Friedrich Wilhelm von Dossow

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Friedrich Wilhelm von Dossow

Friedrich Wilhelm von Dossow (also Doßow ; * December 17, 1669 in Soldin ; † March 28, 1758 at Gut Busekow ) was a Prussian field marshal .

Life

origin

Friedrich Wilhelm came from the old Pomeranian noble family von Dossow , which was wealthy near Stettin and was documented as early as 1330. In the 15th century two Dossow (also called Dossau and Dossen ) were mayors of Szczecin. One of the main holdings of the family was Cunow near Greifenhagen not far from Stettin (today Kunowo , Powiat Gryfiński ). He was the son of District Administrator Richard Thomas von Dossow and his wife, born von Horker .

Military career

Dossow received his education at the Joachimsthal School in Berlin and from 1680 at the Knight Academy in Kolberg . He then joined the regiment of Prince Alexander von Kurland in East Prussia in 1683 , which - reinforced with other Brandenburg auxiliary troops to form the Kurland regiment - was made available to the emperor by King Friedrich I during the War of the Spanish Succession .

Dossow took part in the battles against the Turks in Hungary and against the French on the Rhine. At the beginning of the campaign that Friedrich Wilhelm I undertook against Sweden in 1715 to conquer Pomerania , he was a major . As adjutant general of Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau , he took part in the conquest of the island of Rügen and the siege of Stralsund in the same year .

The old Dessauer estimated at Dossow particularly the ability to create new regiments and train, where he taught the strict dressage, which I characterize since Friedrich Wilhelm Prussian army was. Dossow fulfilled this task so well that the king repeatedly commissioned him to set up new regiments in various provinces and quickly promoted him to the higher ranks of officers. In 1728 Dossow became a colonel , in 1733 major general and initially in command, and then in 1736 deputy governor of Wesel . Frederick the Great , who visited the Duchy of Kleve immediately after taking office , appointed him lieutenant general and awarded him the order of Pour le Mérite .

Dossow did not take part in the two Silesian Wars because Friedrich did not want to give up his services in Wesel. Among other things, Dossow's job there was to protect the country against enemy attacks. In 1742 he was appointed real governor and received the Order of the Black Eagle , the highest order in Prussia. After the Battle of Hohenfriedberg , Friedrich appointed General of the Infantry Dossow on July 20, 1745 General Field Marshal and, as a special recognition of his services, awarded him a portrait set in diamonds after 1751 - medallion of the king on a blue ribbon, an award placed in the buttonhole on the left side of the chest was worn and, apart from Dossow, only Wilhelm Dietrich von Buddenbrock and Johann von Lehwaldt received.

At the beginning of the third Silesian or Seven Years War , Dossow asked for his farewell because of his advanced age - he was 87 years old - which he received in January 1757. He retired to his Busekow estate , where he died on March 28, 1758.

family

Dossow was married four times but had no children. His first wife was Anna von Wedel , his second wife Dorothea Auguste von der Goltz (born September 19, 1668, † around 1724). On February 22, 1724 he married Eva Christina Gans Edle von Putlitz (born November 11, 1707) in Spandau . His last wife became Christiane Dorothea von Hagen on September 13, 1745.

He was considered honorable and philanthropic. His special care was given to the soldiers' children, for whom he set up free schools with his own resources. Other lines of the Dossow family continued to flourish: a Colonel von Dossow († 1828) was the commander of the 3rd Dragoon Regiment and left behind some sons who were Prussian officers.

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Dossow, Friedrich Wilhelm von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Doßow, Friedrich Wilhelm von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian Field Marshal General, Governor of Wesel
DATE OF BIRTH December 17, 1669
PLACE OF BIRTH Soldin
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 1758
Place of death Good Busekow