BALFOUR, BARTHOLOMEW [SSNE 8260]
Text source
Bartholomew Balfour was an officer in the Scots-Dutch Brigade. It is possible he was the son of Colonel Sir Philip Balfour and therefore the grandson or great-grandson of the original Bartholomew Balfour in Dutch service (1574). He was commissioned as a captain in the second regiment on 14 November 1676, as sergeant-major on 25 January 1678, lieutenant-colonel on 5 December 1678, and colonel on 16 February 1684, replacing Colonel John Kirkpatrick. In 1681, he was the commander of the garrison of Breda. He commanded his regiment when it served under King William in Scotland in 1688 and was made a general. He was killed at Killiecrankie on 27 July 1689, and it was said that he fought off two Highlanders with his back against a tree. A Jacobite minister apparently tried to intervene on behalf of Balfour, but Balfour "only replied by an expression of contempt and defiance." The clergyman then, allegedly, said "Earth to my body and peace to my spirit, and one fair stroke at you," before cleaving Balfour in half with his broadsword (Ferguson, p. 484). It is possible that Captain Bartholomew Balfour [SSNE 8261], taken prisoner at Killiecrankie, was this Bartholomew Balfour's son.
Sources:
J. Ferguson, Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade in the service of the United Netherlands, 1572-1697 (Edinburgh, 1899), pp. 49, 70, 480, 483-484, 504-505, 511, 516, 517.
This entry created by Mr Jack Abernethy.
Service record
- THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, THE SCOTS BRIGADE
- Arrived 1676-11-14, as CAPTAIN
- Departed 1678-01-25, as SERGEANT-MAJOR
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- Arrived 1678-01-25, as SERGEANT-MAJOR
- Departed 1678-12-05, as LIEUTENANT-COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- Arrived 1678-12-05, as LIEUTENANT-COLONEL
- Departed 1684-02-16, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- Arrived 1684-02-16, as COLONEL
- Departed 1688-10-01, as BRIGADIER GENERAL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, THE WILLIAMITE ARMY
- Arrived 1688-10-01, as BRIGADIER GENERAL
- Departed 1689-06-27, as DECEASED
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY