Frederick of Bawyr

Friedrich von Bawyr (also: Bawir , Baur ) (* around 1600 at Caspersbroich Castle , Solingen-Ohligs ; † January 18, 1667 at Caspersbroich) from the noble family of the Lords of Buer was lieutenant general in the Elector of Brandenburg and was part of the Prussian general staff .

Origin and education

Friedrich's father was the councilor of the Duke von Berg , court master of the Palatinate-Neuburg for the Duchess and bailiff zu Windeck Christoph von Bawyr zu Caspersbroich (* 1561, † 1650); his mother his second wife Elisabeth von Hammerstein (documented 1594–1607). Friedrich first grew up in Düsseldorf , where he also went to school. From 1622 he attended the pedagogy and high school in Herborn , the most important educational institution of the Reformed in Europe at the time .

Fruitful society

In 1634, just a few years after his brother Johann Christoph von Bawyr , Friedrich joined the Fruitful Society , the largest literary group of the Baroque with 890 members . His nickname was Der Strenge and his coat of arms entry carries the motto Gute wortt vndt strict gericht besides | Much is fruitful, doing and living in everything. His plant was the Sinnau (w) .

Military career

As was customary for many later sons at the time of the Thirty Years War , Friedrich embarked on a military career:

First he was captain for the Dutch States General from 1632 to 1634 . He then switched to the side of the Swedish army. There he was a colonel at the beginning and later a colonel and led his own regiment, the Bawyr Regiment . This was involved in the unsuccessful siege of Freiberg in March 1639, in the course of which the regiment suffered heavy losses. The strongly decimated troop, which comprised only 300 men, was placed in garrison in Zwickau . By June 1639 the regiment was increased to 550 men by prisoners from the battle of Chemnitz .

Friedrich's one-year occupation of Zwickau until March 1640 played a strategic role in General Johan Banér's plans . Friedrich was supposed to set up magazines there and form a retreat for Banér, who was now operating in Bohemia . Friedrich proceeded ruthlessly against Zwickau and the local population. When Banér withdrew from Bohemia to Zwickau in March 1640 and opened the magazines to supply his troops, the Bawyr Regiment with its now 800 men was assigned to the troops in the Vogtland under Major General Arvid Wittenberg's command . In the vicinity of this withdrawal it was reported that Friedrich was taken out of town with a little displeasure . Allegedly he had to leave the city because of a number of crimes that were kept secret from the citizens of the city.

On the way to the Vogtland, the Swedish regiments were attacked on April 20, 1640 near Plauen by the imperial sergeant-general Johann Rudolf Freiherr von Bredau from the von Bredow family . The Bawyr regiment was pursued by the imperial army on its flight back to Zwickau , reached in Schönfels and defeated. Friedrich and the remaining parts of his regiment were taken prisoner.

When Friedrich left the Swedish service in 1641, he received an annual pension of 1,000 thalers and a gift of 4,000 thalers from the Swedish Queen Christine . Immediately afterwards he entered the Danish and Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf services as major general . Until 1643 he headed the Danish infantry regiment Rantzau with 10 companies, d. H. 3,000 men. He was stationed with the regiment in Fuhlsbüttel until March 1642 . During this period of stationing, in January 1642, Friedrich was raised to the baron status. Shortly afterwards he was sent to Poland by the Danes, as evidenced by a letter from the Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna from that time. In 1643 Friedrich gave his regiment to Colonel Paul von Sehestedt, from whose family Friedrich's second wife came.

In the Torstensson War, a Swedish-Danish war from 1643 to 1645, Friedrich went on the side of the Danes together with the Imperial against the Swedes. When the Imperialists were driven out of Holstein, he was accused of treason. Frederick was sentenced to death by a court martial in Rendsburg , but at the request of some influential people, he was pardoned by the Danish King Christian IV . Friedrich had to forego a claim of 24,000 thalers and pay an additional 1,000 thalers to the king. In addition, Friedrich's regiment was handed over to the Danish Major General Claus von Ahlefeldt in July 1645 . Friedrich then retired from military service for a while and married a second time.

After a few years at Caspersbroich Castle in his Bergisch homeland, Friedrich apparently became bored with family life. He wanted to return to the military. Elector Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg also found out about this , who was demonstrably concerned that if Friedrich were turned away by Brandenburg , he might work for the imperial or the New Burghers . In 1654 Friedrich was promoted to lieutenant general in the Electorate of Brandenburg , and in 1656 to the secret war council. He was also promised a cavalry regiment . Instead, however, Friedrich received the order in early 1657 to set up an infantry regiment with 10 companies in the county of Mark within 4 months . H. 1,000 men to advertise. The advertisements turned out to be difficult. By autumn 1657, Friedrich, who had meanwhile supervised the fortification work on the Kalkar Citadel, had only recruited 400 men. In July 1657 Friedrich had positioned his troops without authorization in the county of Limburg , whereupon Count Mauritz zu Bentheim Tecklenburg protested in writing. In September 1657 Friedrich resisted the order to let the troops march from Kleve-Mark. In October he was ordered to stop advertising and reduce the regiment. In December 1657 the regiment was finally disbanded and the troops used to reinforce the garrison in Hamm .

