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Nothing But My Sword: The Life of Field Marshal James Francis Edward Keith
Frederick the Great's battlefield triumphs are seen as a tribute to Prussian skill at arms, but many of his victories were won with the aid of a Scottish general. Frederick ignored Keith's advice, but was saved from catastrophe when the Scottish general sacrificed himself. Today a statue of General Keith stands in the Scottish town of Peterhead, a gift of the Prussian monarchy.
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First published May 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 16, 2019
Some months ago I was reading Christopher Duffy’s history of the 1745 rebellion, where the author commented that the Jacobites lacked a really good military commander. He mentioned James Keith as the perfect candidate, a man who was both a committed Jacobite and an able general. Keith however had been driven into exile because of his participation in both the 1715 and 1719 rebellions, and by 1745 was a senior officer in the Russian Army. It was that reference that led me to want to read more about James Keith.
The author begins with a foreward in which he explains he grew up in the town of Peterhead in NE Scotland, wherein lies a statue to Field Marshal Keith, gifted to the town by Willem I of Prussia. I don’t know anything else about the author, and the book began confusingly for me, with a reference to James Keith’s father about to set out for London for the opening of a new Parliament in May 1703. This puzzled me as Scotland still had its own Parliament at the time, albeit the Treaty of Union was only four years away. Scottish Lords did not though sit in the Westminster Parliament until after the Union of 1707. This had the effect of making me sceptical of the book, but in fairness I only came across one other very minor factual issue, (at least that I could spot) so was gradually won over.
At 220 pages in total it isn’t a long text, and I’d have to say the first 80 or so pages went slowly for me. The author also indulges in a fair amount of speculation when discussing Keith’s early life. The book livens up when he arrives in Russia in 1728, describing his participation in campaigns in Poland and in what is now Southern Russia, then part of the Ottoman Empire.
I felt the book was rather unclear about the reasons behind Keith’s departure from Russia. The author suggests it was because the Empress Elizabeth had wanted to marry him. He quotes from letters written by the Empress to support his case. Keith apparently thought (probably correctly) that whilst the Russian nobility might reluctantly tolerate a foreign-born wife of a male monarch, they would never accept a foreigner as husband to a female monarch. He wrote to a friend that “The Empress is resolved to raise me to a height that would cause my ruin as well as her own”. It’s also suggested though, that Keith’s influence at court was waning, and that he experienced several rapid demotions as a result.
Upon leaving Russia, Keith joined the Prussian Army of Frederick the Great, who appointed him a Field Marshal. The author acknowledges that the speed with which this happened suggests it was pre-arranged. Keith served with distinction in the Seven Years’ War, during which Prussia was beset by a legion of enemies. The book contains a lively account of his role in the battles of Lobositz, Prague, Rossbach, Leuthen and Olmutz, before his death at the Battle of Hochkirch.
After 80 pages I would have said this book was heading for a 2-star rating, but the remainder of the book rescued it. Overall, a decent enough biography.
The author begins with a foreward in which he explains he grew up in the town of Peterhead in NE Scotland, wherein lies a statue to Field Marshal Keith, gifted to the town by Willem I of Prussia. I don’t know anything else about the author, and the book began confusingly for me, with a reference to James Keith’s father about to set out for London for the opening of a new Parliament in May 1703. This puzzled me as Scotland still had its own Parliament at the time, albeit the Treaty of Union was only four years away. Scottish Lords did not though sit in the Westminster Parliament until after the Union of 1707. This had the effect of making me sceptical of the book, but in fairness I only came across one other very minor factual issue, (at least that I could spot) so was gradually won over.
At 220 pages in total it isn’t a long text, and I’d have to say the first 80 or so pages went slowly for me. The author also indulges in a fair amount of speculation when discussing Keith’s early life. The book livens up when he arrives in Russia in 1728, describing his participation in campaigns in Poland and in what is now Southern Russia, then part of the Ottoman Empire.
