Johann Wilhelm von der Goltz

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Johann Wilhelm Graf von der Goltz (born February 11, 1737 in Plauen , † August 13, 1793 in Tournai ) was a Prussian major general , head of the Hussar Regiment "von der Goltz" and knight of the order Pour le Mérite .

Life

origin

His parents were the Prussian lieutenant Wilhelm Ludwig von der Goltz (* January 20, 1703; † October 2, 1752) and his wife Idea Catharina von der Goltz (* January 16, 1710; † April 15, 1773).

Military career

In 1752 he was a cadet in the Regiment of Dragoons "of Schorlemmer" and 1756 Ensign . After the Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf he was a lieutenant and shortly afterwards adjutant of the Hussar Colonel Kleist . In 1761 he was transferred to the "von Szekely" hussar regiment as Rittmeister and received his own squadron .

After the Seven Years' War he became major in 1773, lieutenant colonel in 1780 and commander in the "von Kalckreuth" dragoon regiment . In 1787 he was promoted to colonel and shortly thereafter received the former hussar regiment "von der Schulenburg" , the "Red Hussars". On September 18, 1787 he was appointed major general.

He was with his regiment at the blockade of Stralsund and the battle of theft . His right hand was cut off during the battle. Despite this, he fought in the battles of Groß-Jägersdorf , Zorndorf , Kay , Kunersdorf , Torgau and Freiberg . Goltz received the order Pour le Mérite in 1762 when he led the way in the passage of the army under Prince Heinrich over the Mulde .

In the War of the Bavarian Succession he was back in Prince Heinrich's army.

When riots broke out in Holland in 1787, he led a battalion of his regiment there. After calm was restored, he returned the following year. On September 19, 1789 , King Friedrich Wilhelm II raised him to the rank of count along with others of his family .

He was seriously wounded by a shot in the thigh on July 4, 1793 while exploring near Bouvines.

Blücher then took command of the 1st Battalion . The general was brought to Tournai , where he died on August 13, 1793 in St. Martin's Abbey and was buried in the local cemetery. Shortly before his death he received the Order of the Red Eagle .

family

Goltz was married to Sophia von Böhmer (* May 16, 1744, † December 28, 1778) since 1765 . She was the daughter of the Prussian Regional Office President of Glogau Karl August von Böhmer . The couple had the following children:

  • Heinrich (born June 3, 1766; † March 2, 1848), General Landscape Representative ∞ Charlotte Wilhelmine Henriette von Schlippenbach (born January 28, 1787; † 1850)
  • Wilhelm Friedrich (1767–1775)
  • Idea Sophie Constanze Beate (born September 22, 1768 - † October 22, 1816) ∞ Peter Corvisart de Montmarin (1759–1827), head forester

After the death of his first wife, he married Sophie Beate Countess von Burghaus in 1780 (born September 22, 1753, † March 28, 1806). The marriage remained without children.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kurd Wolfgang von Schöning : History of the royal Prussian fifth hussar regiment. Berlin 1843, p. 191, digitized.
  2. ^ Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher : Campaign: Journal of the years 1793 and 1794. Edited by Emil Knorr, 1866, p. 27, digitized.
  3. ^ Leopold von Zedlitz-Neukirch : Pantheon of the Prussian Army. 1835, p. 203, digitized.
  4. ^ Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the German count's houses . Volume 13, p. 205.
personal data
SURNAME Goltz, Johann Wilhelm von der
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian Major General, Chief of Hussar Regiment No. 8
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1737
PLACE OF BIRTH Plauen
DATE OF DEATH August 13, 1793
Place of death Tournai