Discover

'Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt' (April 1659 - February 12, 1719) was a Swedish general.
Educated at Lund University and Uppsala, he originally pursued a career in the diplomatic arena, but found this occupation quite undesirable. He then became a soldier, fighting in Dutch service for many years before returning to Sweden. When the Great Northern War broke out, he was placed in command of a newly created regiment of infantry. One of the few successful commanders against the Russians in the Baltic region while King Charles XII was on campaign in Poland and Saxony, Lewenhaupt was appointed governor of Riga in 1705. In 1708, he was ordered to march east with a supply column, to support Charles's primary invasion force in Russia. This led to the Battle of Lesnaya (1708), in which he was defeated and forced to abandon his supplies. In 1709, after having connected with the King's army, Lewenhaupt was given command of the infantry at the disastrous Battle of Poltava (1709) and surrendured to Russian forces at Perovolochna. He died 1719 in Russian captivity.