August of Prussia (1779–1843)

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August of Prussia in front of François Gérard's portrait of Madame Récamier , painting by Franz Krüger , around 1835

Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich August von Prussia (born  September 19, 1779 in Friedrichsfelde , † July 19, 1843 in Bromberg ) was a Prussian general of the infantry and general inspector and chief of artillery .

Life

August was the youngest son of Prince Ferdinand of Prussia and his wife Anna Elisabeth Luise von Brandenburg-Schwedt and a nephew of King Friedrich II.

At the age of 18, August von Prussia was employed as a captain in the “von Larisch” infantry regiment of the Prussian army . After being promoted to Major in 1800, he was transferred to the von Arnim infantry regiment three years later , where he took over the grenadier battalion. August was the first to recognize the inadequacy of the rifle system at that time and to train the entire third member for screeching service. In September 1806 he moved as a lieutenant colonel at the head of his battalion to Thuringia, where he took part in the unfortunate battle of Auerstedt . Trapped in the meeting near Prenzlau, he was brought to France with his long-time adjudicant Carl von Clausewitz. In Nancy, Soissons and Paris, where they spent most of their pleasant captivity with a lively social life, the prince said: "il est vaillant, beau, aimable, très galant et très elated" (he is brave, handsome, lovable, very gallant and very graceful). Both returned to Berlin only after the peace treaty at the end of October 1807. There he was promoted to major general on November 11, 1807 .

In March 1808 he went to Königsberg , where on August 8 the king appointed him general inspector of the entire artillery and chief of the East Prussian artillery regiment with the rank of brigadier general. The prince began reorganizing the artillery with General von Scharnhorst and was extremely active in carrying out this important business until 1813. At the same time, from August 18, 1809, he was also in command of the troops gathered near Frankfurt (Oder) . These consisted of the Guard Regiment, the West Prussian Grenadier Battalion, the 1st West Prussian and the Neumärk Dragoon Regiment and a mounted battery from Berlin.

On the campaign 1813/15 Prince August took first as a lieutenant general (since March 14, 1813) and in part at first proved itself in the Battle of Lützen , for which he with the Iron Cross II. Class was excellent. On August 16, 1813, he took over the 12th Brigade in the II Army Corps and fought near Dresden , Kulm , Leipzig , Vauchamps and Champaubert . After he had spent the winter of 1814/15 at the Congress in Vienna , the siege war in northern France was entrusted to him in June 1815. After being promoted to General of the Infantry on May 30, 1814, August became Commanding General of the II Army Corps on June 30, 1815 .

The catafalque of Prince August

After the peace he returned to Berlin. The restructuring of the artillery was now resumed on a large scale, and the intellectual and scientific element of the formation of the officer corps was not forgotten. August von Prussia therefore specifically supported the chief of the engineering corps , Lieutenant General Gustav von Rauch , in setting up the United Artillery and Engineering School , one of the predecessor institutions of the Technical University of Berlin . From 1816 onwards the prince inspected the various brigades every year for 27 years, and on one such trip he died on July 19, 1843 in Bromberg. He was buried on July 29th in the Berlin Cathedral with singing by the Royal Court and Cathedral Choir .

The prince was one of the richest landowners in the Prussian state. In 1813 he inherited Rheinsberg Castle from his father , which became his main residence alongside Berlin from 1819. Most of his possessions reverted to the royal family, leaving behind only illegitimate children; a small part came to the princely Radziwillsche house, since the prince's sister Luise had married the prince Anton Radziwiłł .

The Auguststraße in Berlin is named after him.

Private life and offspring

From his first non-marital relationship with Karoline Friederike Wichmann in the years from around 1805 to 1817, Prince August had four illegitimate children; Mother and children received the Prussian nobility with the name "von Waldenburg".

  • Eduard (* May 24, 1807; † February 17, 1882) ⚭ 1834 Orlinda von Klitzing (* May 1, 1817; † August 2, 1902)
  • Frederike Auguste Eveline (born November 19, 1803 - † September 17, 1848)
  • Friederike Auguste Emilie (June 10, 1815 - December 2, 1893)
  • Auguste Friederike Mathilde (* November 7, 1817 - † December 25, 1884)

From the second connection with Auguste Arend from around 1818 until his death, he had seven children; they were also raised to the Prussian nobility under the name "von Prillwitz".

  • August Ludwig Ferdinand (born January 10, 1825 - † February 25, 1849)
  • Ferdinand Ludwig August (born July 13, 1828 - † May 27, 1835)
  • Friedrich Wilhelm August Ludwig (* July 23, 1829 † May 31, 1894) ⚭ 1857 Countess Georgine Marie Elisabeth Eugenie von Moltke (* December 23, 1835 - January 7, 1899)
  • Luise Auguste Malwine (born June 10, 1819 - † November 3, 1888)
⚭ Caesar von Dachröden (1808–1882), chamberlain and court marshal in Mecklenburg-Strelitz
⚭ NN from la Ville
  • Luise Auguste Elisabeth (* June 23, 1827 - December 22, 1854) ⚭ Count Harry Karl Kurd Eduard von Arnim (* October 3, 1824 - May 19, 1881)
  • Marie Auguste Luise (born September 3, 1830 - † May 1, 1831)
  • Klara Auguste Luise (* October 21, 1831; † July 24, 1883) ⚭ Gustav von Arnim (* May 29, 1820; † August 2, 1904)

literature

Web links

Commons : Prinz August von Preußen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

annotation

  1. ↑ For the picture see Max Osborn: "Franz Krüger". Velhagen and Klasing, Bielefeld, Leipzig 1910, fig. 15 (after p. 16), text p. 36.
  2. ^ Carl von Clausewitz: Karl and Marie von Clausewitz: A picture of life in letters and diary sheets . Ed .: Karl Linnenbach. Martin Warneck, Berlin 1917, p. 93 .
  3. ↑ Stammreihen.de
  4. ^ New Nekrolog der Deutschen p. 25 [1] Digitized
personal data
SURNAME Prussia, August of
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich August von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian Prince, General of the Infantry
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1779
PLACE OF BIRTH Friedrichsfelde
DATE OF DEATH July 19, 1843
Place of death Bromberg