Francis de Rottenburg

Francis de Rottenburg (actually Franz Baron von Rottenburg ; born November 4 or 8, 1757 in Danzig ; † April 24, 1832 in Portsmouth , England ) was a British-British general and military writer who served in Europe, Egypt and America .

Life

Franz (von) Rottenburg was born as the son of Franz Gottfried Rottenburg, a wealthy Gdansk merchant and landowner of Swiss-German origin . The origin of the nobility he wielded is not known. Little is known about his youth, but his father's fortune undoubtedly enabled him to get a good education. It enabled him to join the French army in 1782 with the rank of vice lieutenant . In 1785 he became a lieutenant, but quit his service in September 1791 and returned to Poland , where he took part in Tadeusz Kościuszko's unsuccessful uprising against the partition of Poland near Warsaw . He commanded an infantry battalion and was wounded in the Battle of Praga in 1794 .

After the end of the uprising, Rottenburg joined the Hompesch Hussar Regiment , a mercenary unit of the British Army, as a major at the end of 1795 . In 1798 he helped set up a regiment of light infantry ( Tirailleurs / Fusiliers , English Rifles ). When the 60th British Infantry Regiment was formed from this unit, Rottenburg received the rank of lieutenant colonel and command of the 5th battalion. This was the first unit of the British Army that was not equipped with muskets , but with rifles that could carry further weapons and was trained for use in a broken up formation (as snipers , skirmishers, etc.). With this Riflemen battalion, dressed and equipped as a hunter, Rottenburg was involved in the suppression of an uprising in Ireland and in the conquest of Suriname in August 1799.

During this time Rottenburg wrote a number of instructions for the training of light infantry in German. They were translated by the " War Office " in 1798 and published under the title "Regulations for the exercise of riflemen and light infantry", reprinted several times and developed a considerable influence on the military thinking of the British Army. Sir John Moore , next to Wellington the most brilliant British officer of the time, used it as the basis for the formation of a light division which played a prominent role in his and Wellington's campaigns in Portugal and Spain . In 1805 Rottenburg was promoted to colonel , in 1808 was given command of a brigade and in 1809 took part in the Walcheren expedition as commander of the light infantry .

Rottenburg had been appointed Brigadier General on the General Staff for North America as early as 1808 , but did not take up this position in Québec until 1810 after his promotion to Major General . After the outbreak of the war against the USA in 1812, he was given command of the strategically important district of Montreal in July 1812 , and for a time he also represented Governor General Sir George Prevost . After Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe's replacement as administrator and commander-in-chief of Upper Canada , he took over his office in July 1813.

Rottenburg showed little interest in civil administration matters and proved to be a cautious commander who avoided taking risks. On the main scene of the war on the Niagara River , he tried to push the Americans back as far as possible to Fort George , but avoided an open battle. By refusing to provide additional troops, he prevented Major General Henry Procter and Naval Commander Robert Heriot Barclay from attacking the US Presque Isle naval base on Lake Erie . If successful, this attack would have prevented the ensuing defeats in the Battle of Lake Erie and the Thames River , which largely collapsed the British position in the west. At the news of Procter's defeat on the Thames River, Rottenburg considered evacuating all of western Canada to Kingston , but limited himself to retreating to the Burlington Heights on the Niagara Peninsula .

Rottenburg was still in Kingston when an American army led by Maj. General James Wilkinson advanced along the Saint Lawrence River into Montreal in September . Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison , detached from Rottenburg with a small contingent consisting mainly of professional soldiers, was able to inflict a severe defeat on the far superior attackers on November 11 in the battle of Chrysler's Farm and force them to retreat. The imposition of martial law for some districts of Upper Canada, with which he wanted to force the farmers to sell supplies to the army, brought him great trouble .

After the arrival of his successor Lieutenant General Gordon Drummond in December 1813, Rottenburg was given the command of troops in Lower Canada on the St. Lawrence River. Governor General Prevost, who valued him as a reliable subordinate, gave him command of three brigades for his campaign against the United States in September 1814. In the battle of Plattsburgh , however, he did not play a significant role and was probably therefore hardly affected by the massive criticism that Prevost had to endure after this failed enterprise. At the end of 1814, Rottenburg temporarily represented Prevost as administrator and commander-in-chief in Lower Canada, presided over the court martial against Major General Henry Procter and was recalled to Great Britain in the summer of 1815. He was no longer used in active service, received several awards, including promotion to lieutenant general in 1819 , and died on April 24, 1832 in Portsmouth .

family

Francis de Rottenburg was married to Juliana Wilhelmina Carolina von Orelli since 1802, the daughter of Johann Ulrich von Orelli, a Neapolitan general. From the marriage came the son George Frederick de Rottenburg and a daughter.

Works

• Regulations for the Exercise of Riflemen and Light Infantry, digitized

Web links

• Francis de Rottenburg . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).