unt Suwarrow, was born in 1730, in
Moscow, according to his biographer, of a Swedish family. He began his
military career when but twelve years of age, having been placed in
the School of Young Cadets in St. Petersburgh by his father. He was a
mere boy when he entered the Russian service as a private soldier. For
some years he was not advanced beyond the rank of a subaltern. From
the earliest age the decision and originality of his character were
developed, and he was not long in perceiving his own superiority to
those by whom he was commanded. This conviction rendered the control
to which he was forced to submit extremely distasteful, and made him
determine to raise himself from a subordinate situation. To determine
was to achieve, in one possessed of his powers of mind and matchless
energy. The singularity of his bearing was very remarkable, and as
he lost no opportunity of rendering it conspicuous, it soon attracted
observation, which was all that was necessary for the discovery of the
extraordinary intellectual powers which he possessed. Thus recommended
by his superior abilities, his advancement was rapid. Before he was
twenty-nine he was a lieutenant-colonel. His reliance on his own
unaided powers was so entire, that he could ill brook the thought of
considering himself bound by obedience to any one. When speaking at a
later period on the subject, he said, "When my sovereign does me the
honor to give me the command of her armies, she supposes me capable
of guiding them to victory; and how can she pretend to know better
than an old soldier like myself, who am on the spot, the road which
leads to it? So, whenever her orders are in opposition to her true
interests, I take it for granted that they are suggested by the enmity
of her courtiers, and I act in conformity to what appears to me most
conducive to her glory." On some occasions he acted in accordance
with this declaration, and on a very remarkable one showed that he
was justified in the dependence which he had on his own judgment; but
whether his acting on it was defensible, must be left to the martinets
to determine. In the year 1771, during the campaign, when he held the
rank of major-general, he found that the Grand Marshal of Lithuania
was assembling the Poles at Halowitz, of which he directly apprised
the commander-in-chief, Marshal Boutourlin, and demanded leave to
attack them. Boutourlin, who was a cautious man, thought such a risk
should not be attempted