August Wilhelm von Vietinghoff

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August Wilhelm Freiherr von Vietinghoff (born October 18, 1728 in Reetz , † April 23, 1799 in Neisse ) was a Prussian lieutenant general .

Life

origin

His parents were the Mecklenburg Major General Johann Wilhelm von Vietinghoff (1662–1738) and his wife Katharina Margarethe von Preen . The later Prussian Major General Detlef von Vietinghoff was his brother.

Military career

Vietinghoff served from October 28, 1746 as a corporal in the infantry regiment "Anhalt-Dessau" , was promoted to ensign on March 8, 1749 and on June 17, 1756 to secondary lieutenant . As such, he took part in the Battle of Lobositz during the Seven Years' War in 1756/63 , was wounded in the Battle of Kay and captured in October 1760 in Wittenberg . He was brought to Weissenborg Castle near Ulm . He returned from captivity in March 1762. He then took part in the battle near Adelsbach and the siege of Schweidnitz , where he was wounded again. During these years he was promoted to Prime Lieutenant on March 6, 1758 , and on November 7, 1761 to Captain of the Staff .

On November 20, 1764 he became a captain and company commander (with a patent from May 1, 1761). On April 12, 1768 he became a major and wing adjutant of the infantry. On August 9, 1769, he accompanied Frederick the Great on the maneuvers in Silesia . On January 16, 1775, at the express request of the king, Vietinghoff was assigned as adjutant to the Prince of Prussia, later King Friedrich Wilhelm II , to replace the court marshal Colonel von Forcade, with whom the king was not satisfied. Vietinghoff did not feel at ease as court marshal, but was soon relieved of this task at his request and replaced on March 3, 1775 by Colonel von Arnstedt.

From then on he served the prince again as a wing adjutant, remained in this position even after Friedrich Wilhelm II took office and had to accompany him on all maneuvers and special trips. When on May 7, 1775 Vietinghoff asked for a cart for the luggage of the Prussian Prince's staff for the upcoming trip to the Revue, the king wrote to him:

“It is very strange to me how you can stop around a ladder carriage in your imagination on the 7th of this month for the revue journeys. I see you as well as Major v. Kleist for my officers and not for pregnant women. For your people I want to accomodate a riding horse, but absolutely nothing will come of the head of the carriage, because these are Cammer gentlemen's establishments and do not give themselves up to Prussia. Officiers. Potsdam May 8, 1775. "

From April 1, 1778, Vietinghoff was again commanded as a wing adjutant at the side of the Prince of Prussia during the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1778/79 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 6, 1778 .

In 1780 he stayed with the Prussian Prince at the Russian court in Saint Petersburg . When Vietinghoff returned from St. Petersburg, he asked the king for use at the front, but the king refused on November 9, 1780. Just in those weeks the Prince of Prussia fell ill with a violent fever and Vietinghoff had to keep reporting how things were going with the Prince. On December 20th, the king asked Vietinghoff to know how his nephew was doing. When the latter reported the next day that the fever had not yet subsided, the king wrote to him on January 1st, 1785: "I think that the fever should soon pass, because this is not such a big deal, but just a mess."

On May 26, 1781 he was made colonel , on June 25, 1787 promoted to major general and appointed director of the 1st Department for All Infantry Affairs in the Upper War College. On February 11, 1790 he was regiment chief of the infantry regiment "von Hagen" and took part in the campaign against France in 1792/94 in the First Coalition War . In the meantime, Friedrich Wilhelm II awarded him the Great Red Eagle Order on December 2, 1793 for his services in the battle near Bisingen and wrote:

"I have seen with particular pleasure from the relation of General-Lieutenant Count Kalckreuth that he owes the luck with which the violent hostile repeated attacks on the post of Bissingen were mainly to your courageous and courageous cooperation, and for it mine." Attention has not escaped the fact that you have shown the same Eyffer on several occasions, I do not hesitate to give you a public testimony of my satisfaction and gratitude by conferring my Great Red Eagle Order, which I am sending you here. "

On January 1, 1794, Vietinghoff was promoted to lieutenant general.

Even before the campaign, the general had repeatedly sought relief from his severe attacks of gout in Warmbrunn and Landeck , both well-known Lower Silesian health resorts . In 1794 these became so strong that he had to return to Neisse before the end of the campaign. On November 1, 1794, he was finally released from further participation in the campaign. King Friedrich Wilhelm II accompanied this liberation from the campaign with the warmest wishes for a speedy recovery.

On January 29, 1796, Vietinghoff was appointed governor of Neisse with an allowance of 600 thalers . After his death in 1799, the governorate initially remained vacant.

He died unmarried.

Freemasonry

Vietinghoff played an important role in the Freemasonry of the Strict Observance . In 1758 he was accepted into the Philadelphia Lodge to the three golden arms in Halle, and he was elected Master of the Chair in 1763. In 1764 he was one of the founders of the Halle Freemason lodge to the three swords ; Here, too, he held the office of chair master from 1765, who was called "house commander" within the strict obeservance. Due to his relationships with the Prussian royal family and the resulting reputation, he often acted as a mediator in disputes within the various Masonic schools of his time.

literature
personal data
SURNAME Vietinghoff, August Wilhelm von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vittinghof, August Wilhelm von; Vietinghoff, August Wilhelm Freiherr von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian lieutenant general
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1728
PLACE OF BIRTH Reetz
DATE OF DEATH April 23, 1799
Place of death Neisse