Alexander Seaton

Alexander Seaton or Seton (before 1626 – after 1649) was a Scottish soldier in Danish service during the Thirty Years' War. He briefly served as a governor in the Battle of Stralsund and as an admiral in the Torstenson War.

Biography Contemporary broadsheet describing the Battle of Stralsund (1628). Seaton was the defending governor in June and in July. The leaflet was drawn during the battle, when Seaton's predecessor Heinrich Holk ("Obrist Holky") was still in command, but mentions the arrival of Seaton's regiment ("1,200 Schotten").

Neither the place nor the date of Alexander Seaton's birth are recorded. Though his parents remain unknown, it has been proposed that either Alexander Seton of Lathrisk or George Seton of Cariston be his father.

He moved his company to Stralsund where they joined other Scots of Donald Mackay's regiment during the Battle of Stralsund (1628), During the time he was in command, the town withstood the siege of Albrecht von Wallenstein's imperial army. Wallenstein lifted the siege on 4 August, forced to accept his first check in the Thirty Years' War.

Seaton did not stay with his regiment when it entered Swedish service, and instead joined the Norwegian infantry as a captain in 1628 - having left Mackay's troops as a lieutenant colonel. With these ships, he took part in the "Norwegian response" by attacking Gothenburg (Göteborg) from the sea. Seaton's assault took place in August, just before the Treaty of Brömsebro ended the Danish-Swedish war in favour of Sweden on 13/23 August 1645.

The last record of Seaton is of 19 April 1649, when he was a colonel in the Norwegian army. Date and place of Seaton's death are unknown, marriages are not recorded.