While the Austrians blamed the defeat of
the Imperial army on Butler, King Gustavus
Adolphus told his officers: "I will not eat a
morsel until I have seen this brave Irishman
of whom we hear so much." The wounded
Butler was brought before the king who
insisted the Irish officer dined with him. As
they dined Butler heard about the rumours
that he and his regiment were to blame
for the fall of the city. However, the Swedish king agreed to sign a unique document
exonerating Butler and his men from blame.
He wrote: "If the imperial generals, instead
of acting as poltroons, had performed but a
fifth part of what this gallant Irishman had
done, I should never have been master of
Frankfurt, but after an obstinate siege alone."
Butler was then released and presented
the document to the Holy Roman Emperor,
Ferdinand II.
The main participants in the drama had
mixed fortunes. Gustavus Adolphus died a
hero's death when he was shot down when
leading a cavalry charge against the Imperial army, led by Wallenstein, at the Battle of
Lutzen in 1632. Butler raised another regiment in Poland and ended up as a pillar of
the Austrian court. His brother James gained
historical notoriety as one of the plotters
who engineered the assassination of Wallenstein in 1634 at Cheb in Bohemia.
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Wallenstein: A Scene of the Thirty Years War (1884) by Ernest Crofts
Crofts was a British painter of historical and military scenes (1847-1911).
Death of King Gustav II at the Battle of Lützen (1855) by Carl Wahlbom
Wahlbom was a Swedish military artist, born in Kalmar and died in London
(1810–1858).
Musketeers from 'Exercise of Arms' (1607) by Jacques de Gheyn II
© The Trustees of the British Museum – www.britishmuseum.org
www.military.ie the defence forces magazine