I felt the book was rather unclear about the reasons behind Keith’s departure from Russia. The author suggests it was because the Empress Elizabeth had wanted to marry him. He quotes from letters written by the Empress to support his case. Keith apparently thought (probably correctly) that whilst the Russian nobility might reluctantly tolerate a foreign-born wife of a male monarch, they would never accept a foreigner as husband to a female monarch. He wrote to a friend that “The Empress is resolved to raise me to a height that would cause my ruin as well as her own”. It’s also suggested though, that Keith’s influence at court was waning, and that he experienced several rapid demotions as a result.
Upon leaving Russia, Keith joined the Prussian Army of Frederick the Great, who appointed him a Field Marshal. The author acknowledges that the speed with which this happened suggests it was pre-arranged. Keith served with distinction in the Seven Years’ War, during which Prussia was beset by a legion of enemies. The book contains a lively account of his role in the battles of Lobositz, Prague, Rossbach, Leuthen and Olmutz, before his death at the Battle of Hochkirch.
After 80 pages I would have said this book was heading for a 2-star rating, but the remainder of the book rescued it. Overall, a decent enough biography.
November 14, 2019
Very good biography of a Scottish exile who achieved military fame in foreign service. James Keith, and his brother George, were part of one of Scotland's great families. They were also involved in multiple failed Jacobite rebellions against the British crown, and so were forced to spend their lives in foreign service in Spain, France, Russia, and Prussia. James served for many years as a general in the Russian army until the unwanted advances of the Russian Empress Elizabeth, among other problems, forced James to seek service with Frederick the Great of Prussia. He rose to the rank of Field Marshall commanding Prussia forces in several epic battles as part of the Seven Year's War until being killed by the Austrians in 1758 in the Battle of Hochkirch.
June 28, 2009
This biography of James Keith was a decent account of this man's interesting life and the only one currently in print. Overall the book was a decent attempt to tell this man's story from leaving his home in Scotland and following him through his service with the Spanish Army, the Russian Army and finally in the pay of Frederick the Great of Prussia where he was finally killed at the Battle of Hochkirch in 1758. At times the book dragged a bit for me but it had enough interesting sections to keep me going. I would recommend it to anyone keenly interested in this period of European history.
April 2, 2026
The back cover proclaims that Field Marshall James Keith of Inverugie is “one of Scotland’s greatest soldiers”. If your response was a bit like mine “who?’ well you should perhaps read this book… but there is a good reason why he can both be one of Scotland's greatest soldiers and be pretty much unknown in his homeland; most of his soldering was done for Russia and Prussia not his native land. For James Keith was a Jacobite who lived in the first half of the 18th century and therefore fought against King George and subsequently fled to the continent to make his living as a soldier of fortune. As a result Keith had a rather interesting life, worthy of being documented in a book like ‘Nothing But My Sword’ by Sam Coull.
Pros
An interesting, previously neglected, life story
Captures some of the cosmopolitanism of international culture in the 18th Century
Cons
Too much squashed into too little space
Variable footnoting
James Keith’s life is undoubtedly interesting; growing up in a somewhat turbulent Scotland in the decades following the ‘Glorious Revolution’ a time when Scotland was split with many still supporting the previous King James II and his successors leading to numerous risings. Keith himself would take part in the 1715 and as a result fled into exile where he was commissioned in the French and then Spanish armies in both cases with an eye to continuing the fight. Once the chances of this receded he went further afield; to Russia and then Prussia fighting for Frederick the Great. It is in these two great eastern powers where he made his name, he fought in a series of wars commanding first regiments and then armies.
This is one of those lives that shows how different things could be in centuries gone by. Fighting in other armies does still happen occasionally, but fighting in four (or five depending how you count it) different armies and rising to the highest commands in two of them would surely be unthinkable. It is a mobility of the elite that we think of as being modern, but this kind of career shows that it isn't.
