Georg von Falck

Georg Abraham Karl Freiherr von Falck (also: Falk ) (* July 1, 1786 in Kleve ; † February 24, 1836 in Darmstadt ) was a Grand Ducal Hessian officer and Minister of War .

origin

He comes from the baronial von Falck family. The family came to East Friesland from Münsterland and first called themselves "Valke". She received the needle through Edzard Valke of Oberstallmeister Charles V was. His parents were the Hesse-Darmstadt chamberlain, Baron Ludwig Karl (Louis) von Falck and his wife Maria Agneta Helene Alewyn.

Life

Georg von Falck, who was of Protestant denomination, entered the Hesse-Darmstadt military service in 1803 and became second lieutenant in the Chevaulegers regiment . In 1806 he was appointed Premier Lieutenant and came as an adjutant to Lieutenant General von Werner. After the Fourth Coalition War , Hessen-Darmstadt joined the Rhine Confederation and thus switched to the side of Emperor Napoleon . On July 30, 1807, Falck became captain and wing adjutant, and the elector is already using him for important courier services. He rose to major in the cavalry in 1809 and accompanied Prince Emil in the Fifth Coalition War . He did not have to go on Napoleon's Russian campaign in 1812 , but was promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 1 of that year. The following year, on July 1, 1813, he became a colonel and adjutant general, and during this time he was also repeatedly on missions for the elector.

He was appointed major general in August 1821 and was Grand Ducal Hessian War Minister from July 1821 to 1836 , 1821-1823 with the title of Director and 1823 to 1836 that of President of the War Ministry.

August 29, 1829 to 1836 he was a member of the 1st Chamber of the Estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse . On January 1, 1830 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Ludwig and on April 11, 1830 was promoted to lieutenant general. In addition, he received the Military Service Medal of Honor on December 26, 1833.

medal

• Commander's Cross of the Kurhessian Golden Lion Order
• Knight's Cross of the Royal Württemberg Order of Frederick
• French Order of the Legion of Honor
• Order of Malta

Acting as Minister of War

He had the fullest confidence of the Grand Duke and his successor and was able to implement numerous reforms. A military commission was set up as early as 1820, chaired by Prince Emil. In addition, in July 1821 the Oberkriegskolleg and General Adjutantur were merged to form the War Ministry Department (later War Ministry). After the reorganization of the administration he set about reorganizing the corps and regiments in order to adapt them to the new weapons. In accordance with the resolutions of the Federal Army, the riding artillery was introduced and the service regulations were also revised. Work on new military legislation had been in progress since 1819, which was introduced in 1822 and reformed the entire military justice system. In 1821 a law on recruitment was passed, but it was revised again in 1830. In 1824, the War Ministry's rules of procedure and service were restructured. The regulations for the medical service and the disability care were revised. There were service regulations for the military penal institution in Babenhausen, as well as uniform curricula for the military schools, whereby he insisted on dropping by in class. The military academy in Darmstadt was equipped with a library and additional teaching equipment. In 1829 the economic department was revised, so the food and uniforms of the soldiers were improved and the hospitals were also adapted to the requirements. Military accounting was decentralized; the corps and regiments could now pay monthly bills, which greatly accelerated processing. The z. Barracks, some of which were in disrepair, were renovated or renewed, and the double bunk beds for the crews were abolished and they were given single beds.

In terms of weapons, it was particularly effective in artillery. In addition to new barracks, new gun mounts and ammunition wagons were purchased, and a gunsmith's workshop and artillery workshops were newly established. The widow's and orphan's fund and the disability fund were also placed on a solid basis.

family

On July 31, 1828, he married Freiin Wilhelmine Maria Natalie von Günderrode (1807–1890), the daughter of the Higher Appeal Court Baron Friedrich Justinian von Günderrode and Luise Henriette Caroline von Kettelhodt. The widow married the Prussian Major General Joachim August Wilhelm vom Bernstorff (1800–1869) in 1844 .

literature

• Eckhart G. Franz : Hessen-Darmstadt 1820–1935. In: Klaus Schwabe (Ed.): The governments of the German medium and small states. 1815–1933 (= German leadership classes in modern times. Volume 14 = Büdinger research on social history. Volume 18). Boldt, Boppard am Rhein 1983, ISBN 3-7646-1830-2 , p. 297.
• Jochen Lengemann : MdL Hessen. 1808-1996. Biographical index (= political and parliamentary history of the state of Hesse. Vol. 14 = publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse. Vol. 48, 7). Elwert, Marburg 1996, ISBN 3-7708-1071-6 , p. 125, partly available online *
• Falck, Georg Abraham Karl Freiherr von. Hessian biography (as of July 18, 2017). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on February 2, 2019 . 
• New German necrology for the year 1836, part 2, p.179ff
• Ernst Heinrich Kneschke, The coats of arms of the German baronial and noble families in an exact, complete and generally understandable description , p.119

Web links

• Falck, Georg Abraham Karl Freiherr von. Hessian biography. (As of February 24, 2020). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gudrun Anne Dekker, Ubbo Emmius: Life, Environment, Estate and Present , p.109 FN267
2. ↑ Genealogical pocket book of the knights and Aristocratic families 1878. Third year p.17