August von Hedemann

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August von Hedemann as a Prussian lieutenant general

August Georg von Hedemann (born October 29, 1784 in Plau am See , † December 17, 1859 in Berlin ) was a Prussian general of the cavalry .

Life

origin

Burgörner Manor House ("Humboldt Castle")
Gravestone of Wilhelm von Humboldt and his daughter Adelheid and her husband August von Hedemann
Memorial plaque in the Erfurt Steigerwald (1994)

August came from the Prussian branch of the Hedemann family . He was the son of Christoph Marquard Friedrich von Hedemann (* June 6, 1759 - April 10, 1803) and his wife Johanna Maria Josepha, born von Wunsch (* January 2, 1759 - November 13, 1838). At the time of his birth, his father was stationed as a second lieutenant in the “von Goeckingk” hussar regiment in Plau, which Prussia had occupied from 1735 to 1787 as a pledge. He rose to the rank of captain and squadron chief and was a knight of the order Pour le Mérite . After the father's death, the son received a monthly allowance of two Friedrichsdor and the mother a permanent allowance of 100 thalers to her widow's salary. District Administrator Georg von Hedemann was his grandfather.

Military career

Hedemann joined the hussar regiment on February 26, 1799 as a Junker , in which his father had already served. There he was promoted to second lieutenant until mid-August 1804 and on December 30, 1805, he became adjutant to the head of the regiment von Rudorff . In the First Coalition War he fought in the battle near Criewitz and was awarded the order Pour le Mérite for this, made the retreat to Lübeck and went into captivity there. He came to the regiment's depot on January 23, 1807. After being replaced, Hedemann became adjutant to Prince Wilhelm of Prussia on April 3, 1807 , the fourth son of King Friedrich Wilhelm II. He then fought at Gollau and Königsberg . He also accompanied the prince to Paris in 1808.

After the Peace of Tilsit , Hedemann rose to the rank of chief of staff until the end of April 1810 . On June 17, 1811, he was given seven weeks' leave on half his salary to go to Vienna . On April 21, 1812 he was promoted to Rittmeister. At the beginning of the Wars of Liberation he was wounded in the Battle of Großgörschen , received the Order of St. Vladimir IV class and on May 19, 1813 the Iron Cross II class. He then fought at Bautzen and at the Katzbach . He was promoted to major on September 4, 1813 and joined the General Staff seven days later, remaining in his position as Adjutant to Prince Wilhelm. He then fought near Leipzig and received the Order of St. Anna II Class. On January 4, 1814, he joined the 8th Brigade of the Yorck Corps as a general staff officer. He then fought at Laon , Paris and Belle Alliance as well as in the battles at Haynau , Colditz, Löwenberg, Görlitz, Bunzlau, Chalons, Mery, Claye Aubert and Villiers. He was also awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class on June 1, 1814 and the Order of St. John on January 1, 1815 .

On October 2, 1815, Hedemann received the oak leaves for the order Pour le Mérite. When he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on October 30, 1815, he became the first adjutant to Prince Wilhelm. In 1817 he was accepted into the lawless society in Berlin and in the same year Hedemann received an eight-month vacation for a stay in Italy on full salary. On May 16, 1818 received the Order of St. George IV class. On November 29, 1821, Hedemann was appointed commander of the 2nd Leib-Hussar Regiment in Herrstadt, Silesia . In this position he was promoted to colonel on March 30, 1823 with a patent from April 9, 1823 . In 1825 he received the service cross .

Carl Maria von Weber composed a march for Hedemann in 1822. After the death of his mother-in-law, he was at Humboldt's request by King Friedrich Wilhelm III. Transferred to Berlin and on March 30, 1829 appointed commander of the 2nd Guard-Uhlan-Landwehr Regiment . In this capacity he was awarded the Russian Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class, with diamonds on June 12, 1829 . On March 30, 1832 he was appointed commander of the 6th Landwehr Brigade and Hedemann was aggregated to the 2nd Guard Uhlan Regiment . From August 7, 1833, he also served as a member of the General Order Commission. On March 30, 1834 he was promoted to major general and awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of the Sword on July 18, 1837 . On March 30, 1838, he was transferred to the 10th Division in Poznan as commander and assigned to take care of business as 1st in command of the Poznan Fortress . With his appointment as commander of the 8th Division on March 30, 1840, Hedemann was entrusted with the management of the business as commander of the Erfurt fortress . In this position he was promoted to lieutenant general on April 7, 1842 and awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of White Falcons on October 27, 1842 . He was a co-founder of the Erfurt Horticultural Association and its director. He made a particular contribution to the Erfurt Steigerwald . Together with Friedrich Adolph Haage , he had the so-called "Hedemanns-Ways" laid out in the forest area in order to make it accessible to the citizens of Erfurt.

On September 22nd, 1844 he was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle 1st Class with Oak Leaves. On March 5, 1848, Hedemann became the commanding general of the IV Army Corps . On February 26, 1849, he celebrated his 50th anniversary with the company. On February 25, 1851 he received the Grand Cross of the Order of Henry the Lion and on May 29, 1851 the Grand Cross of the Saxon-Ernestine House Order . On February 7, 1852 he was then retired with the character of General of the Cavalry. On January 13, 1857, Hedemann received the crown of the order Pour le Mérite.

In retirement, he lived in the Burgörner manor house , also known as the “Humboldt Castle”, which his wife inherited, and at Tegel Castle . He died at the age of 74 on December 7, 1859 in Berlin and was buried on December 21, 1859 in the family grave of Humboldt "Campo Santo" in the park of Tegel Castle.

family

Alliance coat of arms Hedemann - Humboldt on the portal of the Humboldt Castle in Hettstedt

Hedemann married Aurora Raffaele Adelheid von Humboldt (* May 17, 1800, † December 14, 1856) in Berlin on April 24, 1815, who was buried in the family funeral after her death. She was a daughter of Wilhelm and Caroline von Humboldt .

literature

Web links

Commons : August von Hedemann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ According to Hedemann (lit.)
  2. ↑ His father received his Pour le Merite in the battle near Kloppenheim on November 29, 1792. There he took an officer and 30 men prisoner. When his son returned the medal after his father's death - as prescribed - he received an answer from the king that he wanted to keep the medal for him.
personal data
SURNAME Hedemann, August von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hedemann, August Georg Friedrich Magnus von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian general of the cavalry, commanding general of the IV Army Corps
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1785
PLACE OF BIRTH Plau am See
DATE OF DEATH December 17, 1859
Place of death Berlin