Diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries 1635-1699

Patrick Gordon (1635-1699), born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, was a Soldier of Fortune who became a Russian general under Tsar Peter I. He was a close friend and advisor to the Tsar. After his death in 1699, Gordon left detailed diary of his life and times, written in English and now edited by Dmitry Fedosov. Volume V comprises a wide range of activities on land and sea from 1690 to 1695, many of them involving the young Tsar Peter. Having helped the future Peter the Great to consolidate his hold on the throne, Gordon grew closer to him. On the practice battlefield, the Scottish general played a leading part realistic enough for himself to be shot in the thigh and his son-in-law to be mortally wounded. As Fedosov says, Gordon along with the Tsar proceeded from the pastimes of Mars to those of Neptune in naval exercises on the White Sea. Moving south to actual combat, the Russian forces re-engaged the Crimean Khanate and Ottoman Empire in further episodes in the long struggle for the fortress of Azov. Volume V, the longest of the six volumes, contains many letters to and from Gordon and a wide range of his observations on political developments throughout Europe.