page_title: James Francis Edward Keith
section_title: Relationship with Frederick
hierarchical_section_title: James Francis Edward Keith / Prussian service / Relationship with Frederick
caption_attribution_description: Tafel für James Keith (1696-1758) am Obelisken in Rheinsberg
context_page_description: James Francis Edward Keith was a Scottish soldier and Generalfeldmarschall of the Royal Prussian Army. As a Jacobite he took part in a failed attempt to restore the Stuart Monarchy to Britain. When this failed, he fled to Europe, living in France, and then Spain. He joined the Spanish and eventually the Russian armies and fought in the Anglo-Spanish War and the Russo-Swedish War. In the latter he participated in the conquest of Finland and became its viceroy. Subsequently, he participated in the coup d'état that put Elizabeth of Russia on the throne.
  He subsequently served in the Prussian army under Frederick the Great, where he distinguished himself in several campaigns. He died during the Seven Years' War at the Battle of Hochkirch. He received the Black Eagle Order and is memorialised on the Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great.
context_section_description: While at the University of Aberdeen, James Keith acquired a taste for literature and learning that secured him the esteem of the most distinguished savants of Europe. His experiences in the Jacobite uprisings, and his observations of the contentious competition between and among the clan chieftains, offered him the opportunity early to learn the pitfalls of command, the arts of negotiation, and the importance of listening and diplomacy. This skill was further sharped during the intrigues of the Russian court, where he served for 17 years. He displayed in numerous campaigns the calm, intelligent and watchful valour which was his chief characteristic.
  In his personal relationships, he demonstrated calmness and loyalty. In this he was the opposite of his father, who had been described as "very wild, inconstant and passionate." In Finland, he met Eva Merthen. Although they never married, they had several children.
  Keith became one of Frederick's chief allies and friends. Keith developed a game of chess for Frederick, life-sized, that the two would play; Frederick also travelled incognito with Keith throughout Germany and Hungary.
  At his final battle, he had remonstrated with the king about establishing the camp at Hochkirch, with the Austrians looming in the heights around them, pointing out that staying in the village was suicide. "If the Austrians leave us unmolested in this camp", Keith told the king, "they deserve to be hanged." Frederick reportedly replied, "it is to be hoped they are more afraid of us than of the gallows." Frederick was devastated by Keith's death at Hochkirch.
caption: Frederick commemorated Keith on the Rheinsberg Obelisk
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