Georg Ernest von Melvill

Georg Ernest von Melvill (born November 8, 1668 in Celle ; † January 4, 1742 ibid) was a Brunswick-Lüneburg infantry general .

Georg Ernest von Melvill

Life

Melvill came from an old Scottish noble family. His father was the officer Andrew Melvill , born in Scotland in 1624 , town commander of Celle, major general and Drost zu Gifhorn . In 1676 he came to Saumur for training . After his return to Germany in 1678 he became a page at the court of Duke Georg Wilhelm von Braunschweig-Lüneburg . In 1680 he accompanied the Hanoverian prince and later King Georg Ludwig to England together with his father . From 1681 to 1683 he was again a page at the Celler Hof. In 1683 he stayed in The Hague for training in riding, fencing and knightly exercises .

Melvill joined the La Motte infantry regiment in Celle as a soldier in 1685. He took part in the Turkish campaign and fought at Neuhäusel Fortress and in the Battle of Gran. After another stay in The Hague, he came to Hamburg in 1686 to protect the city against the Danes . In 1687 he fought in Hungary, among other things, in the battle of Mohács . In 1689 he was at war against France (sieges of Mainz and Bonn). In 1694 he became a staff officer in the Infantry Regiment de Luc, with whom he took part in all campaigns up to the Peace of Rijswijk in 1697. In 1701 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and regimental commander. In 1705 he became a colonel.

From 1728 Melvill was lieutenant general and governor of Hameln Fortress . In 1733 he became the commander of the Hanover residence, and in 1735 general of the infantry. In 1740 he said goodbye for health reasons.

Georg Ernest Melvill was enfeoffed with the Habighorst estate as early as 1702 . In 1722 he became the elder of the French Reformed community in Celle. He found his final resting place in the inheritance funeral set up at his request in the Johannes Church in Eschede . An epitaph is there on the south side of the choir room. A portrait (oil on canvas) was acquired in 2004 for the Residence Museum in Celle Castle .

literature

• Andreas Flick: "Finally heaven" - The Melvill epitaph in the St. John's Church . In: 300 years of Johanniskirche 1713–2013. Contributions to the history of the parish of Eschede. Eschede 2013, pp. 44–59