Alexander Wilhelm von der Goltz

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Alexander Wilhelm Freiherr von der Goltz (born October 21, 1774 in Markienen ( Friedland district ); † January 20, 1820 in Koblenz ) was a Prussian major general and most recently the commander of the 16th Cavalry Brigade .

Life

origin

His parents were Karl Ferdinand von der Goltz (* September 12, 1748 - October 18, 1825) and his wife Katharina Adelgunde, born von Braxein (* July 9, 1736 - April 10, 1813), a daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm von Braxein and the Euphrosine Beate von der Groeben, as well as sister of the Prussian budget and war minister Fabian Abraham von Braxein . His father was a royal Prussian government advisor and heir to Markienen, Leißienen and Redden.

Military career

Goltz came in 1789 as Junker in the Dragoon Regiment "pipe" of the Prussian army . There he became an ensign on April 3, 1793 and was promoted to staff captain until February 15, 1806 . As such, he fought in the Fourth Coalition War in the Battle of Preussisch Eylau and in the battles near Heilsberg, Liebstadt and Königsberg. On July 18, 1807 he received the Order Pour le Mérite and the Russian Order of St. Vladimir IV Class for Heilsberg .

After the Treaty of Tilsit , Goltz was promoted to Rittmeister on July 19, 1807 and transferred to the East Prussian Cuirassier Regiment on November 16, 1807. Since January 20, 1809 he was a member of the Königsberg main chamber of the Tugendbund and took over the topic of popular education. On January 14, 1811 he was appointed a member of the commission under Scharnhorst for new cavalry regulations. On March 24, 1811 he was transferred as a major to the 1st Silesian Hussar Regiment . On March 9, 1812 he received his resignation and went into Russian service as the commander of a hussar regiment.

After the French Grande Armée marched into Russia, Goltz traveled to Riga at the instigation of Tsar Alexander I at the end of June 1812 to establish contact with the Prussian auxiliary corps and to convince troops to overflow. It is mainly thanks to his efforts that the Tauroggen Convention was concluded on December 30, 1812 .

Goltz became Imperial Russian Lieutenant Colonel in 1812 and during Napoleon's Russian campaign in 1812 he fought in the battles at Wilkawisk, Eckau, Dahlenkirch and Wollgrund. On December 17, 1813 he was made a colonel and joined the Russian-German Legion as commander of the 1st Hussar Regiment . During the Fourth Coalition War that followed , Goltz fought in the battle on the Göhrde, where he was wounded by a bayonet stab and received the Russian Order of St. George IV Class. Goltz recovered and fought at Möllen, Kogel, Seestedt, Hannebeck, then at the blockade of Rendsburg, at Harburg and Conde. After the peace of 1814 he returned to Prussian service. There he was appointed commander of the 7th Dragoon Regiment on March 29, 1815 , and on September 3, 1815, he was brigade commander of the army corps in France. On June 11, 1816, Goltz then took four months of unpaid leave. He received the Commander's Cross of the Legion of Honor from the French and on October 9, 1817 permission to wear the order. On December 1, 1817, he was transferred to Koblenz as commander of the 16th Cavalry Brigade and promoted there to major general on September 19, 1818. He died on January 20, 1820 as a result of a duel with his division commander, Major General von Ryssel .

In his assessment from 1803 it says: "Has been three years in the Ecole militaire, according to the certificate Captain Seydel spent his time well, served with pleasure and is a good rider".

family

Goltz married on October 22, 1798 in Königsberg Johanna Karoline Hay (* June 23, 1779; † February 12, 1813), the daughter of the merchant Emanuel Thomas Hay from Pillau (East Prussia) and Marie Dorothea von Wagenfeld, a sister of the Prussian major general Ernst Philipp von Wagenfeld . The couple had several children:

  • Alexandra Karoline Adelgunde Marie (born May 9, 1799)
  • Alexander Friedrich Philipp Wilhelm (born May 7, 1800. † April 28, 1870), Lt. Col. a. D. ∞ Anna (Johanne) Marie Ottilie Göbel (born June 30, 1804 - † May 22, 1864), parents of Hermann von der Goltz
  • Valeska Emma (born July 29, 1803; † December 9, 1827 Heiligengrabe)
  • Hermann Guido (July 2, 1805 - January 11, 1879), Major a. D.
  • Alexandrine Luise Auguste (* July 12, 1811; † March 13, 1828 Heiligengrabe)

After the death of his first wife, he married Blanka Katharina Franziska Eleonore von der Goltz (* May 3, 1799 - May 7, 1883), a daughter of his brother, the commander of the 12th Infantry, in the Marienkirche in Berlin on October 6, 1817 -Regiment Ferdinand Friedrich von der Goltz (born September 3, 1773, † July 13, 1813), and sister of Lieutenant General Ferdinand von der Goltz . The couple had a son:

  • Ferdinand Alexander (born January 31, 1819 - † November 12, 1858), retired Prime Minister D. and chess master

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Historical political, geographic, statistical and military contributions concerning the royal Prussian and neighboring states. Volume 2, p. 542.
  2. ↑ Nobility in the Moral Scientific Association 1808–1809 Nobility in the Moral Scientific Association 1808–1809
  3. ↑ Venzky, page 71
  4. ↑ Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgesellschaft , Vol. 14, Leipzig 1859, p. 285
personal data
SURNAME Goltz, Alexander Wilhelm von der
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Goltz, Alexander Wilhelm Freiherr von der (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian major general and lastly commander of the 16th Cavalry Brigade
DATE OF BIRTH October 21, 1774
PLACE OF BIRTH Markienen, Friedland District
DATE OF DEATH January 20, 1820
Place of death Koblenz