Friedrich Christian von Eben and Brunnen

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Freiherr Friedrich Christian von Eben und Brunnen , later better known under the name Baron d'Eben , (* March 1773 in Kreuzburg ; † 1835 in Bogotá , Colombia ), was a Prussian , British , Portuguese and Colombian officer .

Life

His parents were the Prussian general Karl Adolf August von Eben and Brunnen (1734–1800) and his wife Sophie Luise von Möhring (1744–1800).

After his military service in Prussia from 1787 to 1799 followed the military service in Great Britain from 1800 to 1808, which he spent in London . During this time he drew uniforms for the various armies and wrote military books for the war effort of the British cavalry . During his time in London he had contacts and friends in the highest circles of British society. The Duke of Sussex , brother of the British King George IV , was close friends with Baron d'Eben. He also had a long and close friendship with Countess Wilhelmine von Lichtenau .

In 1808 Friedrich Christian married Freiherr von Eben and Brunnen in Porto , Elisabetha née Contessa d'Astigarraga (* 1792 - 26 January 1861), daughter of the Portuguese admiral Josè Conde d'Astigarraga and Maria Theresia née von Ritter. They had the children Friedrich (1817–1867), Friederika Josephiene (1818–1877) and Anna Elisabetha (1820–1897).

When Porto was captured and sacked by the French General Soult in 1809 , Baron d'Eben lost all of his fortune.

He died in Bogota in 1835. After his death, his family came to Germany impoverished and lived in the city of Bamberg for many years . Due to the great merits of Baron d'Eben, his family was patronized by the British, Prussian and Bavarian royal families, as can be seen from the Bamberg naturalization file.

Military career

Prussia

In 1787 Friedrich Christian Freiherr von Eben und Brunnen joined the Prussian Army as a flag junior and initially served in the body hussar regiment "von Eben" of his father, the hussar general Karl Adolf August von Eben und Brunnen . He took part in the Prussian invasion of Holland in 1787 and in the campaigns of the First Coalition War against France in 1792/95 . In 1792 he was appointed prime lieutenant . In 1794, at the age of 21, he received the order Pour le Mérite for excellent bravery .

Great Britain

When Prussia was neutral to France after the First Coalition War, but Great Britain was still at war with France, Friedrich retired from the Prussian army in 1799 and entered British service as a captain with the Yorkshire Hussars in 1801 . He worked out the service instructions for the light cavalry, set up a company in the style of the Hungarian hussars on the orders of the Prince Regent and his draft manual for the new armament of the British cavalry was introduced into the army by the Commander-in-Chief, the Duke of York . In 1806 he was appointed major in a hunting regiment. In 1807 he served as a volunteer in the Prussian troop corps under General Blücher until the Peace of Tilsiter .

Napoleonic Wars in the Iberian Peninsula

In 1808 he was deployed to the war in Portugal, after the Napoleonic army marched into Portugal in 1807. Baron d'Eben was appointed colonel in command of the British-Portuguese legion in Porto. As the commander of Porto, he contributed from his own fortune to the armament against the French and distinguished himself very much in the war against this nation. After a short time he was highly respected and very popular with the population. In 1809 he was appointed governor of Setúbal . In 1810 he was in command of the Loyal Lusitanian Legion in the battle of Buçaco , Torres Vedras and in the pursuit of the French general Masséna . In 1811 he was appointed British Lieutenant-Colonel and Portuguese Brigadier General . He commanded a brigade in the battles at Fuentes de Oñoro , Almeida , Rodrigo and Badajoz . In the battle of the Esla and the blockade of Zamora in 1812 he commanded a corps in Spain. In 1813 he was appointed governor of the province of Alto Trás-os-Montes .

Further stations in his life

In 1814 he was promoted to British Colonel and appointed Adjutant to the British Prince-Regent and later King George IV. In 1817, envious people accused him of having participated in the conspiracy of General Gomes Freire de Andrade . Although the court found his innocence on all counts, he was banished from Portugal and Great Britain. The Free City of Hamburg granted him asylum. From Hamburg he asked the Portuguese king in vain to revise his process. The king, who was living in Brazil at the time and had little power in Portugal, let him know that he was fully convinced of the falseness of the charge and of his innocence. But the verdict remained. In 1818, the Duke of Sussex gave a passionate speech before the British Parliament, in which he denounced the baseless accusations against Baron d'Eben and called for his rehabilitation. Even this mission by the Duke of Sussex was unsuccessful. In 1820 Simón Bolívar called Baron d'Eben into his army. Although the order was taken not to employ a foreign officer, Simon Bolivar made an exception with this meritorious warrior and immediately appointed Baron d'Eben as a brigadier general in his army. During the South American wars of independence against the Spaniards, Baron d'Eben performed many services. He organized Simon Bolivar's army and in 1822 was given command of the siege army in the battle and capture of Quito .

Awards and Appointments

Literature and Sources

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ London Gazette . No. 15369, HMSO, London, May 26, 1801, p. 591 ( PDF , English).
  2. ↑ London Gazette . No. 16462, HMSO, London, March 9, 1811, p. 459 ( PDF , English).
  3. ↑ London Gazette . No. 16906, HMSO, London, June 7, 1814, p. 1182 ( PDF , English).
  4. ↑ London Gazette . No. 17303, HMSO, London, November 8, 1817, p. 2269 ( PDF , English).
personal data
SURNAME Eben and Brunnen, Friedrich Christian von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eben and Brunnen, Friedrich Christian Freiherr von (full name); D'Eben, Baron; Frederick, Baron Eben
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian, British, Portuguese and Colombian officer
DATE OF BIRTH March 1773
PLACE OF BIRTH Kreuzburg
DATE OF DEATH 1835
Place of death Bogotá , Colombia