In the autumn of 1658, the Brandenburg campaign against the Swedes began in the Second Northern War . Friedrich, who had been appointed a real councilor in March 1658, was called to Berlin . In November 1658 he asked the Great Elector to be allowed back into the field. But it was not until March 1659 that Friedrich was appointed to the disposition of the governor of Prussia as his representative in war matters to monitor the military budget. A little later Frederick played an important role in the battles between the Poles and the Swedes. As Lieutenant General in Courland , he united with the Poles in mid-1659 and defeated the Swedish Major General Fabian von Aderkas , whom he also captured. In addition, he significantly supported the fortification of the city ​​of Pillau in East Prussia, which was awarded to the Elector in the Treaty of Labiau . So in May 1659 he carried out a muster of the companies of the regiment in Pillau and the fortress. However, Friedrich must have been comparatively rude with his surroundings. With the commandant of Pillau, Pierre de la Cave , he was in a heated argument in February 1659, because de la Cave did not want to obey Friedrich. And in November 1659, in the presence of the Lithuanian Prince Radziwill , Friedrich engaged in a fight with a Lieutenant General von Kalckstein , probably Albrecht von Kalckstein , and injured him. The outrage of the Prussian nobility was great and Radziwill said that Friedrich could no longer serve on site. In addition, Elector Friedrich Wilhelm should speak right about him. At that time Friedrich was counted on the Prussian General Staff.

Shortly afterwards, in July 1660, the army in Prussia was reduced. On March 29, 1661 Friedrich took his leave and returned to Caspersbroich, where he died a few years later.

possession

In 1648 Friedrich bought the Schlickum estate in Erkrath-Hochdahl . With the death of his father in 1650 he inherited the Caspersbroich Castle, the Kastein House and various other goods, some of which belonged to Caspersbroich.

family

Friedrich was married twice. In 1642 he married Martha Magdalene Westrowitz von Kralowitz (Czech: Vostrovec z Královic ) (* 1613, † 1645). From this marriage comes a son:

• Christian Friedrich von Bawyr zu Kastein (* around 1644, † 1674), bailiff at Landeck Castle in the Palatinate, bailiff at Klingenmünster as well as adjutant general and court cavalier to the Count Palatine Karl I. Ludwig , from 1670 married to Eleonore Elisabeth Charlotte Pawel (also: Paul) from Ramingen († 1719)

In 1646 Friedrich married a second time. From the marriage with Clarella von Sehestedt , daughter of Cai von Sehestedt zu Groß Nordsee and Lütkensee and his first wife Catharine Detlevsdatter von Ahlefeldt zu Haseldorf , there were at least 10 children, some of whom died early:

• Christoph, died as a child
• Friedrich Wolfgang Christoffel Freiherr von Bawyr zu Caspersbroich (* 1646–54, † 1685), from 1679 married to Maria Antonetta von Kortenbach zu Burg Wissem (documented 1679–1686)
• Johann Philip, died young
• Charlotta, died in childhood
• Magdalena (Hellenberg) Elisabeth von Bawyr, married to Friedrich Georg von Bönen
• Margaretha Clara von Bawyr († 1729), from 1690 married to Friedrich Anton von Mumm von Schwarzenstein († 1728), chief bailiff of the closed craftsmen of Solingen
• Louisa Elisabeth von Bawyr, from 1690 married to N. from Erlenkotten, Kötter from Allenkotten near Wuppertal
• Charlotte Sophia von Bawyr (* 1658, † 1740), from 1686 married to Johann Adam von Hücking zu Haus Bechhausen, Witzhelden († 1704)
• Maria Catharina von Bawyr (documented 1687–1683), married to Heinrich von Wedemann
• Anna Theodora von Bawyr (documented 1689–1690), married to Wilhelm David von Düngelen called Essen

Web links

• Bernd Warlich: Friedrich von Bauer , in: The Thirty Years War in personal reports, chronicles and reports at www.30jaehrigerkrieg.de.

literature

• Dietmar Ahlemann: The Lords of Buer - A West German Family History from the High Middle Ages to the 19th Century. In: West German Society for Family Studies eV (Ed.): Yearbook 2012, Volume 274, Cologne 2012, pages 213-300.
• Klaus Conermann, Günther Hoppe (ed.): The ore note opened to the fruitful society: The fruitful society's projects, names, paintings and words , 3 volumes, Weinheim 1985, page 285.
• George Adalbert von Mülverstedt : The Brandenburg military power under the Great Elector , Magdeburg 1888 ( digitized version of the ULB Düsseldorf )

