William Alexander, Lord Stirling  William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (1726 – 15 January 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He was considered male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirling through Scottish lineage (being the senior male descendant of the paternal grandfather of the 1st Earl of Stirling, who had died in 1640), and he sought the title sometime after 1756. His claim was initially granted by a Scottish court in 1759; however, the House of Lords ultimately over-ruled Scottish law and denied the title in 1762. He continued to hold himself out as "Lord Stirling" regardless. Lord Stirling commanded the 1st Maryland Regiment that fought at the Battle of Long Island. He lost the battle and was captured, but his actions allowed General George Washington's troops to escape. Stirling was returned by prisoner exchange, promoted for his actions, and served with distinction throughout the war. He was trusted by Washington and in 1778, he exposed the Conway Cabal. William was born 1726 in New York City in what was then the Province of New York, a part of British America. He was the son of lawyer James Alexander and merchant Mary Spratt Provoost Alexander. His nephew was Senator John Rutherfurd (1760–1840). He was educated, ambitious, and proficient in mathematics and astronomy. He joined his mother, Mary Alexander, in a successful family business. The Earldom of Stirling in the Scottish peerage became dormant or extinct upon the death of Henry Alexander, 5th Earl of Stirling. William Alexander's father, James Alexander, who had fled from Scotland in 1716 after participating in the Jacobite rising, did not claim the title. Upon his father's death, William lay claim to the title and filed suit. His relationship to the 5th Earl was not through heirs of the body, but through heirs male collateral. Thus, he was not entitled to a title inherited only by the male line descendants of the 1st Earl. However, the inheritance by proximity of blood had been questioned. It was settled in his favor, by a unanimous vote of a jury of twelve in a Scottish court in 1759, and William claimed the disputed title of Earl of Stirling. It is not clear whether the case went to court because of an unfavorable answer from the Lord Lyon King of Arms concerning the peerage. Legal opinion was that this was a "Scottish heir" problem, so the title right was solved.