Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué

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Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué painted by Antoine Pesne around 1738
Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué

Ernst Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué (born February 4, 1698 in The Hague ; † May 3, 1774 in Brandenburg an der Havel ) was a Prussian general .

Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué came from an old Norman family; he was the second son of a nobleman who emigrated from France after the edict of Nantes was repealed . His father was Karl de la Motte-Fouque. He owned large estates and was Baron de la Motte, Saint-Seurin-d'Uzet, Tonnay-Boutonne and La Grève. In Haag he married Susanne de Robillard, daughter of Josias de Robillard, a knight from Champagne and Maria de Rochefaucault des Touches. His eldest brother Heinrich Karl (* 1696; † June 21, 1742 in Eisleben) went to the Electoral Saxon service and died as a lieutenant colonel. The younger brother Heinrich Karl was in command of Fort Prussia.

Life

In 1706 Fouqué came to the court of Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau as a page . As an ensign of Halle's "Regiment Anhalt-Dessau on foot" he took part in the Prussian campaign in Western Pomerania. On March 8, 1719, he was promoted to Premier Lieutenant. In 1723 Fouqué became staff captain. On November 3, 1728, he had already received the Order De la Générosité . On February 21, 1729 company commander, succeeding Jonathan Friedrich von Finck .

Frederick the Great already placed his trust in him as Crown Prince and was in contact with him during his imprisonment in Küstrin . Fouqué was also a frequent guest in Rheinsberg. A falling out with his boss, Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau, caused Fouqué to leave the Prussian service and go into Danish service. But when Frederick II had ascended the throne of Prussia in 1740, he called Fouqué back and on July 26, 1740 appointed him colonel and commander of the newly established "Fusilier Regiment Dohna-Schlodien" . In addition, he was still governor of Granzow and Loeckenitz, and also received the Pour le Mérite .

In 1742 Fouqué commanded a grenadier battalion and was appointed commandant of Glatz . On May 13, 1743 he was promoted to major general , a year later Fouqué took over as chief of the now vacant “Regiment Bredow on foot” . Frederick the Great appointed him lieutenant general on January 22, 1751 . In the same year Fouqué was also awarded the Order of the Black Eagle .

In the Seven Years' War Fouqué distinguished himself in particular at Prague , at Landeshut , after the Battle of Leuthen and at Habelschwerdt . In 1759 the king commissioned him to cover Silesia and the important Landeshut pass, which Fouqué mastered despite his numerically inferior forces. In 1760, Laudon operated operations to force the Prussians to vacate their strong positions. Later, however, Fouqué had to occupy it again on the order of the king, contrary to his belief.

On June 23, he was attacked in the Battle of Landeshut by a three-fold superior force of the Austrians and overpowered after strong resistance. After being wounded, Fouqué was taken prisoner together with Paul von Gonzenbach .

After the war, Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué did not return to active service. Frederick the Great gave him a preamble as provost of the cathedral in Brandenburg, where Fouqué lived until his death on May 3, 1774. Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué was buried in the Johanniskirche in Brandenburg an der Havel. The grave site and the epitaph were lost as a result of the partial destruction of the church in the Second World War.

His life was described in detail by his grandson, the writer Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué .

family

in 1733 he married Elisabeth Madeleine Mason in Halle (* May 18, 1696; † April 3, 1753). A relationship had existed since 1722, but he did not receive royal permission until 1733. The couple had 5 sons, 3 of whom died early, and 3 daughters, 2 of whom died early. It survived:

  • Heinrich August Karl (1727–1798), Prussian lieutenant, Canon of Brandenburg and Halberstadt ⚭ Marie Luise von Schlegell (* April 14, 1740 - November 28, 1788), parents of Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué
  • Henriette Augustine Wilhelmine (* July 30, 1729; † April 1790) ⚭ Colonel Christoph Wilhelm von Nimschewski (* 1718; † October 10, 1764)
  • Heinrich August Friedrich Louis (* February 14, 1731; † 1792), captain in the fusilier regiment No. 33 ⚭ 1774 Henriette Luise Margarethe Sophie von Knobelsdorff from the Oblath family, daughter of Wilhelm Gottlob von Knobelsdorff and Fredricke Gärtner von Grüneck, the widow married afterwards Heinrich XXXIX. von Reuss-Köstritz (born January 24, 1750 - † February 17, 1815)

literature

Web links

Commons : Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Continued new genealogical-historical news. Volume 75, 1774, p. 154, digitized
  2. ^ Walter Gonzenbach: Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué and Paul von Gonzenbach. Thurgauer Jahrbuch, Vol. 44, 1969, pp. 71-77, accessed on March 24, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME La Motte Fouqué, Heinrich August de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES La Motte Fouqué, Ernst Heinrich August de (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian general
DATE OF BIRTH February 4, 1698
PLACE OF BIRTH The hague
DATE OF DEATH May 3, 1774
Place of death Brandenburg on the Havel