Peter von Lacy | |
|---|---|
 Peter Lacy byJohann Jacob Haid | |
| Governor ofRiga | |
| In office 1729–1740 | |
| CommanderSaint Petersburg andVeliky Novgorod | |
| In office 1725–1728 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pierce Edmond de Lacy (1678-10-30)30 October 1678 Killeedy,County Limerick,Ireland |
| Died | 30 April 1751(1751-04-30) (aged 72) Governorate of Livonia,Russian Empire |
| Resting place | Private estate |
| Spouse | Maret Philippine "Martha" von Funcken |
| Children | Count Franz Moritz von Lacy |
| Occupation | Soldier |
| Awards | Order of Saint Andrew Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky Order of the White Eagle (Poland)[1] |
| Military service | |
| Years of service | 1691 to 1751 |
| Rank | General-feldmarshal |
| Battles/wars | |
Peter Graf[2] von Lacy (Russian:Пётр Петрович Ласси,romanized: Pyotr Petrovich Lassi; English:Pierce Edmond de Lacy;Irish:Peadar (Piarais Éamonn) de Lása; 26 September 1678 – 30 April 1751)[3] was anIrish-born soldier who later served in theImperial Russian army.
Considered one of the most successfulRussian Imperial commanders beforeRumyantsev andSuvorov, in a military career that spanned half a century he claimed to have participated in 31 campaigns, 18 battles, and 18 sieges. He died on his private estate inRiga, where he served as governor for many years.
One of his sons wasCount Franz Moritz von Lacy,[4] who went on to serve in theImperial Habsburg Army, while his nephewGeorge Browne (1698–1792) was also a general in the Russian army.[5]
Peter Lacy was bornPierce Edmond de Lacy[6] on 26 September 1678 inKilleedy nearLimerick into a nobleIrish family.
In an autobiography preserved by his descendants, Lacy claimed that his father Peter was the son of John Lacy of Ballingarry.[7] Count Peter also claimed Pierce Oge de Lacy of Bruff as a kinsman. It appears that Count Peter's grandfather John Lacy of Ballingarry was of the House of Bruff, and possibly the brother of Pierce (Peter) Oge (the young) Lacy of Bruff (−1607, executed) celebrated from the wars againstElizabeth I, the son of Sir Hempon Pierce de Lacy, who maintained that he was 18th in direct descent from William Gorm de Lacy,[8] son ofHugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, and great-great-grandson of Walter Ide Lacy (–c.1085), the Norman soldier.
His uncle was Lieutenant-Colonel John Lacy of the House of Bruff, and this was the uncle John with whom Count Peter served at the age of 13 in the defence of Limerick, who had rescued Count Peter by buying him off at the capitulation of Limerick, then fled overseas with Count Peter and the rest of his regiment (which included Count Peter's father and brother) to join the Irish Brigade in France, and who was killed in October 1693 while fighting with Count Peter in the battle of the "Val de Marseilles". Lieutenant-Colonel John Lacy of the House of Bruff who had resided in Kilmallock had, before 1647, been an officer in the time ofCharles I of England, had fought in France and Flanders, and been a prisoner in England for 2 years. In 1647 he was the only Lacy to be a member of the Supreme Council of Confederate Catholics, and in 1651 he was excluded from amnesty after the 1st Siege of Limerick. He was Deputy Governor of Limerick 1685–86, and one of the representatives of Kilmallock in the Parliament of Dublin in 1689.[7]
At the age of 13, during theWilliamite war in Ireland Peter was attached to theJacobitedefence of Limerick against theWilliamites with the rank of Lieutenant. TheFlight of the Wild Geese followed, with Peter, his father and his brother joining theIrish Brigade inFrance. After his relatives lost their lives fighting forLouis XIV in Italy, Peter was induced to seek his fortune elsewhere. After two years of service in the Austrian army, Lacy followed his commander,Charles Eugène de Croÿ, into the Russian service.
His first taste of land battle in Russia was the disastrousdefeat at Narva, in which Lacy commanded a unit ofmusketeers, holding the rank ofporuchik. During theGreat Northern War he was seriously wounded on two occasions, also gaining the rank ofcolonel in 1706. In the same year, Peter gave him command of the Polotskii regiment and three new regiments raising him to colonel status. The following year he led his brigadeat Poltava, in which battle he greatly distinguished himself. In the battle of Rumna, 1708 he attacked and captured the headquarters of Charles XII.[9] He gained 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.[10] From this point began his fame as a soldier. His next active service, still underPrince Repnin, was the siege ofRiga. Lacy was reputedly the first Russian officer to enter the capital ofLivland and he was appointed the first Russian chatelain ofRiga Castle in the aftermath.
In 1719 as a Major GeneralApraksin's fleet landed Lacy with 5,000 infantry and 370 cavalry nearUmeå inSweden, where they proceeded to devastate a dozen ironfoundries and a number of mills. Two years later he led a similar action against Sundsvall. Soon promoted to General, he entered the Military Collegium (modelled byPeter I upon the Swedish administrative reforms introduced byAxel Oxenstierna) – as the Russian Ministry of Defense was then known – in 1723. Three years later, Lacy succeeded Repnin in command of the Russian forces quartered in Livland, and in 1729 he was appointed Governor of Riga. These positions brought him in contact with theDuchess ofCourland, who before long ascended the Russian throne asEmpress Anna. During her reign, Lacy's capacity for supreme command would never be doubted.
