Cyrus von Schmeling

Louis Cyrus Eugen Alexander von Schmeling (born January 31, 1819 in Gnesen , † March 16, 1902 in Lieberose ) was a Prussian major general and commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade .

Crypt of Marie and Cyrus von Schmeling at the Lieberose cemetery (status 2015)

Life

origin

His parents were the Prussian major Alexander von Schmeling (1785-1849) and his wife Emilie, born von Puttkamer (1795-1824) widowed Louis von Massow († 1813). After the death of his first wife, his father married Auguste von Mellenthin (* 1787) in 1826 , but this marriage was divorced in 1829. He then married Pauline von Tornow (1812–1895) in 1845 .

Career

On November 1, 1835, Schmeling joined the 6th Infantry Regiment of the Prussian Army as a flag junior . On May 12, 1836, he was appointed Portepeefähnrich, in the following December transferred to the 19th Infantry Regiment and in 1838 he was promoted to Second Lieutenant . In 1848 he took part in the fight against the rioting in Poznan . He was then promoted to Prime Lieutenant on November 12, 1850 and led companies in the 19th and 20th Landwehr regiments until 1856 . On July 7, 1853 he was promoted to captain and on May 25, 1857 was appointed company commander .

When the army was reorganized in 1860, he first joined the 19th Combined Infantry Regiment, from which the 45th Infantry Regiment emerged on July 1st of that year . As a major and commander of the fusilier battalion, Schmeling was commanded to occupy the Russian border during the Polish unrest in 1863/64. On June 18, 1865 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel . During the war against Austria in 1866 he fought with his battalion in the battle near Trautenau and was wounded in the process. Promoted to colonel on April 18, 1867, he was given command of the 26th Infantry Regiment a month later . As a regimental commander, he made a great contribution to the self-management of the barracks. As a result of the high food prices, the budget was only barely enough to feed the troops. In 1868, for example, he attempted to make the men more generous by having the regiment buy a number of cows that were fattened with the help of the waste, slaughtered in their own slaughterhouse and used in the team's kitchen. This experiment turned out to be so incredibly cheap that business increased. At the end of the year, the regiment had around 400 cattle, including mutton and pigs.

In the war against France he commanded his regiment until the battle of Beaumont . Schmeling briefly commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade and then resigned to the regiment, at whose head he remained until January 19, 1872. Subsequently transferred to Danzig as commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade , he rose in this position to major general. Due to illness, Schmeling was asked to dispose on March 13, 1873, with the prospect of being reinstated if his health was restored . He died on March 16, 1902 in Lieberose and was buried there.

family

He married on April 3, 1856 in Elisabeth Gerland (1834–1899). The children Margarethe (1857-1858) and Hans (1858-1859) emerged from the marriage.

literature

• Anton Bettelheim (Hrsg.): Biographisches Jahrbuch und Deutscher Nekrolog. Volume VII from January 1 to December 31, 1902, Georg Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1905, p. 255.
• Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the noble houses. 1905. Seventh year, Justus Perthes , Gotha 1906, p. 703.
• Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 8, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1941], DNB 367632837 , p. 276, no. 2599.