Heinrich Christian Michael von Stengel
Heinrich Christian Michael von Stengel (born May 11, 1744 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse , † April 28, 1796 in the Battle of Mondovi , Italy) was a French general of German origin valued by Napoleon Bonaparte .
Life
Heinrich Christian Michael von Stengel was born as the son of the Electoral Palatinate Landschreiber Paul Heinrich Joseph Xaver von Stengel and his wife Maria Anna. Fischer was born in Neustadt an der Haardt (today Neustadt an der Weinstrasse ). Both parents died early (1747 and 1754 respectively) and the boy joined the Palatinate army in his homeland in 1758, at the age of 14 . His grandmother died in the year he entered service, and in 1759 his grandfather, Franz Joseph Anton Stengel , who, as a real secret councilor and vice chancellor of the Order of Hubert, held a prestigious court position in Mannheim .
In 1760 he changed to the rank of Sous-lieutenant (which he had already acquired in the Electoral Palatinate Army) in the royal French Régiment d'Alsace and on May 1, 1765 became a lieutenant in the Chamborant Hussars ( 2 e régiment de hussards ). On May 11, 1769, Stengel was promoted to Capitaine-Commandant ( captain ) and took over the supply company of his regiment on January 10, 1779. On September 9, 1783 he was transferred to the Régiment Colonel-Général hussards as captain-commandant . On November 9, 1785 he was awarded the Order of a Chevalier de l 'Ordre de Saint-Michel . On May 20, 1788, he was promoted to Chef d'escadron . On June 15 of the same year he received the position of major (regiment administrator) in the Régiment de Chamborant Hussards; there he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on July 25, 1791 . On April 13, 1792, Stengel was appointed commander of the Lorraine Dragons Regiment with the rank of Colonel . On 16 May 1792, he was finally Colonel of the one he régiment de hussards .
His promotion to the Maréchal de camp took place on September 13, 1792 while he was serving in the Armée du Nord . Here he distinguished himself in the cannonade at Valmy under General Charles Dumouriez , where he commanded the 2nd Brigade of the right division .
At the end of the year he successfully commanded the French troops near Mechelen and Voroux-lez-Liers, in the Austrian Netherlands , but was defeated by the Austrians with his troop contingent near Aldenhoven in March 1793 and was consequently ousted from Aachen . Because of this defeat, the general was arrested and brought before a revolutionary tribunal . Stengel was suspended and went during the tyranny of Robespierre in the preliminary retirement. When the situation among the Thermidorians and the board of directors began to normalize again, the officer was reactivated and he was reinstated in his rank on March 1, 1795. On June 13, he was promoted to Général de division and he then commanded the cavalry of the French Italian Army as commander .
During the conquest of Lesegno castle and municipality and in the battle of Mondovi in 1796, General Stengel had performed so well that Napoleon remembered it years later on St. Helena . The exiled emperor gave the following account of general war events and in relation to the general:
“ The army went over the Tanaro . For the first time we were completely on the plane, and from now on the cavalry could be of some use to us. General Stengel, who commanded it, crossed the Cursaglia at Lezegno and crossed the plain. The French general Serrurier advanced on the 22nd over the bridge of Torre and withdrew to Mondovi. Colli had already made a few redoubts there and formally made a statement. On the same day Serrurier took the redoubt from the Bieoque and decided the fate of the battle, which has been given the name of the Battle of Mondovi. General Stengel was about a thousand men too far away on the plain and was attacked by the Piedmontese, who were twice as strong as himself. He made every effort that could only be expected of a consummate general and was just about to retreat from his reinforcements when he was fatally stabbed in an attack. General Stengel, an Alsatian, was an excellent hussar officer; he had served in the northern campaigns under Dumourier, was agile, intelligent, and quick; he united the qualities of a young man with those of old age; he was a true outpost general. Two or three days before his death, he had been the first to enter Lezegno. A few hours after him, the French chief general arrived there and everything one had to wish for was already there. The bottlenecks, the Furthen, had already been investigated, carts ordered, the pastor and postmaster interrogated, agreements made with the residents, spies had been sent in various directions; seized the letters in the mail and translated and explained those from which useful news could be obtained; every measure had even been taken to store food stores for the refreshment of the troops. Unfortunately, Stengel had a short face, which is a major mistake in the soldier's trade; this unfortunate circumstance caused his death. "
General Stengel was fatally stabbed in the battle of Mondovì on April 22, 1796, from which he died on April 28 in the hospital of Carassone (now part of Mondovì); his arm had previously been amputated. He was buried there in the church of San Giovanni in Lupazzanio on the epistle side of the altar, i.e. to the right of it. Napoleon sent his family a personal letter of condolence from Piacenza , dated May 8, 1796. In it he writes: “I had an unbreakable attachment to him dedicated; I therefore particularly feel a lively pain about the event which fills you with sadness. "
Others
Maria Anna Fischer (1716–1747) from Erbes-Büdesheim , the general's mother, who died early, is buried in the Catholic part of the collegiate church (Neustadt an der Weinstrasse) and her magnificent epitaph with the coat of arms of the Fischer and Stengel families is to the left of the Sacristy door.
The father Paul Heinrich Joseph von Stengel (1717–1754) rests in the parish church of St. Sebastian in Mannheim , where his name is noted on the epitaph of his parents created by Franz Conrad Linck . Heinrich Christian Michael von Stengel is listed on it as one of the donors of the grave monument.
For the family, see also: The Lords of Stengel
literature
- Friedrich Jakob Dochnahl : "Chronicle of Neustadt ad Haardt", 1867, page 236; Scan of the page from Dochnahl's chronicle
- Gustav Joseph Fiebeger: "The campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte of 1796-1797", US Military academy printing office, 1911, page 18 and in other places scans from the source
- Heinrich Kurz: "Selected Correspondenz Napoleon I", 1868 scans from the source
- Emmanuel Augustin Dieudonné de Las Cases : "Memories of Sanct-Helena", Volume 2, Cotta 1823, pages 183-185
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ On the position of the grandfather at the court in Mannheim.
- ↑ Battles of the French Army, with a note from General Stengel as commanding officer at Mechelen / Malines, on November 17, 1792.
- ↑ A promotion to the Général de brigade was omitted here because the Maréchal de camp had meanwhile been renamed.
- ^ Photo of Lesegno Castle and Municipality.
- ↑ Emperor Napoleon's statement on the war in Italy and on General Stengel.
- ↑ Mario Bussoni: “Napoleone in Italia. I luoghi delle campagne militari ” , 2009, p. 45, ISBN 8862610718 .
- ^ Letter of condolence from Napoleon Bonaparte to General Stengel's family.
- ^ Silke Burkhardt: Famous grave monuments in the Neustadt collegiate church, pages 24–27, Historischer Verein Neustadt, 1984
- ↑ Source on the father's grave in Mannheim
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stengel, Heinrich Christian Michael von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stengel, Heinrich Christian Michael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French general of German origin |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 11, 1744 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Neustadt an der Weinstrasse |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 28, 1796 |
| Place of death | Mondovì |