At the war between Duke Charles and Sigismund he was defeated on 29 August 1599 by the troops of Duke Charles in Marttila, Finland. Kurck retreated to the Karelian town of Viborg (now Vyborg, Russia) and was later captured. He was sentenced to death in Åbo (Fi. Turku), but managed to survive the Åbo Bloodbath on which 14 supporters of Sigismund were beheaded. Kurck and captain Arvid Stålarm were sent to Linköping where they were tried and condemned along with other captured opposition leaders. Stålarm and Kurck also survived the subsequent Linköping bloodbath but remained imprisoned in the Gripsholm Castle. Kurck was released in September 1602 as Stålarm died in prison in 1620. During the Ingrian War Kurck served as a captain under the command of Jacob De la Gardie.