The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

William Leslie (8 August 1751 – 3 January 1777) was a British nobleman and soldier. He was the second son of the Earl of Leven and Melville from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

17th Foot The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during 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 ...

. He was mortally wounded during the

Battle of Princeton The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey on January 3, 1777, and ending in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under the comman ...

and buried with

military honours A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

by American General

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 ...

Pluckemin, New Jersey Pluckemin is an unincorporated community located within Bedminster Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It was also known historically as Pluckamin. It was the site of several historic events during the American Revolutionary ...

Early life

Leslie was born on 8 August 1751 to

David Leslie, 6th Earl of Leven David Leslie, 6th Earl of Leven (4 May 1722 – 9 June 1802) was the son of Alexander Leslie, 5th Earl of Leven. Grand Master of Scottish Freemasons 1759–61; Deputy Governor of the Bank of Scotland; a Lord of Police 1772–82; High Commission ...

and Wilhelmina Nisbet. He was the nephew of General

Alexander Leslie Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven (15804 April 1661) was a Scottish soldier in Swedish and Scottish service. Born illegitimate and raised as a foster child, he subsequently advanced to the rank of a Swedish Field Marshal, and in Scotland b ...

. During the summer of 1767, he became a friend of

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, ...

, who was then studying medicine at

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and had visited the estate of the Earl of Leven.

Military career

In 1771, he joined the

42nd Highlanders The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disband ...

; then switched to the

and was promoted to lieutenant in 1773, and to captain in 1776. Sent to America in 1776, he served in the

Battle of Long Island 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 Yo ...

and the

Battle of Fort Washington The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in New York on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. It was a British victory that gained the surrender of the remnant of the garrison of ...

. Leslie was one of many who died during the

on 3 January 1777. The British put his body in a wagon that was later taken by the Americans. The following day his friend Benjamin Rush learned of Leslie's death from British Captain John McPherson while treating the wounded at Princeton. On Janunary 5th at Pluckemin, General

ordered military honors for the burial when he learned Leslie was a friend of Rush. The gravestone is in the graveyard of the former St. Paul's Lutheran Church (built 1757), where the Pluckemin Presbyterian Church is now located.

Legacy

In ''

The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777 ''The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777'' is the title of an oil painting by the American artist John Trumbull depicting the death of the American General Hugh Mercer at the Battle of Princeton on Friday, Jan ...

'', the painter

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Rev ...

displays several events of the battle. At the centre, General

Hugh Mercer Hugh Mercer (16 January 1726 – 12 January 1777) was a Scottish-born American military officer and physician who participated in the Seven Years' War and Revolutionary War. Born in Pitsligo, Scotland, he studied medicine in his home country ...

, with his dead horse beneath him, is mortally wounded. At the left, Captain Daniel Neil is bayoneted against a cannon. At the right, Leslie is shown mortally wounded. In the background, Washington and Rush enter the scene. After the war, Dr. Benjamin Rush placed a gravestone in Leslie's memory at the Pluckemin graveyard. As the original had crumbled, a replacement with the same inscription was erected by Professor Ogilby of Rutgers University at the request of

David Leslie-Melville, 8th Earl of Leven David Leslie-Melville, 8th Earl of Leven, 7th Earl of Melville (1785–1860) was a Scottish peer and admiral. He entered the Royal Navy c. 1800; he became Rear Admiral in 1846, and Vice Admiral in 1858. He was a Representative Peer (Tory), for Sc ...

. His gravestone is honoured by both

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Scottish flags.

Gallery

File:The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton January 3 1777.jpeg, ''

'' by

, with Leslie, shown on the right, mortally wounded File:William Leslie Gravestone, Pluckemin, NJ.jpg, Leslie gravestone at

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, William 1751 births 1777 deaths British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Leicestershire Regiment officers British military personnel killed in the American Revolutionary War Younger sons of earls Burials in New Jersey