Individual evidence

1. ^ Conermann / Hoppe (1985, Volume 3), p. 258.
2. ^ Conermann / Hoppe (1985, Volume 3), p. 258.
3. ↑ For the developments described below, compare: Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldatisches Führertum . Volume 1, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1937], DNB 367632764 , p. 14, no. 17; Mülverstedt (1888), page 51 f; FC Granzow, SB Thrige (ed.): Historisk Arkiv. Et Aanedsskrift for popular Skildringer af historiske Personer og Begivenbeder. Ellevte Bind, Kjobenhavn 1884, page 88 ff ( PDF, 22.6 MB in the Internet Archive ). Anton Balthasar König : Biographical lexicon of all heroes and military figures who made themselves famous in the Prussian service (military pantheon). 1st part, Berlin / Bonn 1788, page 109 ( Google books ), on the other hand, confused Friedrich with his relative Johann Friederich v. B. from the line Böckum, Frankenberg and Hohenholz. See Lords of Buer .
4. ↑ M. Schilling: On the history of the city of Zwickau during the Thirty Years' War 1639/1640. In: New archive for Saxon history and antiquity. Volume 9, Dresden 1888, pages 281 ff and 303 ff ( PDF, 23.2 MB in the Internet Archive ).
5. ↑ Schilling (1888), page 319 f.
6. ↑ Schilling (1888), pages 298 f and 320; R. von Rothenburg: Battles, sieges and skirmishes in Germany and the neighboring countries from 1618 to 1629. 3rd edition, Vienna 1835, page 614 f ( Google books ).
7. ^ Johann Heinrich Zedler (ed.): Large complete universal lexicon of all sciences and arts . Supplement third volume (Barc-Bod), Leipzig 1752, page 225.
8. ↑ Priesdorff (1937), page 14.
9. ^ Swedish Imperial Archives, Oxenstiernska samlingen, Axel Oxenstierna av Södermöre // E 708 B ( online ).
10. ↑ Zedler (1752), page 225 f; Conermann / Hoppe (1985, Volume 3), page 258.
11. ↑ Bernhard Erdmannsdörfer (Ed.): Political Negotiations 4th Vol. In: Documents and acts on the history of the Elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg. Volume 7, Berlin 1867, page 593.
12. ↑ OA: Historical political-geographic-statistical and military contributions concerning the royal-Prussian and neighboring states. 1st part, Berlin 1781, page 305 ( Google books ).
13. ^ Conermann / Hoppe (1985, Volume 3), page 258.
14. ↑ Priesdorff (1937), page 14.
15. ↑ DUWD (digital Westphalian documents file), a1062770 (Princely Archive Rheda, Limburg documents, no. 714) ( PDF, 0.7 MB ).
16. ↑ Mülverstedt (1888), page 52; Friedrich Freiherr von Schroetter: The Brandenburg-Prussian army constitution under the great elector . In: Political and social science research. Volume 11, Issue 5, Leipzig 1892, page 115.
17. ↑ Mülverstedt (1888), page 51 f, Priesdorff (1937), page 15, Conermann / Hoppe (1985, volume 3), page 258.
18. ↑ Mülverstedt (1888), page 52.
19. ↑ Jakob Christoph Iselin : Newly increased historical and geographic general lexicon. Third part, Basel 1742, page 176 ( Google books ).
20. ^ Leopold von Zedlitz-Neukirch : New Prussian Adels Lexicon . Leipzig 1836, page 188 ( Google books ).
21. ^ Roessel (edit.): History of the Grenadier Regiment King Friedrich II (3rd East Prussian) No. 4. Volume 1 (1626–1690), Berlin 1901, page 450 ff.
22. ↑ Schroetter (1892), page 115.
23. ↑ König (1791), page 338.
24. ↑ Mülverstedt (1888), pages 52 and 542.
25. ↑ Mülverstedt (1888), page 52, Conermann / Hoppe (1985, Volume 3), page 258.
26. ↑ LAV NRW, Dept. Rhineland, RW 1262 74, page 32.
27. ^ Heinrich Strangmeier : Sources of population history and settlement history of Hilden and the surrounding area - II. Collection: From four centuries . In: Niederbergische contributions. Volume 26, Hilden 1972, page 325.
28. ↑ BSB Manuscript Cgm 2213, Volume 67, page 63; Kastner, Dieter (edit.): The documents of the city archive of Erkelenz: Regesten . In: Landschaftsverband Rheinland - Inventories of non-state archives, Volume 40, Brauweiler 2001, page 152
29. ^ Website with the family coat of arms .
30. ↑ BSB Manuscript Cgm 2213, Volume 67, page 65; Arnold Robens: The knight-born rural nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine, represented in coats of arms and lineages. Volume 1, Aachen 1818, page 34. Anton Fahne: The sex Mumm or Momm - A contribution to the country's culture and morals history . In: Chronicles and document books of outstanding families, donors and monasteries. Volume 3. Düsseldorf 1880, page 382 ( digitized version of the ULB Düsseldorf) names Clarelie von Retraidt as the wife . This is probably a transcription error, especially since Friedrich does not appear as Friedrich , but as Ferdinand .
31. ↑ See Haus Bechhausen on www.witzhelden-web.de.