Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Funck
Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Funck (born December 13, 1761 in Schöppenstedt , † August 7, 1828 in Wurzen ) was a Saxon lieutenant general and adjutant general of the Saxon King Friedrich August . He became known through his memories, an impressive description of the events in Saxony during the Napoleonic Wars .
Life
Origin and family
Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Funck was the son of the land commissioner and later court and commission councilor Karl August Funcke. The family came from Sweden and did not settle in the Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel until the 17th century .
The brothers on the father's side were officials from the Electoral Saxony, one as a district chamber councilor and another as an ambassador to the Russian court as privy councilor . They were ennobled in 1728 and 1742 respectively. Karl August Funcke was also raised to the Saxon nobility on July 9, 1763 and was lord of Groitzsch and Teuchern .
Military background
On March 21, 1780, at the age of eighteen, Ferdinand von Funck joined the Saxon regiment Garde du Corps as a Sousleutnant . He called himself Funck, probably following an old name form. This is the spelling used in all official correspondence and lists. Funck was promoted to Prime Lieutenant on August 25, 1784 , but in 1787 he said goodbye and enrolled at the University of Göttingen . He devoted himself to historical studies and began his first major work, a story about the Emperor Friedrich II.
As early as 1791, at the instigation of the cavalry general Count Bellegarde , Funck joined the newly established Hussar Regiment , later the 2nd Saxon Hussar Regiment No. 19, as Rittmeister and took part in the first coalition war from 1794 to 1796 . Promoted to major in 1804 and adjutant general of the General of the Cavalry von Zezschwitz in 1805 , he remained in this position during the autumn campaign of 1806 . In the fighting against Napoleon Bonaparte , Funck was wounded and taken prisoner.
Napoleon sent him to Dresden to the Saxon court with the request to the elector not to leave the city. Funck persuaded Friedrich August to stay and to come to an understanding with Napoleon. Strongly impressed by his determined demeanor, the elector appointed Funck to his wing adjutant on October 27, 1806 , two months later to lieutenant colonel and finally on February 7, 1807 to colonel and adjutant general. He became a close confidante of Friedrich August, whom Napoleon made King of Saxony. Through his position at court he came into contact with the generals and diplomats of the imperial headquarters and with Napoleon himself.
On April 6, 1809, the king promoted him to major general and inspector general of the cavalry . He could not take part in the campaign of 1809 because the king did not want to do without him. After the end of the fighting, Friedrich August sent him to Schönbrunn to negotiate Saxon territorial expansions in Bohemia , which, however, were unsuccessful. Funck took an active part in the rebuilding of the Saxon army and was appointed lieutenant general and commander of the 1st cavalry brigade for his services on February 20, 1810 .
As commander of the 1st Cavalry Division , the 21st of the Grand Army , he took part in the war against Russia in 1812 . After the death of General Gutschmit on June 7, 1812 Funck took over the leadership of his division, the 2nd Saxon and the 22nd of the Great Army. With her he fought under the command of General Reynier , but was soon recalled because of disagreements. Returning to Saxony, he had to witness the king's flight to Plauen , Regensburg and Prague and the forced return to Dresden. After the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig and the transition of the Saxon troops to the Allies, General Thielmann took over the supreme command of the Saxons. Funck was not used, but was dismissed by the Russian General Government on January 1, 1814 for refusing to serve. The King withdrew the discharge on his return and sent Funck to Wellington headquarters . In 1816 he traveled to London on a diplomatic mission .
Marriage and offspring
After his departure, Funck dealt with historical studies and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Marburg . He died on August 7, 1828 at the age of 66 in Wurzen. His marriage to Luise Elisabeth von Unruh , who died in 1797, had three sons and two daughters. All sons and a daughter died before their father, only daughter Louise Auguste (* April 22, 1789, † December 1, 1849), who was married to the Privy Legation Councilor Ernst Blümner von Frohburg (1779-1815), survived him.
Literary works
His story of Emperor Frederick the Second was published as early as 1792 . From 1820 to 1824 the painting from the Age of the Crusades was published in four parts , then in 1829 his writing on the campaign of 1812, which he himself witnessed, memories from the campaign of the Saxon corps under General Count Reynier , Dresden and Leipzig in 1829. He wrote in Wurzen his memories , not in chronological form, but in individual essays. He gave them titles such as characters , Saxony as a kingdom , etc. They came from the estate of his nephew, Lieutenant General von Witzleben, to King Albert , who handed them over to the main state archives in 1877 . However, three folio volumes were retained and did not enter the State Archives until 1902.
literature
- Heinrich Theodor Flathe : Funck, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1878, p. 200 f.
- Artur Brabant (ed.): Under the spell of Napoleon. From the memories of the Saxon Lieutenant General and Adjutant General of King Ferdinand von Funck. Paul Aretz Verlag, Dresden 1928.
- Artur Brabant (Ed.): In Russia and Saxony 1812-1815. From the memories of the Saxon lieutenant general and adjutant general of King Ferdinand von Funck. C. Heinrich, Dresden 1930. With a short biography in the foreword.
- Andreas Erb: "... written with the clarity of a man familiar with practical and warlike life." Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Funck (1761–1828), a historian of the age of genius in the Saxon service . In: New Archive for Saxon History 77 (2006), pp. 97–118
- Leipziger Zeitung, 1828, p.2304 , obituary notice
- New German necrology for the year 1828 , part 2, p.242ff
Web links
- Literature by and about Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Funck in the catalog of the German National Library
- Works by and about Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Funck in the German Digital Library
- Roman Töppel : Funck (e), Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von . In: Institute for Saxon History and Folklore (Ed.): Saxon Biography .
- Entry about Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Funck in the central estate database
- Entry about Funck, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von (1761-1828) in Kalliope (database)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Funck, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Funck, Ferdinand von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Saxon lieutenant general, historian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 13, 1761 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Schöppenstedt |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 7, 1828 |
| Place of death | Spice up |