No  man,  perhaps,  of  his  rank  and  years,  ever  attained
more  military  distinction  in  his  day  than  Patrick  Ferguson.
As  his  name  will  hereafter  figure  so  prominently  in  this
narrative,  it  is  but  simple  justice  to  his  memory,  and  alike
due  to  the  natural  curiosity  of  the  reader,  that  his  career
should  be  as  fully  and  impartially  portrayed  as  the  materials
will  permit.
He  was  the  second  son  of  James  Ferguson,  afterward
Lord  Pitfour,  of  Pitfour,  an  eminent  advocate,  and  for
twelve  years  one  of  the  Scotch  Judges,  and  was  born  in
Aberdeenshire,  Scotland,  in  1744.  His  mother  was  Anne
Murray,  daughter  of  Alexander,  Lord  Elibank.  His  father,
and  his  uncle,  James  Murray,  Lord  Elibank,  were  regarded
as  men  of  large  culture,  equal,  in  erudition  and  genius,  to
the  authors  of  the  Scottish  Augustan  age.  Having  acquired
an  early  education,  "young  Ferguson,"  says  a  British
writer,  "sought  fame  by  a  different  direction,  but  was  of
equally  vigorous  and  brilliant  powers.''''  When  only  in  his
fifteenth  year,  a  commission  was  purchased  for  him,  and  he
entered  the  army  July  twelfth,  1759,  ^^  ^  Cornet,  in  the  second
or  Royal  North  British  Dragoons,  serving  in  the  wars  of
Flanders  and  Germany,  wherein  he  distinguished  himself
by  a   courage   as    cool    as   it   was  determined.     He  soon


AND  ITS  HEROES.  49

evinced  the  great  purpose  of  his  life — to  become  conspic-
uously beneficial  by  professional  skill  and  effort.