Nothing by my Sword is a short book. And I feel it deserves more. In particular there are some areas that are potentially quite interesting and could have been interesting to have dug a little deeper but are given very little space. For example in 1743 he leads the Russian invasion of Sweden, and is then given plenipotentiary powers so is basically in charge in the aftermath, we are told he was actually popular despite having led the invasion - but this event is a singular paragraph for what must have been a high point of his influence. Similarly, both because the focus is on the area of a battle where Keith was (indeed sometimes the description is turned over to Keith in the form of a letter), and because the descriptions are very short it can be difficult to follow how the battle went. Thus the battle of Rossbach, one of the most significant of the Seven Years War in which Keith had a significant role, is just 3 pages (and not one he gives a plan for).
Unfortunately this has that old bugbear of inconsistent footnoting. There are some footnotes, and sometimes we are told in the text where things come from. But for many events, Keith's actions, even for some quotes it is not at all obvious what the source was.
It is perhaps too obvious to say this should be of interest to those interested in 18th century history. But perhaps I could point to the parallel to the main character in the film/book Barry Lyndon in terms of someone from the celtic fringe taking service with the Prussians (though in that case Irish rather than Scottish and not Jacobite or exiled).
Pros
An interesting, previously neglected, life story
Captures some of the cosmopolitanism of international culture in the 18th Century
Cons
Too much squashed into too little space
Variable footnoting
James Keith’s life is undoubtedly interesting; growing up in a somewhat turbulent Scotland in the decades following the ‘Glorious Revolution’ a time when Scotland was split with many still supporting the previous King James II and his successors leading to numerous risings. Keith himself would take part in the 1715 and as a result fled into exile where he was commissioned in the French and then Spanish armies in both cases with an eye to continuing the fight. Once the chances of this receded he went further afield; to Russia and then Prussia fighting for Frederick the Great. It is in these two great eastern powers where he made his name, he fought in a series of wars commanding first regiments and then armies.
This is one of those lives that shows how different things could be in centuries gone by. Fighting in other armies does still happen occasionally, but fighting in four (or five depending how you count it) different armies and rising to the highest commands in two of them would surely be unthinkable. It is a mobility of the elite that we think of as being modern, but this kind of career shows that it isn't.
Nothing by my Sword is a short book. And I feel it deserves more. In particular there are some areas that are potentially quite interesting and could have been interesting to have dug a little deeper but are given very little space. For example in 1743 he leads the Russian invasion of Sweden, and is then given plenipotentiary powers so is basically in charge in the aftermath, we are told he was actually popular despite having led the invasion - but this event is a singular paragraph for what must have been a high point of his influence. Similarly, both because the focus is on the area of a battle where Keith was (indeed sometimes the description is turned over to Keith in the form of a letter), and because the descriptions are very short it can be difficult to follow how the battle went. Thus the battle of Rossbach, one of the most significant of the Seven Years War in which Keith had a significant role, is just 3 pages (and not one he gives a plan for).
Unfortunately this has that old bugbear of inconsistent footnoting. There are some footnotes, and sometimes we are told in the text where things come from. But for many events, Keith's actions, even for some quotes it is not at all obvious what the source was.
It is perhaps too obvious to say this should be of interest to those interested in 18th century history. But perhaps I could point to the parallel to the main character in the film/book Barry Lyndon in terms of someone from the celtic fringe taking service with the Prussians (though in that case Irish rather than Scottish and not Jacobite or exiled).
February 19, 2018
Good local history.
August 14, 2022
A rip roaring account of James Keith. A Leading Jacobite in 1715 and 1719 rebellions. A brilliantly engaging book, which takes you from the North East of Scotland via Russia and to the 7 years war.
May 25, 2024
Very niche, but I really enjoyed it. Left me with many questions, but then he wasn't a well documented character.
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October 5, 2014Impressive amounts of 'derring do.' These Keiths were highly acculturated: deprived of their Scots birthright, two brothers nimbly darted around, making themselves useful to powerful men on the continent. Helped inform a blog post at Hard Honesty. Another Tongue o' Clishmaclaver.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews