William Leslie | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1751-08-08)8 August 1751 |
| Died | 3 January 1777(1777-01-03) (aged 25) Princeton, New Jersey, United States |
| Buried | St. Paul's Lutheran Church graveyard Pluckemin, New Jersey, United States |
| Allegiance |  Great Britain |
| Branch | British Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Conflicts | American War of Independence |
The HonourableWilliam Leslie (8 August 1751 – 3 January 1777) was a British nobleman and soldier. He was the second son of theEarl of Leven and Melville fromScotland and acaptain in the17th Foot of theBritish Army during theAmerican War of Independence. He was mortally wounded during theBattle of Princeton and buried withmilitary honours by American GeneralGeorge Washington atPluckemin, New Jersey.
Leslie was born on 8 August 1751 toDavid Leslie, 6th Earl of Leven and Wilhelmina Nisbet.[1] He was the nephew of GeneralAlexander Leslie.[2]
During the summer of 1767, he became a friend ofBenjamin Rush, who was then studying medicine atUniversity of Edinburgh and had visited the estate of the Earl of Leven.[2][3]
In 1771, he joined the42nd Highlanders; then switched to the17th Foot and was promoted to lieutenant in 1773, and to captain in 1776.[1] Sent to America in 1776, he served in theBattle of Long Island and theBattle of Fort Washington.[1]
Leslie was one of many who died during theBattle of Princeton on 3 January 1777.[4] According to Lieutenant William Armstrong of the 17th Regiment, Leslie "fell in the first fire."[5] Surgeon Andrew Wardrop, also of the 17th, stated that "no sooner [he'd] received the shots than he instantly expired without a groan." The British put his body in a wagon that was later taken by the Americans, Leslie's body was identified by General Thomas Mifflin.[5] The following day his friend Benjamin Rush learned of Leslie's death from British Captain John McPherson while treating the wounded at Princeton.[6] On 5 January atPluckemin, GeneralGeorge Washington ordered military honors for the burial when he learned Leslie was a friend of Rush.[6][7] The gravestone is in the graveyard of the former St. Paul's Lutheran Church (built 1757), where the Pluckemin Presbyterian Church is now located.[8]
InThe Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777, the painterJohn Trumbull displays several events of the battle. At the centre, GeneralHugh Mercer, with his dead horse beneath him, is mortally wounded. At the left, Captain Daniel Neil[9] is bayoneted against a cannon. At the right, Leslie is shown mortally wounded. In the background, Washington and Rush enter the scene.[10]
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 erectedc. 1836 by Professor Ogilby of Rutgers University[11] at the request ofDavid Leslie-Melville, 8th Earl of Leven.[1] His gravestone is honoured by bothBritish andScottish flags.
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