Friedrich Wilhelm von Kleist (Colonel)

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Friedrich Wilhelm Franz Philipp Christian von Kleist (* 1752 in Burg near Magdeburg ; † 1822 in Halle (Saale) ) was a Prussian colonel and knight of the order Pour le Mérite .

Life

origin

He came from the noble Pomeranian noble family von Kleist , which provided the Prussian crown with numerous officers and administrative officials, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. He was the son of the Prussian captain Hans Bernd von Kleist (1716–1755) and the Philippine Catherine von der Hagen . At an early age he came to the court of Frederick II as a page , where he made friends with the young Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who later became King Friedrich Wilhelm II .

Military background

Following the family tradition, he wanted to become a professional officer and joined the “von Saldern” regiment as a so-called free corporal . He was on 16 June 1770 Ensign , on 14 June 1776 to second lieutenant and on June 30, 1787 First Lieutenant appointed. Only a month later he was promoted to captain . At the same time, Friedrich Wilhelm II gave him the position of adjutant to the Prussian field marshal Duke of Braunschweig , whom he accompanied as adjutant, later as adjutant general , until he was fatally wounded in the battle of Auerstedt . In this position he also took part in the short campaign against Holland in 1787. For this campaign he was awarded the order Pour le Mérite by the king in October 1787. The award of the order is related to the fighting at Amstelveen; the Crown Prince congratulates him on the award in a letter dated December 12, 1787 "... for his good behavior ..."

On October 18, 1790, he was promoted to major . In the years 1791/92 he was sent on a political mission to The Hague , where he obviously proved himself, because "... for his diplomatic achievements ..." he was honored by the government of the States General with the "Great Golden Merit Medal". On August 14, 1798 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and on June 17, 1800 to colonel, leaving his position as adjutant general to the Duke of Braunschweig, whose companion and advisor in the duke's political missions he remained. With the favor of King Friedrich Wilhelm III. he received the assurance of a property in the new province of South Prussia acquired by Prussia through the Third Partition of Poland . Since this assurance could not be kept, the king compensated Kleist with a preamble from the St. Nicolai monastery in Magdeburg .

In the Battle of Auerstedt in 1806 the Prussian commander in chief, the Duke of Braunschweig, was seriously wounded and shot blind. Kleist succeeded in pulling him out of the battle line and bringing him to his residence city of Braunschweig . Soon afterwards, depressed by the Prussian defeat, on January 23, 1807, he asked for his departure, which the king approved. From then on he lived as a civilian until his death on July 16, 1822 in Halle an der Saale.

family

Kleist was married to the middle-class merchant widow Johanne Marie Haase. Because of this marriage there were initially problems because King Friedrich II had refused him the requested marriage permit in a letter dated July 8, 1780. Kleist persisted and repeated his request. The king now demanded the consent of Kleist's commander, Lieutenant General von Saldern , and after his approval approved the marriage, which took place in Magdeburg on December 19, 1780. His daughter, Friederike Wilhelmine (March 2, 1789 - December 16, 1874) married Friedrich Meckel , professor of anatomy in Halle , in 1809 .

literature

  • H. Kypke: The history of the Kleist family. Volume III, Berlin 1886, pp. 356-358.
  • Gustav Lehmann: The knights of the order pour le merite. Volume 1: Awards under King Friedrich Wilhelm II. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1913, p. 187.
  • Friedrich Wilhelm von Kleist: Diary of the Prussian campaign in Holland. 1787. Digitized

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ H. Kypke: The history of the line of Kleist. Volume III, Berlin 1886, p. 343.
  2. ↑ a b c d e H. Kypke: The story of the Kleist family. Volume III, Berlin 1886, pp. 356-358.
  3. ^ Gustav Lehmann: The knights of the order pour le merite. Volume 1, awards under King Friedrich Wilhelm II. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1913, p. 187.
  4. ^ The Prussian campaign in Holland 1787, Th. Frhr. v. Troschke, Berlin 1875, p. 88.
personal data
SURNAME Kleist, Friedrich Wilhelm von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kleist, Friedrich Wilhelm Franz Philipp Christian von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian colonel and knight of the order Pour le Mérite
DATE OF BIRTH 1752
PLACE OF BIRTH Castle near Magdeburg
DATE OF DEATH 1822
Place of death Halle (Saale)