 james francis edward keith (11 june 1696 &ndash; 14 october 1758) was a scottish soldier and prussian field marshal. as a jacobite he took part in a failed attempt to restore the stuart monarchy to britain, before joining the spanish and russian armies. he ultimately came to serve in the prussian army under frederick the great where he distinguished himself. he died during the seven years' war at the battle of hochkirk. ==early life== he was born at inverugie castle near peterhead, the second son of william, 9th earl marischal of scotland. through his careful education under the historian robert keith, and subsequently at the university of aberdeen in preparation for the legal profession, he acquired that taste for literature which secured him the esteem of the most distinguished savants of europe. ==military career== but at an early period his preference for a soldier's career was clear. the jacobite rising of 1715, in which he displayed qualities that gave some augury of his future eminence, compelled him to seek safety on the continent (nihtinen 1998). after spending two years in paris, chiefly at the university, he took part in abortive risings in 1719 in support of james stuart, son of the deposed king james vii and pretender to the scottish throne.http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071029/ts_nm/germany_scot_dc;_ylt=avy.pz7xcvqyrbijfralv.vz.3qa ===spanish and russian service=== he then passed some time at paris and madrid in obscurity and poverty, but eventually obtained a colonelcy in the spanish army, and, it is said, took part in the siege of gibraltar (1726-1727). finding his protestantism a barrier to promotion, he obtained from the king of spain a recommendation to peter ii of russia, from whom he received (1728) the command of a regiment of the guards. he displayed in numerous campaigns the calm, intelligent and watchful valour which was his chief characteristic, obtaining the rank of general of infantry and the reputation of being one of the ablest officers in russian service as well as a capable and liberal civil administrator. he was also one of the first freemasons active in russia.andrew mackillop, steve murdoch. military governors and imperial frontiers c. 1600-1800: a study of scotland and empires. brill academic publishers, 2003. page 103. in the russo-swedish war (1741â1743), keith was briefly de facto vice-roy of finland, where he met the love of his life, a prisoner of war{{ci
1696_births 1758_deaths 18th-century_Russian_military_personnel 18th-century_soldiers Alumni_of_the_University_of_Aberdeen Alumni_of_the_University_of_Edinburgh Field_marshals_of_Prussia Jacobites Military_personnel_killed_in_action People_from_Peterhead Prussian_military_personnel_of_the_Seven_Years\'_War Recipients_of_the_Order_of_St._Andrew Recipients_of_the_Order_of_the_Black_Eagle Russo-Swedish_War_(1741a43) Scottish_mercenaries Scottish_soldiers Spanish_military_personnel University_of_Paris_alumni