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Birth of Peter Lacy, Irish-born Officer in the Imperial Russian Army

Peter Lacy, Irish-born soldier who later serves in the Imperial Russian Army, is born Pierce Edmond de Lacy into a noble Irish family on September 26, 1678, in Killeedy near Limerick, County Limerick. Considered one of the most successful Russian Imperial commanders before Pyotr Rumyantsev and Alexander Suvorov, in a military career that spans half a century, he claims to have participated in 31 campaigns, 18 battles, and 18 sieges.

At the age of 13, during the Williamite War in Ireland, Lacy is attached to the Jacobite defence of Limerick against the Williamites with the rank of Lieutenant. The Flight of the Wild Geese follows, with him, his father and his brother joining the Irish Brigade in France. After his relatives lose their lives fighting for Louis XIV in Italy, he is induced to seek his fortune elsewhere. After two years of service in the Austrian army, he follows his commander, Charles Eugène de Croÿ, into the Russian service.

Lacy’s first taste of land battle in Russia is the disastrous defeat at Narva, in which he commands a unit of musketeers, holding the rank of poruchik. During the Great Northern War he is seriously wounded on two occasions, also gaining the rank of colonel in 1706. In the same year, Peter the Great gives him command of the Polotskii regiment and three new regiments raising him to colonel status. The following year he leads his brigade at Poltava and in the ensuing battle he greatly distinguishes himself. In the 1708 battle of Rumna, he attacks and captures the headquarters of Charles XII of Sweden. He gains fame at this stage by advising the Czar that musketeers should wait until they were within a few yards of the enemy before opening fire. Prior to this, the Russians were known for uncoordinated fire. From this point begins his fame as a soldier. His next active service, still under Prince Anikita Repnin, is the siege of Riga. He is reputedly the first Russian officer to enter the capital of Livland and he is appointed the first Russian chatelain of Riga Castle in the aftermath.

In 1719, Major General Fyodor Apraksin‘s fleet lands Lacy with 5,000 infantry and 370 cavalry near Umeå in Sweden, where they proceed to devastate a dozen iron foundries and a number of mills. Two years later he leads a similar action against Sundsvall. Soon promoted to General, he enters the Military Collegium, as the Russian Ministry of Defense was then known, in 1723. Three years later, he succeeds Repnin in command of the Russian forces quartered in Livland, and in 1729 he is appointed Governor of Riga. These positions bring him in contact with the Duchess of Courland, who before long ascends the Russian throne as Empress Anna. During her reign, Lacy’s capacity for supreme command is never doubted.

Lacy is one of the first recipients of the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky when it is established, furthermore, he is given command of all infantries in Saint Petersburg, Ingria and Novgorod. By 1728 he is ranked third of only six full generals in the Russian Army and the only foreigner. As a foreigner, his salary is 3,600 Roubles a year, 15% higher than Russian generals. Higher salaries for foreign-born generals are seen in other ranks too. His signature, even on documents in Cyrillic script, always appear in English and Latin script which suggests he never gains proficiency in the Russian language.

When Catherine is Empress, Lacy is given responsibility for removing Maurice de Saxe from Courland. Saxe had managed to gain support and was even mentioned as marrying Anna, Duchess of Courland.

Having saved her from marriage to Saxe, Anna is very familiar with Lacy, and he becomes one of her most trusted generals. The War of the Polish Succession again calls him into the field. In 1733, he and Burkhard Christoph von Münnich expel the Polish king, Stanisław I, from Warsaw to Danzig, which is besieged by them in 1734. Thereupon the Irishman is commanded to march toward the Rhine and join his 13,500-strong contingent with the forces of Eugene of Savoy. To that end, his corps advances into Germany and, meeting the Austrians on August 16, returns to winter quarters in Moravia with exemplary discipline. In 1734, he commands Russian forces at the Siege of Danzig in which French and Polish forces are defeated. Lacy leads the Russians in two other decisive battles of the conflict, Wisiczin and Busawitza. In the latter battle, he is outnumbered ten to one but nevertheless prevails. For this victory, he is awarded Order of the White Eagle. After Busawitza Lacy is ordered to reinforce the Austrians at Mannheim. however, when he reaches Mannheim peace has been declared. He is received by Emperor Charles and Viennese society. On his return from Vienna, he is met by a courier from Saint Petersburg who delivers to him his patent honouring him as Field Marshal.

