James Lockhart - Early Years

Early Years

James Lockhart was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, the second son of a prominent Jacobite family, the Lockharts of Carnwath. His grandfather, George Lockhart, was the Scottish agent of James Francis Edward Stuart, the 'Old Pretender', and the author of the posthumously published 'Lockhart Papers'. These documents, including letters and George Lockhart's journal, comprise probably the most important primary source of information on the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.

Lockhart's elder brother, also named George, was the personal aide de camp to Charles Edward Stuart, the 'Young Pretender', during the Jacobite rising of 1745. Upon the defeat of the rebellion at the Battle of Culloden, George Lockhart accompanied Prince Charles into exile in Paris. James Lockhart, his younger brother, was 18 years old at the time. As the son of a known Jacobite family—and a second son at that—James's prospects in Britain were bleak. He therefore left Scotland, aged 18, to make his way in the world as a soldier of fortune. His first service was as a common soldier in the army of Nadir Shah, the Shah of Persia. How James found his way to Persia is not known for certain. In A Memoir of the 'Forty-Five', (Chevalier de Johnstone, 1958), a Lockhart is mentioned who is probably James (p. 244). The passage is worth quoting in full:

We were scarcely a musket-shot from the shore, when the captain pointed out to me one of the midshipmen in the boat, of the name of Lockhart, asking me if I knew his family in Scotland. I answered in the negative, telling him that I had never been in any other service than that of Mrs. Gray. I was uneasy lest Mr. Lockhart should have recognized me for, as I had been a schoolfellow of his elder brother and frequently in the house of his father, Mr. Lockhart of Carnwath, he might very possibly have known me. He was about eighteen years of age and had been four years in the navy. His eldest brother, the heir to a considerable estate, had been foolish enough, like so many others, to join the standard of Prince Charles.

The events described take place in Harwich, as the Chevalier is making his escape from England some months after Culloden. While he does not give the Christian name of this midshipman Lockhart, James was in fact eighteen years old when this was written. What is more, his career at sea would help account for his presence some months later in Persia, since the trip overland from Scotland to Persia was exceedingly arduous in 1746.

What immediately followed is not known in detail. Lockhart traveled Europe enlisting in various armies and learning the military arts. Towards the end of the war of the Austrian Succession he enlisted in the Austrian service to fight in the armies of the Empress Maria Theresa. In 1752 he was commissioned a captain of the Grenadier Company of the 33rd Regiment, but it is likely that he served as a common soldier before that.

Lockhart fought, often brilliantly, in a series of battles against the Prussians during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), including the battle of Prague in 1757. At the battle of Kunersdorf (1759) he was instrumental in turning the tide against the Prussians, securing an Austrian victory. He received promotion after the battle from the commanding officer, Field Marshal Freiherr von Laudon. He was again cited for signal bravery at the battle of Landshut (1761). Lockhart rose rapidly through the ranks of the Austrian army, and became a general in the Austrian service.