Topic: Generals
The commander of the Swedish forces in Livonia has been much vilified by posterity and the opinion seems to have been shared by many contemporaries. On 3 December 1704 Samuel Bark wrote to his friend Olof Hermelin: "Why in God's name has Schlippenbach been placed in Reval... he is hated and mistrusted by everybody."
An intriguing piece of information concerning Schlippenbach's career can be found among his papers in Riksarkivet, Stockholm. In a letter dated Libau 7 October 1701 Major General Carl Magnus Stuart, one of Charles XII's closest military advisors, writes that he is very pleased with Schlippenbach's success. Schlippenbach should, Stuart writes, remember who persuaded him to remain in the army. His Majesty, Stuart continues, well understands that I am not advocating you because of my personal interest but because of your merits.
Stuart also writes (which is perhaps even more interesting) that he understands Schlippenbach's unhappiness with how things have developed. No one has more than I wished that the major part of the army had marched to that border, but other things have put a stop to this and I am not at all happy about it, Stuart writes. This of course strongly suggests that Stuart was no supporter of the decision to intervene in the Lithuanian civil war, but would have preferred a campaign against Russia. The "other things" were, if I may hazard a guess, the contacts with the Sapieha family and their appeal for assistance.
Sources:
Riksarkivet, M 1402
Bark, Samuel, Bref från Samuel Bark till Olof Hermelin 1702-1708. I. - Stockholm, 1914
