights Bachelor British military personnel of the Nine Years' War 1702 deaths Year of birth missing {{England-mil-bio-stub