Johann von Ewald

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Johann von Ewald in Danish general's uniform, around 1800. Painting by CA Jensen 1835, after a drawing by HJ Aldenrath . Frederiksborg Castle , Denmark

Johann Ewald , later Johann von Ewald (born March 20, 1744 in Kassel , † June 25, 1813 near Kiel ) was an officer and military expert. As captain of the Hesse-Kassel police corps , he took part in the American War of Independence and was an expert on partisan warfare . His book About the Little War is considered the first work that deals specifically with this form of warfare. He wrote an extensive diary during the American Revolutionary War, which contains many descriptions of battles and observations. After his return to Europe he entered the service of the Danish Army and was an active participant in the war as a commanding officer with the rank of general during Napoleon's time .

Origin and private life

Johann Ewald was the son of Georg Heinrich Ewald and Katharina Elisabeth (née Breithaupt ). The father ran the town's post office and was an accountant by trade. After the death of his father, Johann was brought up first by his mother, and after her death by his grandmother. On July 23, 1758, Johann Ewald was an eyewitness to a battle in the Seven Years' War near Sandershausen , east of Kassel, which aroused enthusiasm for military service in the fourteen-year-old boy. In 1760 he joined the army of Hessen-Kassel as a cadet. On February 3, 1788, Ewald married Susanne Ungewitter from Kassel. When Johann von Ewald died after a short, serious illness in 1813 on his estate near Kiel, he left five daughters and one son. The son, Carl von Ewald, later published a biography of his father. Johann von Ewald was buried in the cemetery near the St. George's Church (today St. Jürgen ) in Kiel, which was destroyed in Allied air raids in World War II.

Military career

Ewald became a member of the infantry regiment of the Eitel von Gilsa in 1760 at the age of sixteen and took part in several battles during the Seven Years' War . In 1761 he was wounded in his right leg by a musket ball, but returned to active military service 3 months later, where he was promoted to ensign for bravery. Ewald took part in other battles until the peace agreement in November 1762. In 1766 he was promoted to first lieutenant. In 1770 he was seriously wounded in a degenduell and lost his left eye. After his recovery he studied military science at the Karolinum in Kassel with Jakob Mauvillon and published his first military treatise in 1774, which earned him a commendation from Landgrave Friedrich II. In the same year he was given command of the body hunters and was promoted to captain. Recruited from foresters and hunters, the hunters used rifles and were known to be good marksmen. As a not uncommon practice at the time, Landgrave Friedrich II of Hessen-Kassel raised troops for the British crown to fight on the side of the British in their war in America. After crossing the Atlantic, which lasted three and a half months, Ewald reached New York on October 3, 1776 . In the same month he took part in combat operations.

Ewald soon realized that British tactics were not based on defeating the enemy, but on winning the Americans back to the crown. He was an officer who, brave and bold, loved offensive and surprising actions. His “green coats” were feared by the Americans. During the American Revolutionary War he was involved in many campaigns on the American east coast, including in New Jersey , Philadelphia , Charleston and Yorktown . With the surrender of Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown in October 1781, he too was captured. As a professional soldier and expert on partisan warfare, he earned the respect of friend and foe. General Henry Knox allowed him to visit West Point as a guest.

In 1783 he returned to Hesse and put his experiences down in the book About the Little War ( Marburg 1785), which was among other things applauded by Frederick the Great . Despite his experience and awards, he was passed over for promotions because of his civil status. Ewald then entered Danish service in 1788 as head of a hunter corps. Two years later he was raised to the nobility , and in 1801 he was given military command in Hamburg .

In 1806, as general of the vanguard, together with the commander of the Dragoons August Ludwig Georg von Hedemann , he prevented the French and Prussians from entering Holstein , which would have violated Denmark's neutrality . The following year he protected the island of Zealand against the English and was then appointed governor of Kiel . As the commander of the Danish corps, which supported the French against Schill , he distinguished himself during the storming of Stralsund in 1809 , then became lieutenant general and then commanding general von Holstein.

In 1812 he was given command of a division of 10,000 men that was to unite with the 11th French Army Corps . However, an illness forced him to resign in 1813. He died shortly afterwards on his estate near Kiel.

Fonts

  • Thoughts of a Hessian officer on what to do when leading a detachment . First published in 1774.
  • Treatise on the Little War. First published, Johann Jacob Cramer, Cassel (Kassel) 1785, gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de
  • Diary of the American War. Translated and edited by Joseph P. Tustin. Yale University Press, 1979.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tustin, page XXIV
  2. ^ Tustin, page XXV
  3. ^ Tustin, page XXVII
  4. ^ Tustin, page XXXI
  5. ^ Tustin, page XXIV
  6. ^ Tustin, page XXXI
personal data
SURNAME Ewald, Johann von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ewald, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish general
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1744
PLACE OF BIRTH kassel
DATE OF DEATH June 25, 1813
Place of death Kiel