Georg Konrad von der Goltz

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Georg Konrad von der Goltz on the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great under the lime trees together with von Wartenberg
Kuttlau manor around 1860, Alexander Duncker collection

Georg Konrad Freiherr von der Goltz (born October 4, 1704 in Parsow , † August 4, 1747 in Berlin ) was a Prussian major general , chief of the Gensdarmes and general war commissioner . Also governor of Cottbus , Peitz and Aschersleben , knight of the Order of St. John and designated Komthur von Lagow and hereditary lord of Kuttlau, Neukrantz and Mellentin.

Life

origin

Georg Konrad was the son of the Polish Rittmeister Henning Bernhard Freiherr von der Goltz (* June 24, 1681 in Latzig; † March 24, 1734 in Heinrichsdorf ) and his wife Elisabeth Katharina von Heydebreck from the Parsow family (* August 3, 1685; † December 14, 1768 in Berlin). His father was the heir to Heinrichsdorf, Reppow, Blumenwerder, Langhoff, Latzig, Winckelberg and Boosdorf. His brothers Karl Christoph and Balthasar Friedrich also embarked on a military career and both made it to lieutenant general in the Prussian army .

Career

Goltz studied with the Jesuits in Thorn and at the University of Halle . His uncle, the Polish minister von Manteufel , brought him into the service of the Saxon-Polish king August II in 1725. In 1727 he was a legation counselor and sent to France with Count Hoym , where he stayed for two years. Goltz then returned to Saxony, where he was appointed real legation councilor and chamberlain . When his uncle fell victim to the intrigues at court, Goltz took his leave and switched to the Prussian Army.

On October 22, 1729 he received a company in the Dragoon Regiment "von der Schulenburg" . In 1733 Goltz was entrusted with diplomatic assignments by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I. After the death of King August II, he was sent to Warsaw to report on the party going on about the election of his successor. In 1734 he was part of the Rhine campaign. The following year Goltz became a lieutenant colonel in the "von Moellendorff" dragoon regiment . In 1740 he was brought to Berlin by the new King Friedrich II . He was on his way to Gotha and Eisenach in August ; from there he brought the 40th Infantry Regiment with him.

In the First Silesian War it was Goltz who negotiated the conditions for the surrender of Breslau. On March 7, 1741, he was sent by the King of Schweidnitz to the corps of Prince Leopold of Dessau . He carried the plans to storm the Glogau fortress with him. The attack took place on March 8, 1741, together with the Margrave Karl he was the first officer on the ramparts. With a grenadier company he penetrated the market, disarmed the main guard and occupied the house of the Austrian governor General Graf von Wallis , where he took him prisoner. For this act he received the order Pour le Mérite and the Gut Kuttlau. Then he hurried with fourteen squadrons to the royal army near Mollwitz, but did not arrive until after the battle and was given the task of pursuing the enemy. On May 17, 1741 Goltz was appointed colonel and received the primas preces for a canon position in Magdeburg. Then he found himself at the siege of Brieg , where he was responsible for the provisions of the army, and in 1742 followed the king's army to Bohemia. There he fought in the battle of Chotusitz (Czaslau) and the siege of Prague. On May 25, 1743 he became major general and chief of the Gensdarmes.

On June 4, 1745 Goltz led a brigade of cavalry on the right wing in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg . He fought bravely and was able to personally capture the Saxon major general von Schlichting. He then negotiated a prisoner exchange with General Harsch, which took place on June 29th. In return, the king made him general commissioner of the army and on June 27, 1745 he was also the governor of Cottbus and Peitz .

In the battle of Soor on September 30, 1745 Goltz led a cavalry brigade on Gensdarmes and the Buddenbrock regiment in the first attack. He drove 50 imperial squadrons from an important hill, so that the way to the enemy main battery was free. After that he turned to the left wing, which decided the battle. After the fighting, the unit went back to the winter quarters. The Imperialists now tried to penetrate the Kurmark , and Goltz was sent to meet them. In November 1745 he and his brigade met four Saxon cavalry regiments near Katholisch-Hennersdorf , which were defeated. In December he was sent to Stolpe to prevent the imperial from intervening there during the battle of Kesselsdorf .

After the peace he had numerous storage facilities built to counteract the threatening grain shortage. In addition, Goltz organized the establishment of the newly founded Invalidenhaus in Berlin. As a war commissioner, he introduced new bread wagons and ovens, but also ships. All of this drained his health, so that he became seriously ill and died on August 4, 1747. The king visited him during his illness, and when he died he ordered the officers of the regiment to wear a black ribbon on their arms. In addition, the king dedicated an éloge to him .

Since January 31, 1744, Goltz was also an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin . He was depicted in 1851 as a full-length statue on the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great .

family

Goltz was married to Charlotte Wilhelmine von Grävenitz (born May 19, 1720, † June 11, 1771 in Berlin) since February 4, 1734 . She was the niece and adopted daughter of Wilhelmine Countess von Würben-Grävenitz , or daughter of the Württemberg general Karl Ludwig von Graevenitz (* February 4, 1688, † November 2, 1733). The following children were born from the marriage:

  • Wilhelm Bernhard (1736–1795), Prussian envoy in St. Petersburg, later in Versailles ⚭ Cornelia Jacobine von Steengracht
  • Louise Charlotte (1738–1759) ⚭ March 6, 1756 Ludwig Philipp vom Hagen
  • Auguste Christine (1739–1764) ⚭ Friedrich Wilhelm Arnold von Beeren
  • Karl Franz (1740–1804), Prussian Minister of War ⚭ Henriette Wilhelmine Baermann (* July 24, 1756; † July 10, 1818)
  • Henriette Elisabeth (1742–1811) ⚭ Hans Christoph von Bardeleben (1722–1792)
  • Leopold Heinrich (born March 19, 1745 in Berlin; † June 15, 1816 in Berlin), Prussian lieutenant general and envoy ⚭ Eleonore Juliane von Maltzahn (born February 12, 1767; † January 15, 1798)
  • Georg Conrad (1747–?) (Born shortly after the father's death)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ AdW Berlin
  2. ↑ She was buried in the garrison cemetery ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.garnisonfriedhof-berlin.de
  3. ^ M. Gottlieb Schumann's genealogical handbook. 1758, p. 80. Digitized , family tree Grävenitz
  4. ^ Journal of the Historical Association for the Reg.-District Marienwerder , Issue 1, p. 101
  5. ↑ Honorary grave in Luisen-Friedhof II, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
personal data
SURNAME Goltz, Georg Konrad from the
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian major general, general war commissioner, governor of Cottbus, Peitz and Aschersleben
DATE OF BIRTH October 4, 1704
PLACE OF BIRTH Parsov
DATE OF DEATH 4th August 1747
Place of death Berlin