James Gardiner

Colonel James Gardiner (11 January 168821 September 1745) was a Scottish soldier who fought in the British Army, including during the 1745 Jacobite rising, in which he was killed at the Battle of Prestonpans. Life Gardiner was born at Carriden, educated in Linlithgow, and joined the army at the age of fourteen. He served with distinction in several battles and was promoted through the ranks to Colonel in 1743. Known as a rake in his youth, Gardiner had a religious experience in 1719 and became devout. In 1726 he married Frances Erskine, daughter to David Erskine, 9th Earl of Buchan; five of their 13 children survived to adulthood. During the Battle of Ramillies he was shot through the mouth and nearly killed by a French soldier who had returned to plunder the dead. However, Gardiner was spared after being mistaken for a French soldier.