Adam Veyde
Encyclopedia
Adam Adamovich Veyde (1667 – January 26, 1720) was a Russia
n infantry
general
and a close associate of Peter the Great.
Adam Veyde began his military career in the so called poteshnye voiska. He participated in both of the Azov campaigns
, being a major
of Preobrazhensky Lifeguard regiment in charge of engineer works during the siege of the Azov
fortress. Enjoying Peter the Great's great confidence, Adam Veyde was frequently sent abroad on different important assignments and accompanied the tsar
during all of his trips. For example, Veyde was dispatched to Hungary
and Saxony
in 1696 to notify their leaders of the falling of Azov. In 1698, he was sent to France
and England
to study military science. Upon his return, Adam Veyde presented a military charter composed by him (Воинский устав, also known as the Veyde Charter), in which he had set forth administrative and military rules for infantry regiment
s under formation, responsibilities of all military ranks (from private
to commander-in-chief
inclusively), the rules of conduct for all ranks under any circumstances, and drill
procedures. Adam Veyde composed his charter under the influence of Louis XIV's legal provisions of military nature and organization of Eugene of Savoy's army, which had already earned fame by that time. The Veyde Charter formed the basis for the Peter the Great's Charter of 1716. Upon the disbandment of the Streltsy
regiments, General Avtonom Golovin
and Adam Veyde were ordered to form 18 infantry and 2 Dragoon
regiments in Moscow in the fall of 1699. Also, Veyde was put in charge of teaching the marching drill to stolnik
s, stryapchiys (butler
s), and zhiltsys (lowest category of the service class people
). During the Great Northern War
, Adam Veyde was assigned to command one of the 10-regiment divisions
as part of Field Marshal
Charles Eugène de Croÿ
's army in 1700. After having approached Narva
, Veyde's inexperienced division succumbed to the attacks of the Swedish army
, albeit it managed to keep battle formation the longest among other Russian units. Adam Veyde himself was taken prisoner and sent to Stockholm
, where he would remain until 1710 and then be exchanged for General Niels Jonsson Stromberg
. While in captivity, Veyde observed the Swedes and the way their army was organized. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1710-1711, Adam Veyde commanded an 8-regiment division. In 1714, he was put in charge of 7 infantry and 3 cavalry
regiments and dispatched to Finland
. There, Veyde participated in the Battle of Gangut
and commanded a galley with Peter the Great onboard. For this victory, Adam Veyde was awarded the Order of St. Andrew
and appointed commander of a grenadier regiment. Also, he assisted Peter the Great in his composing of the Military Charter of 1716 and two years later was appointed president of military collegium, for which he would elaborate the table of organization and charter.
Adam Veyde died in 1720. Although he was Lutheran, Peter the Great ordered his interment at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra
and attended his funeral personally.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
and a close associate of Peter the Great.
Adam Veyde began his military career in the so called poteshnye voiska. He participated in both of the Azov campaigns
Azov campaigns
Azov campaigns of 1695–96 , two Russian military campaigns during the Russo-Turkish War of 1686–1700, led by Peter the Great and aimed at capturing the Turkish fortress of Azov , which had been blocking Russia's access to the Azov Sea and the Black Sea...
, being a major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
of Preobrazhensky Lifeguard regiment in charge of engineer works during the siege of the Azov
Azov
-External links:** *...
fortress. Enjoying Peter the Great's great confidence, Adam Veyde was frequently sent abroad on different important assignments and accompanied the tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
during all of his trips. For example, Veyde was dispatched to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
in 1696 to notify their leaders of the falling of Azov. In 1698, he was sent to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to study military science. Upon his return, Adam Veyde presented a military charter composed by him (Воинский устав, also known as the Veyde Charter), in which he had set forth administrative and military rules for infantry regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s under formation, responsibilities of all military ranks (from private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
to commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
inclusively), the rules of conduct for all ranks under any circumstances, and drill
Drill
A drill or drill motor is a tool fitted with a cutting tool attachment or driving tool attachment, usually a drill bit or driver bit, used for drilling holes in various materials or fastening various materials together with the use of fasteners. The attachment is gripped by a chuck at one end of...
