Jacob of Washington

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Jakob Freiherr von Washington

Jakob Freiherr von Washington (* 1778 presumably in The Hague ; † April 5, 1848 in Notzing ), also called Jacobus or in English James , was a lieutenant general in the Bavarian army of Dutch origin. He was a very distant relative of the first US President, George Washington .

biography

origin

Jakob Washington was a fifth generation descendant of the Rotterdam branch of the Washington family, from which a number of important officers in the Dutch armed forces emerged. Their family history goes back to England in the 12th century. Sir Robert Washington († 1324) was the ancestor of the so-called Sulgrave Manor branch of the family. A descendant of this branch, John Washington (around 1631–1677), emigrated to Virginia in 1657 and was the great-grandfather of George Washington. Sir Robert's brother was Sir John Washington († 1331), who founded the Hallhead-Hall / Adwick-le-Street family. Descendants of this branch emigrated to Holland around the same time and became the ancestors of Jacob Washington.

Military career

Coat of arms of the Washington family on the grave in Notzing, Bavaria

In the First Coalition War , Washington fought against the French revolutionary armies and in 1799 offered George Washington his services in the quasi-war between the USA and France, but the latter refused. Jakob Washington then emigrated to Bavaria via Paris and joined the army there. The then Crown Prince Ludwig became aware of him and made him his adjutant . Washington accompanied the crown prince in 1807 to the negotiations for the peace of Tilsit , where Napoleon and the Russian tsar agreed on the partition of Europe. Washington was promoted to colonel and appointed court marshal in the following years . At the Congress of Vienna he was again part of the Crown Prince's entourage. After Napoleon returned from Elba in 1815 , Washington signed a treaty with the British on June 7, 1815 in Brussels, assuring them that they would support the Bavarian armed forces. However, he was the only Bavarian in the battle of Waterloo , as the Bavarian troops were at Saarbrücken at that time and only marched into France after the final fall of Napoleon.

Due to his services, Major General Washington was raised to baron on December 8, 1829 . Ludwig I appointed him adjutant general as well as lieutenant general and royal chamberlain.

Washington received numerous awards, in 1843 he was made Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath by Queen Victoria during a trip to England .

family

Grave of the Washington family near St. Nicholas in Notzing

Washington's first wife was Antonie Freiin von Verger , widowed Baroness Lochner von Hüttenbach (1788–1831). Together they had the son Maximilian Emanuel of Washington . After her death in 1833 he married Caroline Freiin Segesser von Brunegg (1801–1841). Through them he received the Notzing Castle near Erding (today in the municipality of Oberding ). From this marriage Carl Theodor von Washington emerged.

Jakob Washington looked with pride on his relatives to the first US president: he adopted the family motto Exitus acta probat (Latin: “The result approves the deed”), and several portraits of the president hung in his castle. Yet he was a loyal subject to his monarch. He died 16 days after his abdication. He rests with his wife Caroline and a son Carl in the village church of Notzing . Next to the entrance there is a memorial stone with the stars and bars of the family crest: three red stars and two red bars on a silver background, which can also be found in the flag of the District of Columbia .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 237.
personal data
SURNAME Washington, Jacob von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Washington, Jakob Freiherr von; Washington, Jacobus von; Washington, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch-Bavarian lieutenant general
DATE OF BIRTH 1778
PLACE OF BIRTH uncertain: The Hague
DATE OF DEATH April 5, 1848
Place of death Notzing