Karl August von Beckers zu Westerstetten

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Karl August von Beckers zu Westerstetten

Count Karl August von Beckers zu Westerstetten (born August 8, 1770 in Mußbach , Electoral Palatinate , † November 8, 1832 in Munich ) was a Bavarian infantry general .

origin

The noble family von Beckers zu Westerstetten came from Siegen in Westphalia and belonged to the Catholic denomination. Karl August was the son of Heinrich Anton von Beckers zu Westerstetten (1695–1777) and his wife Eleonore geb. Hueber from Wittau. The father, electoral Palatinate state minister and envoy in Vienna and Berlin , was admitted to the hereditary nobility of the Electoral Palatinate in 1729 in Schwetzingen, in 1738 to the imperial knighthood with the predicate noble of and received the title of baron in 1742 . Elector Karl Theodor of Bavaria raised his children to imperial counts in 1790 during the time of the imperial vicariate .

biography

Coat of arms of the von Beckers zu Westerstetten family
The Beckers Front named after him in Germersheim

Karl August von Beckers zu Westerstetten became an honorary ensign in the Electoral Palatinate body regiment in Mannheim as early as 1774 . In 1784 he was a sub-lieutenant in the regiment Pfalzgraf von Birkenfeld, where he was promoted to first lieutenant in 1785 and captain in 1787 . In 1790 he fought in the 4th Electoral Palatinate Grenadier Regiment against the Liège revolutionaries , in the First Coalition War he took part in the battles against France in 1794 and 95. In 1795 Graf von Beckers was promoted to major in the 3rd Grenadier Regiment, and in 1805 he became a colonel .

On April 17, 1807, he led the 1st Battalion of the 6th Bavarian Infantry Regiment in a battle near Glatz , where he continued to fight with a severe chest wound until the enemy was defeated. For this he received the French Cross of the Legion of Honor and on April 23 became commander of the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Regiment . On May 2nd of that year he was promoted to major general and brigadier in Poland.

For his bravery in the Battle of Abensberg on April 20, 1809, Karl August von Beckers zu Westerstetten received the Knight's Cross of the Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order , on April 24, in the battle near Neumarkt an der Rott , the Officer's Cross Legion of Honor. As commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, von Beckers took part in the Russian campaign in 1812 . On August 10, 1813 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and Commander of the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Division. In this position he acquired the Commander's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order on October 30, 1813, in the Battle of Hanau , and was wounded several times.

In 1815, Graf von Beckers was appointed head of the Nuremberg General Command , and in 1824 he became President of the Bavarian Military Appeals Court and General of the Infantry. In 1832 he unexpectedly suffered a stroke in Munich , died there after receiving the catholic sacraments and was buried in the Altes Südfriedhof .

According to him, which is Fronte Beckers the fortress Germersheim named.

In addition to the awards already mentioned - cross and officer's cross of the Legion of Honor, as well as the Knight's and Commander's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order - General von Beckers also wore the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown , the Bavarian Order of Ludwig , the Knight's Cross of the Military Maria- Theresa Order and the 1st Class Cross of the Russian Order of St. Anna .

Brothers

His older brother, Joseph Heinrich von Beckers zu Westerstetten (1764-1840), was an Austrian lieutenant field marshal and chief steward of the Hungarian palatine Archduke Joseph Anton Johann of Austria .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the count's houses , 1921, page 70; (Detail scan)
  2. ↑ Munich political newspaper , No. 114, of November 10, 1832, page 930 of the 1832 volume; (Digital scan of obituary)
  3. ^ Hermann Alexander von Berlepsch: Munich: His art treasures and sights , Munich, 1870, page 62; (Digital scan)
  4. ^ Website of the Fronte Beckers in Germersheim
personal data
SURNAME Beckers zu Westerstetten, Karl August von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Beckers zu Westerstetten, Karl August Graf von; Beckers zu Westerstetten, Carl August Graf von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bavarian general of the infantry
DATE OF BIRTH August 8, 1770
PLACE OF BIRTH Mußbach on the Wine Route
DATE OF DEATH November 8, 1832
Place of death Munich