after Kutuzov's death early in 1813) and led the taking of Paris, for which he was made a Field Marshal. His health later declined and he died on a visit to Germany in 1818. Early life and family Michael Andreas was born as a son of Gotthard Barclay de Tolly (1734–1781) and his wife Margarethe Elisabeth von Smitten (1733-1771). The Barclay de Tolly family were German-speaking descendants of the Scottish Clan Barclay. Their ancestor Peter Barclay emigrated from Towie, Aberdeenshire (Towy or Tolly; ) and settled in Livonia in the 17th century. He was born in , Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (present-day Pamūšis, Šiauliai County, Lithuania) and raised in Beckhof, Livonia, Russian Empire (now Jõgeveste, Estonia), which was his mother's family estate. The commonly accepted birth date of 27 December 1761 is actually the day of his baptism in the Lutheran church of the town of Zaumel (now Žeimelis, Lithuania). His grandfather, Wilhelm Barclay de Tolly, served as the mayor of Riga, while his father served in the Russian army before being admitted into the ranks of the Russian nobility by the Tsar. From 1765, the young Barclay de Tolly grew up in St. Petersburg and was raised by his aunt. This was a common occurrence among the German Protestants, and it gave the young man an exposure to higher society unavailable in the Baltic provinces. The future field marshal started his active service in the Imperial Russian Army in 1776, and he would spend the rest of his life with the military. He had two brothers who also served in the Russian army: Axel Heinrich Barclay de Tolly, a Major General of Engineers, and Erich Johann Barclay de Tolly, a Major of Artillery. Service history Barclay was enlisted in the Pskov Carabineer Regiment on 13 May 1776, and he achieved the rank of a cornet by May 1778. In the same year, he joined the Imperial jaeger regiments, and with his unit was assigned to the army of Prince Potemkin. In 1788–1789, during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92), Barclay served under the command of Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. During this campaign, he distinguished himself in the taking of Ochakov and Akkerman. For his role in the capture of Ochakov, he was personally decorated by Prince Potemkin. In 1789, during the Russo-Swedish War (1788–90), he was transferred to the Finnish front,. Four years later, he fought in the Polish Campaign