Johann Georg von Schäffer-Bernstein
Johann Georg von Schäffer-Bernstein (born May 31, 1757 in Rotenburg an der Fulda , † September 7, 1838 in Worms ) was a lieutenant general in Hesse-Darmstadt . Among other things, he commanded the troops that occupied the Duchy of Westphalia in 1802 .
Origin and family
He was the son of the master butcher Johannes Thomas Schäffer in Rotenburg. In 1787 he married Karoline von Mansbach (1757-1810), whose mother came from the von Bernstein family, which had died out in the male line . In the same year, Johann Georg Schäffer was ennobled with the title of Schäffer von Bernstein by imperial decree due to his military merits . As a widower, he married Marie Therese Harbert from Arnsberg for the second time. In 1819 the elevation to the Hessian baron took place. The later Grand Ducal Hessian War Minister Friedrich von Schäffer-Bernstein (1789–1861) was his son from his first marriage.
Live and act
In 1775, Johann Georg Schäffer von Bernstein joined the Hesse-Kassel hunter corps after a thorough education . On the basis of Landgrave Friedrich II. With King Georg III. Treaty of Great Britain , he and his unit came to North America in 1776 to support the British in their fight against the American independence movement. There he was promoted to second lieutenant and has evidently proven himself.
After his return to Hessen-Kassel, he was accepted into the hunter company that remained there. Schäffer-Bernstein was raised to the imperial nobility in 1787. In 1790 he went to Hessen-Darmstadt in the rank of captain , since Ludwig IX. looked for experienced officers to reform his troops. In 1793 he was commissioned to form a hunter corps. Foresters formed the basic staff. The unit took part during the First Coalition War from 1793 to 1796 as part of a Hessian auxiliary contingent of British troops in the Netherlands. Although his unit had proven itself, it was disbanded.
With the rank of colonel, he commanded the Hessian 1st body grenadier battalion in British service, which was to be shipped from Trieste to Gibraltar with other troops in 1796 . It didn't come to that. After being stationed in Croatia , the units returned to Hesse. In the period that followed, Schäffer-Bernstein intensively trained the troops under him and wrote various service instructions. During this time he also received diplomatic assignments.
When, in the course of the negotiations on the main Reichsdeputation final in 1802, it became apparent that the Electoral Cologne Duchy of Westphalia would be taken over by the Landgraviate of Hessen-Darmstadt, he was ordered to occupy the country with his troops. From 1803 he was commander of the brigade "Hereditary Prince" stationed in the Hesse-Darmstadt province "Duchy of Westphalia". With this he made in 1806 in the rank of major general on the Napoleonic side in the campaign against Prussia . The unit distinguished itself in various ways. Then he commanded the grand-ducal Hessian troops fighting for Napoleon in Spain . He commanded a brigade of the (3rd) German Division under General Jean-François Leval . He was also praised by his superiors in the Spanish theater of war . In the further course he took over command of the German division. Due to business problems, but also for health reasons, he asked for his recall from Spain in 1809.
In 1810 he returned to Westphalia. He was still living in Arnsberg when the Allies reached the region after Napoleon's defeat near Leipzig . Grand Duke Ludwig I , who had changed sides in the meantime, induced him to set up a voluntary hunter corps in Darmstadt and to organize the general armament of the country. After Schäffer-Bernstein had completed these orders, he returned to Westphalia. He was raised to the baron status in 1813. At times he was on a diplomatic mission in 1815 at Wellingtons headquarters .
After the Hessian province "Duchy of Westphalia" fell to Prussia through the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and the Frankfurt tract of June 30, 1816 , Schäffer-Bernstein handed the land over to the new sovereign. He was then entrusted by Ludwig I with the order of the state armament on the left bank of the Rhine in Hesse and has lived in Worms ever since . Although he was no longer in command, he was unusually included in the list of active generals until his death. In 1830 he was appointed owner of the Leibregiment. His tomb is preserved in Worms, Albert-Schulte-Park (old cemetery).
literature
- Bernd Kirschbaum: The volunteers from the Duchy of Westphalia in the Grand Ducal Hessian Services 1813–1814 (4th company of the Grand Ducal Volunteer Hunters Corps). In: Südwestfalenarchiv. Volume 13, 2013, p. 120 f.
- Bernhard von Poten : Schäffer-Bernstein, Johann Georg Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 30, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1890, pp. 539-541.
- Friedrich August Schmidt, Bernhard Friedrich Voight: New Nekrolog der Deutschen , 16th year, 2nd part, Weimar, 1840 pp. 806–812; (Digital scan)
- Obituary notice, in: Frankfurter Ober-Postamts-Zeitung , supplement to no. 275, of October 5, 1838; (Digital scan)
Web links
- Schäffer von Bernstein, Georg Johann Freiherr. Hessian biography. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
Individual evidence
- ^ Website of the Rotenburg History Association
- ↑ Manfred Köhler: Nemo potest duobus dominis servire: Hessen-Darmstadt in the area of tension between Emperor and France in the context of the Hanau inheritance 1717-1748. Self-published by the Hessian Historical Commission Darmstadt and Historical Commission for Hesse, 2001, ISBN 3884430785 , p. 150; (Detail scan)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schäffer-Bernstein, Johann Georg von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Hessian officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 31, 1757 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rotenburg on the Fulda |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 7, 1838 |
| Place of death | Worms |