Johann Michael Gschray

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Johann Michael Gschray (* 1692 in Monheim , † 1763 in Wemding ) was a Prussian major general and head of a free corps in the Austrian War of Succession and the Seven Years' War .

origin

He comes from a humble background, his father Johann Gschray († February 2, 1743) was an iron clerk. His mother was his wife Kunigunde, née Hipsch († January 21, 1715). His brother Josef was also a member of the Freikorps, his sister initially worked as a cook and later married an Alsatian named Baumgärtner, who was a major in a Prussian Freikorps.

Life

From 1709 to 1715 Gschray was an official. He then wanted to join the Bavarian troops, which they refused. So he remained an official, married a widow of an official in 1722 and became an official himself. Obviously overwhelmed by the demands, he became an iron clerk in Deggendorf an der Donau in 1739 .

When French troops marched into Bavaria under Count Moritz von Sachsen in 1741 , Gschray was able to hire himself as a spy. In 1732 he became a free marksman with the Bavarian Landmilitz. On this occasion he was able to distinguish himself several times and capture some Croatians and Pandours . For these services, Gschray received a letter of recommendation from the commandant of Straubing , a colonel from Wolfswiesen. He went to Frankfurt am Main , where Emperor Charles VII was staying. This sent him as a lieutenant in a free company of the Count von Seckendorf, who, however, did not want an untrained soldier.

So Gschray turned to the Chancellor Director Baur and was able to submit a proposal with which a small corps could be set up without money. He managed to set up a company of 50 horses within 14 days. The Austrians only made fun of the troops and called them the "henchman" or "bailiff company". He was, however, probably successful, because in 1742 he was appointed a captain of the Bavarian capital and the troop increased to 150 men.

In 1743/44 he waged a small war . On October 1, 1744, he was wounded near Donauwörth , but was promoted to major by Kaiser on November 15, 1744 and appointed chief of the Freikorps, which was increased to 600 men. During his wounding, he was represented by then Lieutenant Nikolaus von Luckner . After the peace agreement between Bavaria and Austria, the corps was downsized by Elector Maximilian Josef , but not dissolved. Gschray was appointed lieutenant colonel . The plan to assign police tasks to the troops failed because of their lack of discipline. When the troops were to be sent to Holland, Gschray refused and received his farewell.

At the beginning of June 1747 he entered French service with the help of the Marshal of Saxony. There he was commissioned to build a corps of 400 dragoons and 800 infantry, and Gschray became a colonel of this force. In 1748 the troop was drafted and taken over in Brussels . He was already at the siege of Maastricht in March . Since the war was over soon, the troops were downsized. Gschray came to Strasbourg as regimental commander . In August 1754 he left the French service. He received the Order of Ludwig , plus an annual pension, and went to Munich .

At the beginning of the Seven Years' War he received permission to go into Saxon services and set out for Pirna . However, since the Saxon army was included, Gschray was captured by Prussian hussars and taken to the king's headquarters in Großsedlitz . There he received the order at Merseburg to recruit 600 men for a cavalry. He was released again, but instead of going to Merseburg he went to Bohemia. There he sent the money with the order and many apologies to General von Winterfeldt .

But neither from the Austrian nor from any other side did he receive an order and so it came about that he came into Prussian service. On April 9, 1761 he was appointed major general and was commissioned to recruit a regiment of 1,600 men for cavalry and infantry. There he used the help of Lieutenant Colonel Thürriegel , whom he knew from his time in France. The troops gathered near Nordhausen . But Thürriegel and Gschray fall apart, so that Thürriegel came as a prisoner at the Magdeburg fortress .

On August 23, 1761, the troops were ambushed by the French Grandmaison. Gschray was captured with most of his people and was taken to Kassel and later to Landau in the Palatinate . On September 8, 1762 he was released on word of honor and came to Leipzig. After the Treaty of Hubertusburg , he was released alongside his relatives. The cavalry was released on April 1, 1763 in Stettin , but the infantry in Großglogau . Gschray turned unsuccessfully to Russia, returned to Prussia, where he died penniless.

family

In 1722 he married a widow of a magistrate who brought four children into the marriage. His wife died in Strasbourg in 1757. Gschray had two sons, Johann and Franz, who served as captains in the corps. A daughter married a Mr. Beyerle, who then became a lieutenant colonel in the Freikorps. One stepdaughter married a Mr. Grossmann, another a Strasbourg council relative named Schenk. Franz later became a captain in Strasbourg, married a Miss Weitersheim, but died at the age of 28.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to ADB
  2. ↑ a doorman in the judiciary or bailiff
  3. ^ Friedrich Christian Lesser, Förstemann, Historical News from Nordhausen. P. 369.
  4. ↑ Beyerle formed from the remnants of the Freikorps Gschray in 1756 the Freikorps volontaires d'Alsace , which was destroyed by the Prussians in 1759
personal data
SURNAME Gschray, Johann Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian major general and head of a volunteer corps
DATE OF BIRTH 1692
PLACE OF BIRTH Monheim
DATE OF DEATH 1763
Place of death Wemding