Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres

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Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres and de jure 23rd Earl of Crawford (18 January 1752 – 27 March 1825) was the son of James Lindsay, 5th Earl of Balcarres.

He entered the army at the age of fifteen as an ensign, in the 53rd Regiment of Foot. After attending Eton College, he studied at the University of Göttingen for two years, and subsequently purchased a captaincy in the 42nd Highland Regiment in 1771. In 1777, he was appointed a major of the 53rd, and he commanded the light infantry companies at the Battle of Saratoga (1777), and surrendered there with Burgoyne. He was released from captivity in 1779.

On 1 June 1780, he married his first cousin, Elizabeth Dalrymple and they had four children:

Elizabeth Keith Lindsay (d. 1825)
James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford (1783–1869)
Edwin Lindsay
Charles Robert Lindsay (1784–1835)
Anne Lindsay (d. 1846)

Promoted lieutenant-colonel of the 42nd during his imprisonment, he was subsequently promoted to the rank of colonel and made lieutenant-colonel commandant of the second 71st Regiment of Foot, a battalion of the 71st uninvolved in the surrender at Yorktown (as was the rest of the regiment). He was chosen a representative peer for Scotland in 1784, and was re-elected through 1807, inclusive. On 27 August 1789 he was appointed colonel of the 63rd Regiment of Foot, and was promoted major-general in 1793.

Governor of Jersey from 1793 to 1794, he was then appointed Governor of Jamaica. He was promoted lieutenant-general in 1798, and resigned the governorship in 1801. On September 25, 1803 he was promoted general.

After his return from the American Revolution, he was introduced to Benedict Arnold (who had led several gallant attacks on his position at Saratoga). Balcarres snubbed Arnold as a traitor, and a duel ensued, neither party being injured.

His son, Edwin Lindsay, an Indian army officer was declared insane and sent to Papa Stour in the Shetland islands, after refusing to fight in a duel. He spent 26 years as a prisoner before the Quaker preacher Catherine Watson arranged for his release in 1835.^[1]^[2]

Military offices
Preceded by Simon Fraser	Colonel of the 71st Regiment of Foot 1782–1783	Succeeded by Disbanded
Preceded by The Earl Waldegrave	Colonel of the 63rd (the West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot 1789–1825	Succeeded by William Dyott
Freemasonry offices
Preceded by The Duke of Atholl	Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland 1780–1782	Succeeded by The Earl of Buchan
Government offices
Preceded by Sir Adam Williamson	Governor of Jamaica 1795–1801	Succeeded by Sir George Nugent
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by George Lindsay	Earl of Crawford (de jure) 1808–1825	Succeeded by James Lindsay
Preceded by James Lindsay	Earl of Balcarres 1768–1825	Succeeded by James Lindsay

[edit] References

^ "General Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres" The Peerage.com. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate. Page 452.