With the patent of Field Marshal is the news that Russia is at war with Turkey and Lacy is ordered at once to capture Azov Fortress. This he does despite being wounded in the fray. His rival, Burkhard Christoph von Münnich, had been campaigning in the Crimea with little success. Thus, after taking Azov, Lacy is ordered to capture Crimea. He bridges the Sea of Azov at a narrow point near Perekop. Within four days, aided by favourable winds and tides, his entire army crosses it and begins marching on Arabat. The Russians meet the Khan’s much larger Crimean army and rout them in two battles, on June 12 and 14. In 1738, his corps again land in Crimea and take the fortress of Chufut-Kale near the Khan’s capital, Bakhchisaray. For his success in Poland and Crimea he is awarded the Order of St. Andrew.

As soon as peace has been restored, Lacy is reinstated as the Governor of Livland, while Emperor Charles VI confers on him the title of an imperial count. His indifference to politics prevents his downfall following Anna’s death, when other foreign commanders, most notably von Münnich, fall into disgrace and are expelled from active service.

In December 1741, Elizabeth seizes power. Lacy is roused from bed in the early hours of the morning in a test of his loyalty. He is not aware if the men sent to him are from Elizabeth or Grand Duchess Anna. He is asked what party he is of, Anne or Elizabeth, and he answers, “Of the party of the reigning Empress.” A period of unrest follows, and he is called upon to restore order. Most of what is known as the German Faction falls out of favour at this stage. The restoration of order in Saint Petersburg is largely down to the prompt actions of Lacy.

When the Russo-Swedish War breaks out in 1741, the government of Anna Leopoldovna appoints Lacy Commander-in-Chief as the most experienced among Russian generals. He quickly strikes against Finland and wins his last brilliant victory at Lappeenranta in August 1741. His force, however, is poorly supplied and he is forced to withdraw to Saint Petersburg. The following year he rallies his forces and proceeds to capture Hamina, Porvoo and Hämeenlinna, by August encircling more than 17,000 Swedes near Helsinki and effectively bringing the hostilities to an end.

The war over, Lacy withdraws to Riga and resumes the command of the Russian forces stationed in Livland. He administers what is now northern Latvia and southern Estonia until his death on his private estate in Riga on April 30, 1751. His son, Franz Moritz von Lacy, enters the Austrian service in 1743 and becomes one of the most successful imperial commanders of the 18th century and also a Count of the Holy Roman Empire. His nephew, George Browne, is also a general in the Russian army.


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The Battle of Deputy’s Pass

The Battle of Deputy’s Pass is fought in County Wicklow on May 29, 1599, during the Nine Years’ War in Ireland. A Gaelic Irish force under Felim McFiach O’Byrne ambushes an English army of about 500, under Sir Henry Harington, which is marching from Rathdrum to Wicklow. The English army is routed and loses about 250 men.

The O’Byrnes had been allied to Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, since the outbreak of the Nine Years’ War in 1593. Fiach McHugh O’Byrne had worked together with O’Neill, so much that he is described as the earl’s “right arm in Leinster.” However, when Fiach is killed in 1597, the power of the O’Byrnes seems to wane. When Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1599, he orders Harrington into County Wicklow to deal with the O’Byrnes and their allies, the O’Tooles.

Harrington’s force consists of five foot companies, but four of them are inexperienced levies recently raised in England. The only experienced foot company is that of Captain Loftus, whose men are mostly Irish. The companies are organised into a regiment under the command of Sir Alexander Radcliffe. To this is added fifty horsemen commanded by Captain Charles Montague. Harrington wants to take his troops out to scout the Irish fortifications on the ford of the Avonmore River at Rathdrum, and possibly to give his raw troops some experience in fieldcraft. His first attempt to view the Irish position on May 28 fails. Harrington returns to his camp about a mile from the ford. A second effort to view the Irish fortifications is made on May 28, but this is turned back due to poor weather. Harrington orders the men to march back to Wicklow town.

The English army stretches out in a column. In the lead is the van, then the baggage, followed by the battle and then the rear. Captain Atherton, the Sergeant Major of the army, has little doubt that the weight of any Irish attack will fall on the rear of the column. Thus, the horse (cavalry) is placed at the rear. The army has marched little over a mile before the Irish shot (musketeers and caliver-men) begin skirmishing with the rear of Harrington’s force. The Irish try to take a ford to block the advance, but the English secure the crossing, with the shot of the English rear skirmishing with the Irish, allowing the rest of the army to pass unhindered.