procedures. Adam Veyde composed his charter under the influence of Louis XIV's legal provisions of military nature and organization of Eugene of Savoy's army, which had already earned fame by that time. The Veyde Charter formed the basis for the Peter the Great's Charter of 1716. Upon the disbandment of the Streltsy
Streltsy
Streltsy were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops .- Origins and organization :...
regiments, General Avtonom Golovin
Avtonom Golovin
General Avtonom Mikhailovich Golovin was a Russian military leader and one of the associates of Peter the Great.When tsar Peter I of Russia was a young boy, Avtonom Golovin served him as a room stolnik...
and Adam Veyde were ordered to form 18 infantry and 2 Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
regiments in Moscow in the fall of 1699. Also, Veyde was put in charge of teaching the marching drill to stolnik
Stolnik
Stolnik was a court office in Poland and Muscovy, responsible for serving the royal table.- Stolnik in Crown of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania : In Crown of Poland under the first Piast dukes and kings, this was a court office....
s, stryapchiys (butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
s), and zhiltsys (lowest category of the service class people
Service class people
Service class people were persons bound by obligations of service, especially military service, to the Muscovite Russian state.In early Siberia, service-men and promyshleniks were the two main classes of the Russian population. Service-men were nominally servants of the tsar, had certain legal...
). During the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
, Adam Veyde was assigned to command one of the 10-regiment divisions
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
as part of Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Charles Eugène de Croÿ
Charles Eugène de Croÿ
Charles Eugène de Croÿ was a field marshal and duke from the House of Croÿ.His father was Jacques Philippe de Croÿ-Roeulx , a descendant of Jean III of Croy-Roeulx, son of Antoine le Grand....
's army in 1700. After having approached Narva
Battle of Narva (1700)
The Battle of Narva on 19 November 1700 was an early battle in the Great Northern War. A Swedish relief army under Charles XII of Sweden defeated a Russian siege force three times its size. Before, Charles XII had forced Denmark-Norway to sign the Treaty of Travendal...
, Veyde's inexperienced division succumbed to the attacks of the Swedish army
Swedish Army
The Swedish Army is one of the oldest standing armies in the world and a branch of the Swedish Armed Forces; it is in charge of land operations. General Sverker Göranson is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Army.- Organization :...
, albeit it managed to keep battle formation the longest among other Russian units. Adam Veyde himself was taken prisoner and sent to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, where he would remain until 1710 and then be exchanged for General Niels Jonsson Stromberg
Niels Jonsson Stromberg af Clastorp
Niels Jonsson Stromberg af Clastorp was a Swedish soldier and Governor-General of Swedish Estonia from 1706 to 1709....
. While in captivity, Veyde observed the Swedes and the way their army was organized. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1710-1711, Adam Veyde commanded an 8-regiment division. In 1714, he was put in charge of 7 infantry and 3 cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
regiments and dispatched to Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. There, Veyde participated in the Battle of Gangut
Battle of Gangut
The Battle of Gangut took place on July 27Jul./ August 7, 1714Greg. during the Great Northern War , in the waters of Riilahti Bay, north of the Hanko Peninsula, near the site of the modern-day city of Hanko, Finland, between the Swedish Navy and Imperial Russian Navy...
and commanded a galley with Peter the Great onboard. For this victory, Adam Veyde was awarded the Order of St. Andrew
Order of St. Andrew
The Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is the first and the highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.- Russian Empire :The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia...
and appointed commander of a grenadier regiment. Also, he assisted Peter the Great in his composing of the Military Charter of 1716 and two years later was appointed president of military collegium, for which he would elaborate the table of organization and charter.
Adam Veyde died in 1720. Although he was Lutheran, Peter the Great ordered his interment at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg supposing that that was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexander Nevsky, a prince, defeated the Swedes; however, the battle...
and attended his funeral personally.