Jan Willem de Winter
Jan Willem de Winter (born March 23, 1761 in Kampen , † June 2, 1812 in Paris ) was a Dutch admiral and marshal as well as commander in chief of the Dutch armed forces during the coalition wars .
Life
Dutch Navy
De Winter joined the Dutch army as a young lad, with whom he served in the West Indies , but then switched to the Navy in 1778 and distinguished himself in the Battle of Dogger Bank on August 5, 1781 as the Dutch squadron of Rear Admiral Johan Zoutman von a British squadron under Vice Admiral Sir Hyde Parker was surprised. When the Dutch Revolution broke out in 1787, he was a lieutenant at sea . As a staunch opponent of the policy of the governor Wilhelm V , he joined the side of the " patriots ".
France
After the suppression of the patriotic uprising , de Winter had to flee to France in October 1787, where he devoted himself fully to the cause of the revolution after the French Revolution in 1789, served in the French army, in the campaigns of 1792 and 1793 under Charles François Dumouriez and Jean -Charles Pichegru , and was promoted to Brigadier General. In 1795 he returned to his homeland with the French army, which conquered Holland under the command of Pichegru, where he received the delivery of the Dutch fleet near Texel on January 28, 1795 .
Batavian Republic
He then joined the Navy of the newly proclaimed Batavian Republic as rear admiral and was tasked with its reorganization. In 1796 he became vice admiral and commander of the Batavian fleet. In the late summer of 1797, on the instructions of the French Directory , he assembled his fleet at Texel and took 15,000 troops on board, intended for the planned invasion of Ireland or a simultaneous invasion of Scotland . When these invasion plans were put aside after the death of General Lazare Hoche († September 19, 1797), he disembarked the troops again, but soon after received the order of the Batavian government to expire, but without specifying his mandate. Thereupon he led his fleet out of the Marsdiep on October 8 , during which he was observed and reported by British guard ships. On October 11, 1797 there was then the sea battle at Camperduin , in which he was defeated by a British fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan after a bitter fight and was taken prisoner. In December 1797 he was released in the course of a prisoner exchange and returned to Holland. A court martial certified that he had valiantly defended the honor of the Batavian Republic at Camperduin. Other officers, such as B. Rear Admiral Johan Arnold Bloys van Treslong , however, were convicted.
Despite his honorable acquittal, de Winter's naval career was initially over. From 1798 to 1802 he was the Dutch envoy in Paris. Then he was called back to Holland and reappointed commander in chief of the Dutch fleet. In 1803 he sailed with a strong squadron into the Mediterranean on the coasts of the barbarian states to suppress the piracy of the corsairs of Tripoli , and concluded a peace treaty with Yusuf Qaramanli , the Bey of Tripoli.
Since the Dutch fleet was largely blocked by the British after the beginning of the Napoleonic naval wars after 1803 and remained at anchor, de Winter did not take part in any more fighting.
Kingdom of Holland
After Louis Bonaparte was made King of Holland by his brother Napoléon in 1806 , he promoted de Winter to Marshal , made him Count von Huessen and appointed him Commander in Chief of the Dutch land and naval forces.
France
After the unification of Holland with France in 1810, Emperor Napoléon made him Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor and appointed him Inspector General of the North Sea Coasts. In 1811 Napoléon appointed him commander-in-chief of the united French-Dutch fleet gathered at Texel and finally elevated him to the rank of Count des Empire français (French imperial count).
death
De Winter, whose health had long been bad, fell ill in the spring of 1812, handed over the command of the Texel fleet to Admiral Carel Hendrik Ver Huell , and traveled to Paris for treatment. He died in Paris on June 2, 1812, was honored with a state funeral and buried as a hero of the nation under the name of Jean-Guillaume de Winter, Compte de Huessen, in the Panthéon there - the only Dutchman to receive this honor. His heart was buried in a marble urn in the Upper Church ("Bovenkerk") in his birthplace Kampen.
Remarks
- ^ Huissen in Gelderland
literature
- Biographical note in the Panthéon of Paris
Web links
- Bekende Nederlanders Anbaven in Parijs (I / III): Jean-Guillaume de Winter 1761-1812 (Dutch)
- 'de Franse Verleiding': Nederlandse held buried in het Panthéon (Dutch)
- Nederlandse marine: JW de Winter (Dutch)
- Koninklijke Marine (Dutch)
- Vice Admiral Jan Willem de Winter
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Winter, Jan Willem de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jean-Guillaume de Winter, Compte de Huessen |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dutch admiral and marshal |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 23, 1761 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kampen |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 2, 1812 |
| Place of death | Paris |