The march continues two miles to another ford, with the rear continuing to hold O’Byrne’s Irish shot at bay. Again, the English shot secures the crossing, as Irish fire slackens, possibly due to a shortage of gunpowder. Harrington places 40–50 shot behind an earthen bank on the left flank of the column on the far side of the ford. The Irish bring up a stand of pikemen, but their attack is limited to the English left, as the right of the column is shielded by thick gorse bushes. Atherton gathers 60–80 men to counter-attack the Irish pike. The English shot behind the bank is to hold their fire until Atherton attacks, but instead prematurely fires a single volley at the Irish pike then abandons their position. Without the support from their shot, Atherton’s men refuse to charge the Irish, then withdraw to the main body of the English column.

Atherton finds that the English shot have fled the column, abandoning the main stand of English pike. Now exposed to Irish gunfire, the English pike become disordered as they press to make the river crossing. Exploiting the English confusion, the Irish pike charges into the English rear, killing many without resistance. Montague’s English cavalry charges to support the panicking infantry, but the Irish pike square opens, allowing the horse to pass through. The Irish pike spear the English horse as they pass, including Montague who is wounded by a pike thrust into his side. Despite their officer’s best efforts, the English soldiers’ resistance collapses. The rout continues with the Irish slaughtering Harrington’s men to within one and a half miles of Wicklow town. All the English companies lose their colours, except for Captain Loftus, but they are later recovered by the English horse. After the battle, Radcliffe estimates the English army has lost 250 men killed, missing or deserted.

The first English reports suggest that they lost the battle due to the inexperience of most of their troops. Harrington at first blames the English pikemen for refusing to fight, but at the court-martial in July, Harrington, supported by two of his officers (Captains Linley and Mallory) blames Captain Loftus and his Lieutenant Walsh. This is convenient, as Loftus had died from his wounds and could not refute their accusations. Their version is supported by a map drawn of the battle, possibly by Montague (Harrington’s nephew). Loftus and Walsh are found guilty by the court-martial. Loftus is already dead, but Walsh is executed by firing squad. Mallory and Linley are not found guilty, but they are cashiered, losing command of their foot companies. The men in Loftus’ company are sentenced to death but this is commuted to decimation by drawing lots. Even by Elizabethan standards this is deemed overly harsh. Though Harrington is not charged with misconduct, he is never given command of a force this size again.


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The Battle of Scarrifholis

The Battle of Scarrifholis takes place on June 21, 1650, near Letterkenny, County Donegal, during the Irish Confederate Wars. A force loyal to the Commonwealth of England commanded by Charles Coote defeats the Catholic Ulster Army, commanded by Heber MacMahon, Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher.

Although slightly smaller than their opponents, Coote’s troops consist largely of veterans from the New Model Army and have three times the number of cavalry. After an hour of fighting, the Ulster army collapses and flees, losing most of its men, officers, weapons, and supplies. The battle secures the north of Ireland for the Commonwealth and clears the way to complete the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

The Irish Confederate Wars, sparked by the Irish Rebellion of 1641, are initially fought between the predominantly Catholic Confederation, and a largely Protestant Irish Royal Army, led by James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond. Both claim to be loyal to Charles I, while there is a three-sided war in Ulster. The latter involves Royalists, Gaelic Catholic leader Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill, and Presbyterian militia, known as the Laggan Army, supported by Scots Covenanters under Robert Munro.

In September 1643, Ormond agrees a truce, or ‘Cessation’, with the Confederation, freeing his troops for use in England against Parliament in the First English Civil War. Some Irish Protestants object, and switch sides, including Sir Charles Coote, who becomes Parliamentarian commander in Connacht. Charles surrenders in 1646, while a Covenanter/Royalist uprising is quickly suppressed in the 1648 Second English Civil War. On January 17, 1649, the Confederation allies with Ormond’s Royalists. Following the execution of Charles on January 30, they are joined by the Laggan Army and remaining Scots troops in Ulster.

There are various reasons for this. The Covenanter government, who provide support for Scottish settlers in Ulster, consider Oliver Cromwell and other leaders of the new Commonwealth of England dangerous political and religious radicals. As Scots, they object to the execution of their king by the English. As Presbyterians, they view monarchy as divinely ordained, making regicide also sacrilegious, and they transfer their allegiance to his son, Charles II of England.

However, this is offset by a split within the Confederation, between Catholic landowners who want to preserve the position prevailing in 1641, and those like Ó Néill, whose estates had been confiscated in 1607. As a result, he agrees a truce with Coote, and refuses to join the Alliance, depriving them of their most effective fighting force in the north. Despite this, by late July, Ormond’s combined Royalist/Confederate army control most of Ireland.

