Sir Thomas Livingstone, Viscount Teviot

Sir Thomas Livingstone, Viscount Teviot (c. 1651 – 14 January 1711) was a military officer from a Scottish family who was born in the Netherlands and spent much of his career in the service of William III of England. He came to England in 1688 and was Hugh Mackay's deputy in Scotland during the First Jacobite Rising of 1689-1692.

Livingstone led the force that ended organised Jacobite resistance at the Battle of Cromdale in May 1690 and succeeded Mackay in November. He remained in Scotland until the end of the Nine Years' War in 1697 and was promoted Lieutenant-General in 1703; he retired from military service in 1704 and died in London on 14 January 1711.

Life
Thomas Livingstone was born in the Dutch Republic in 1651; his father, also Sir Thomas Livingstone (died July 1673), came from Newbigging in Lanarkshire, Scotland and in 1627 was made a Baronet in Nova Scotia. In 1635, he joined a Scots regiment in Dutch service and married Gertrat Edmond, daughter of another expatriate Scot; they had two sons, Thomas (1651-1711) and Alexander (1657-1718).

Livingstone married Macktellina Walrave de Nimmeguen (died 1729); they had no children and were living apart by 1703 when she successfully sued him for alimony. Their relationship was not a happy one; Livingstone accused her of poisoning him but she was acquitted.

17th Century Military Customs
For many English and Scottish politicians in the late 17th century, standing armies were considered a danger to individual liberties and a threat to society itself. In an era before modern police forces, the use of troops to suppress disorder and political dissent under the Protectorate and James II created strong resistance to permanent units owing allegiance to the Crown. Regiments were considered the personal property of their Colonel, changed names when transferred and were disbanded as soon as possible. In 1688, Livingstone became Colonel of the unit that eventually became the Royal Scots Greys but at the time was known as 'Livingstone's Regiment of Dragoons.' Commissions were assets that could be bought, sold or used as an investment; one person could hold multiple commissions and there were no age restrictions. Henry Hawley, commander of government forces at the Battle of Falkirk Muir in 1746 obtained his first commission when he was only nine years old. Holding a commission did not require actual service and at senior levels in particular, ownership and command were separate functions. Many colonels or lieutenant colonels played active military roles as staff or regimental officers but others remained civilians who delegated their duties to a subordinate.

States employed units composed of other nationalities eg the Irish Brigade in France or the Dutch-based Scots Brigade. Loyalties were often based on religion or personal relationships rather than nationality, with officers frequently moving between armies or changing sides. Professionals formed a small and tight-knit group; during the 1689–92 Jacobite Rising, in addition to Livingstone, Mackay's subordinates included his younger brother and nephew, while all three Jacobite commanders, Viscount Dundee, Alexander Cannon and Thomas Buchan served with the Scots Brigade at some stage.

Career
Livingstone joined the Scots Brigade, a unit dating to 1586 and composed of Scottish and English Protestants who volunteered to fight with the Dutch during the 1568-1648 Eighty Years' War against Spain. When Hugh Mackay joined the Brigade during the 1672-1678 Franco-Dutch War, its quality and morale had declined. By 1674, only 13 officers in its three regiments were Scots; Mackay suggested that restoring its Scottish character would increase efficiency. As part of this policy, Livingstone made a number of visits to Scotland to gather recruits and the Brigade became one of William's elite units. Livingstone was a captain when the war ended in 1678 and by 1684, Lt-Colonel of Balfour's Regiment, which William took to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution. In December, he replacied Charles Murray, Earl of Dunmore as Colonel of a dragoon regiment in James II's army; the Lt-Colonel was his relative William Livingston (sic), Viscount Kilsyth. Now known as Livingstone's Regiment of Dragoons, in April 1689 they joined Mackay in Scotland during the First Jacobite Rising; the dragoons were employed securing the roads between Inverness and Stirling and so were not present at the Jacobite victory of Killiecrankie in July. Despite this setback, Mackay and Livingstone gradually gained control; in 1690, they led separate forces in a co-ordinated campaign that ended in Livingstone's victory at Cromdale in May. Interestingly, they appear to have written to each other in Dutch, probably a precaution against interception by the Jacobites. Livingstone took over from Mackay as commander in Scotland on 10 November 1690 and was appointed to the Privy Council of Scotland.

The next 18 months were spent reducing Jacobite strongholds in the Highlands and police actions, one of which was the February 1692 Massacre of Glencoe. 19th century biographers often tried to exonerate their subjects from any responsibility for Glencoe eg John Mackay's 1836 biography The Life of Lieutenant-General Hugh MacKay. In reality, there was criticism of the Scottish government but little sympathy for the MacDonalds; in a letter to Lord Hamilton, Livingstone commented; 'It's not that anyone thinks the thieving tribe did not deserve to be destroyed but that it should have been done by those quartered amongst them makes a great noise.' A Scottish Commission was set up in 1693 to investigate, which focused on whether orders had been exceeded rather than their legality; Livingstone was cleared in their report of 10 July 1695. A continuing need to secure Scotland meant Livingstone remained there for most of the 1688-1697 Nine Years' War. A Scottish rising was part of the proposed invasion of England in 1692, while in 1691, a group of Jacobite prisoners on Bass Rock overpowered their guards and were only subdued in 1694. By 1696, it was clear the war was coming to an end, while James himself told his confessor 'God does not want to restore me.'

In December 1696, Livingstone was made Viscount Teviot and Lord Livingstone of Peebles, although 'Peebles' was already claimed and he later changed it to 'Hyndford' as a result. He was promoted Major General and took over a Brigade in the Netherlands, shortly before the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697.

1697 seems to mark the end of Livingstone's active service; he remained Colonel of the Scots Greys but as explained previously, this did not require actual service. He purchased lands in East Lothian; based on surviving correspondence, he was an associate and neighbour of Sir William Bennett who served in his regiment from 1690-1696. From 1693-1707, Bennett was Commissioner for Roxburgh in the Scottish Parliament and manager for the Duke of Roxburghe, a primary sponsor of the 1707 Acts of Union. Although Livingstone was well connected locally, he does not appear to have been politically active himself.

In 1703, he was promoted Lieutenant-General and in 1704 sold his Colonelcy to Lord John Hay, younger son of the 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale; this may have been connected with the Court ruling in favour of his ex-wife.

Family
Livingstone had no children from his marriage to Macktellina Walrave de Nimmeguen (died 1729) and most of his estate was inherited by his brother Sir Alexander Livingstone (1657-1718). The title of Viscount Teviot became extinct on his death.

Legacy
Livingstone was buried in Westminster Abbey, his brother and heir Sir Alexander paying for an ornate memorial located near the choir or quire.

In May 1690, Livingstone published an account of Cromdale based on his despatch to Mackay entitled ''A true and real account of the defeat of General Buchan, and Brigadeer Cannon, their High-land army, at the battel of Crombdell; upon the 1st of May; 1690. Conform to a letter, sent by Sir Thomas Livingston collonel to a regiment of dragoons to Major General Mackay, giving a particular account of the said defeat; with a list of the officers taken at the said battel, and at the castle of Lethen-Dee.''

He also wrote a drill guide Exercise of the Foot, with the evolution according to the words of command etc etc; his entry in the Scottish Peerage describes this as 'a scarce work.'