Lacy was one of the first recipients of theOrder of Saint Alexander Nevsky when it was established, furthermore, he was given command of all infantry in St Petersburg, Ingria and Novgorod. By 1728 he was ranked third of only six full generals in the Russian Army and the only foreigner. As a foreigner, his salary was 3,600 Roubles a year, 15% higher than Russian generals. Higher salaries for foreign-born generals were seen in other ranks too. Lacy's signature, even on documents inCyrillic script, always appears in English andLatin script which would suggest he never gained proficiency in Russian.
WhenCatherine was Empress Lacy was given responsibility for removingMaurice de Saxe fromCourland. Saxe had managed to gain support and was even mentioned as marryingAnna, Duchess of Courland.[11]
Having saved her from marriage to Saxe, Anna was very familiar with Lacy and he became one of her most trusted generals. TheWar of the Polish Succession again called him into the field. In 1733, Lacy andMunnich expelled the Polish king,Stanisław I, fromWarsaw toDanzig, which wasbesieged by them in 1734. Thereupon the Irishman was commanded to march towards theRhine and join his 13,500-strong contingent with the forces ofEugene of Savoy. To that end his corps advanced into Germany and, meeting the Austrians on 16 August, returned to winter quarters inMoravia with exemplary discipline. In 1734 he commanded Russian forces at theSiege of Gdańsk in which French and Polish forces were defeated. Lacy led the Russians in two other decisive battles of the conflict, Wisiczin and Busawitza. In the latter battle, he was outnumbered ten to one but nevertheless prevailed. For this victory, he was awardedOrder of the White Eagle.[12] After Busawitza Lacy was ordered to reinforce the Austrians at Mannheim. however, when he reached Mannheim peace had been declared. Lacy was received byEmperor Charles and Viennese society. On his return from Vienna, he was met by a courier from St Petersburg who delivered to him his patent honouring him as Field Marshal.
With the patent of Field Marshal was the news thatRussia was at war with Turkey and Lacy was ordered at once to captureAzov Fortress. This he did despite being wounded in the fray. Lacy's rival,Burkhard Christoph von Münnich, had been campaigning in the Crimea with little success. Thus, after taking Azov, Lacy was ordered to capture Crimea. Lacy bridged theSea of Azov at a narrow point near Perekop. Within four days, aided by favourable winds and tides, his entire army crossed it and began marching on Arabat. The Russians met the Khan's much larger Crimean army and routed them in two battles, on 12 and 14 June. In 1738, Lacy's corps again landed in Crimea and took the fortress ofÇufut Qale near the Khan's capital,Bakhchisaray.[13] For his success in Poland and Crimea Lacy was awarded theOrder of St. Andrew.
As soon as peace had been restored, Lacy was reinstated as the Governor of Livland, whileEmperor Charles VI conferred on him the title of an imperial count. His indifference to politics prevented his downfall following Anna's death, when other foreign commanders, most notably von Münnich, fell into disgrace and were expelled from active service.
In December 1741Elizabeth seized power. Lacy was roused from bed in the early hours of the morning in a test of his loyalty. He was not aware if the men sent to him were from Elizabeth orGrand Duchess Anna. Lacy was asked what party he was of, Anne or Elizabeth, Lacy answered "Of the party of the reigning Empress."[14] A period of unrest followed and Lacy was called upon to restore order. Most of what was known as the German Faction fell out of favour at this stage. The restoration of order in St Petersburg was largely down to the prompt actions of Lacy.
When theRusso-Swedish War broke out in 1741, the government ofAnna Leopoldovna appointed him Commander-in-Chief as the most experienced among Russian generals. Lacy quickly struck againstFinland and won his last brilliantvictory at Lappeenranta (August 1741). Lacy's force, however, was poorly supplied and he was forced to withdraw to St Petersburg. The following year he rallied his forces and proceeded to captureHamina,Porvoo andHämeenlinna, by August encircling more than 17,000 Swedes nearHelsinki and effectively bringing the hostilities to an end.
The war over, Lacy withdrew toRiga and resumed the command of the Russian forces stationed inLivland. He administered what is now NorthernLatvia and SouthernEstonia until his death on 30 April 1751 inRiga.[15] His sonFranz Moritz von Lacy had entered the Austrian service in 1743 and became one of the most successful imperial commanders of the 18th century.
Count Peter married Baltic German noblewoman Maret Philippine ("Martha")von Funcken fromLiezere, widow of the young Count Hannes Kristof Frölich (d 1710), and daughter of general Remmert von Funcken, lord of Liezere, and his second wife baroness Helena Üksküla. They had 5 daughters and 2 sons.
One son wasCount Franz Moritz von Lacy, the famous Austrian field marshal who was also a Count of the Holy Roman Empire.
Nothing is known about the other, supposedly older, son and in some references, he is incorrectly attributed with accolades that belong to his father Count Peter and/or his brother Count Franz.
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