Ormond’s defeat at the Battle of Rathmines on August 2 allows Cromwell and an army of 12,000 to land in Dublin unopposed. After capturing Drogheda on September 11, his main force heads south towards Wexford. Colonel Robert Venables is sent north with three regiments, or around 2,500 men, to take control of Ulster. Munro’s garrisons surrender with minimal resistance, and by the end of September, Venables has occupied Dundalk, Carlingford, Newry, and Belfast. These are accompanied by the mass expulsion of Scots settlers, as punishment for their defection. When Coote captures Coleraine on September 15, he massacres the largely Scottish garrison.

Ó Néill’s death in November 1649 and Coote’s defeat of a combined Royalist/Covenanter force at Lisnagarvey in December leaves the Catholic Ulster army as the only remaining opposition to the Commonwealth in the north. At a meeting at Belturbet on March 18, 1650, Heber MacMahon, Catholic Bishop of Clogher, is appointed in his place. Although a leading figure in the Confederation, MacMahon has no military experience and opposes the alliance with Ormond’s Royalists. His election is essentially a compromise between supporters of Henry, Ó Néill’s son, and his cousin, Felim Ó Néill.

By May 20, MacMahon and his deputy Richard O’Farrell have assembled an army near Loughgall, with 5,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry. They lack both arms and artillery but after Ormond promises to send these from Connacht, they march north, intending to divide Coote’s troops at Derry from those commanded by Venables at Carrickfergus in the east. To do this, MacMahon establishes a line of garrisons with its northern end at Ballycastle, then moves south, intending to cross the River Foyle just below Lifford and maintain contact with Ormond through Ballyshannon.

At this point, Coote has only 1,400 men and seems vulnerable. The Irish cross the river on June 2, beating off an attack by the Commonwealth cavalry and occupy Lifford, where they spend the next two weeks and Coote withdraws to Derry. However, the supplies promised by Ormond fail to arrive, leaving MacMahon short of provisions, while on June 18 Coote is joined by an additional 1,000 infantry under Colonel Roger Fenwick sent from Belfast. At the same time, detaching men for the new garrisons leave MacMahon with around 4,000 infantry and 400 cavalry.

MacMahon now relocates to the Doonglebe/Tullygay Hill overlooking the pass at Scariffhollis, a strong defensive position two miles west of Letterkenny on the River Swilly. When Myles MacSweeney takes his regiment off to recapture his ancestral home at Doe Castle, it leaves the two armies roughly equal in number. However, Coote’s men are well equipped veterans, and he has three times the number of cavalry. When he appears at Scariffhollis on June 21, MacMahon’s subordinates advise him not to risk battle. They argue Coote will soon be forced to retreat due to lack of provisions, allowing the Irish to withdraw into Connaught in good order.

For reasons that are still debated, MacMahon ignores this advice and on the morning of June 21, 1650, orders his troops down from their mountain camp to give battle. Coote later reports that although the ground is still “excessive bad,” it allows him to use his cavalry, although the initial fighting is conducted by the opposing infantry.

The Irish army is drawn up in a large mass formation with 200–300 musketeers in front, which may have been due to their shortage of ammunition. The battle begins when Colonel Fenwick leads a detachment of 150 men against the advance guard. After an exchange of fire, during which Fenwick is mortally wounded, it turns into a hand-to-hand struggle. As Coote feeds in reinforcements, the Irish musketeers fall back on their main force, which has no room to manoeuvre and is now subjected to devastating volleys at close range. After an hour of bitter conflict, the Irish are out of ammunition and at this point the Parliamentarian cavalry charges their flank. Thrown into disarray, the Irish break and run.

In most battles, flight is the point at which the defeated suffer the heaviest casualties, exacerbated by the lack of Irish cavalry and the brutal nature of the war. Most of the infantry dies on the battlefield or in the pursuit that follows, including Henry Ó Néill and many officers, some of whom are killed after surrendering. Estimates of the Irish dead range from 2,000 – 3,000, while Coote loses around 100 killed or wounded.

MacMahon escapes with 200 horse but is captured a week later and executed. Phelim Ó Néill and O’Farrell make it to Charlemont, which is besieged by Coote and surrenders on August 14. With the exception of a few scattered garrisons, this ends fighting in the north. Limerick is taken by Hardress Waller in October 1651, and the war ends when Galway surrenders to Coote in May 1652.

(Pictured: A view of the mouth of River Swilly at Lough Swilly, Letterkenny, County Donegal)