Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schmettau

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Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schmettau (born December 28, 1734 in Sandau ( District Jerichow II ), † March 31, 1798 in Liegnitz ) was a royal Prussian lieutenant general, chief of the Dragoon Regiment No. 2 and holder of the order Pour le Mérite .

origin

Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schmettau came from a Silesian , originally bourgeois family who worked in civil professions, e.g. B. was based as a Züchner in Neisse , but soon appeared in the state capital of Wroclaw in the merchant class and received a Bohemian nobility and coat of arms confirmation on September 28, 1668. The first representative in the Prussian service was Heinrich Schmettau , who had been court and cathedral preacher in Berlin since 1666 . Heinrich's son Friedrich Wilhelm (1670–1732) was a Prussian school councilor, his grandson was Major General Johann Ernst von Schmettau , from whose marriage to Anna Sophie Schlueter (1712–1747) Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schmettau emerged.

Military career

He came to the Knight's Academy in Brandenburg on May 15, 1747 and was assigned to the Leibkarabiner Regiment as a standard junker in 1750 . There he became a cornet on June 4, 1752 . During the Seven Years' War he took part in the battles of Lobositz , Kolin , Breslau , Leuthen , Hochkirch , Zorndorf , Liegnitz and Torgau . In addition he fought in the battle near Domstadtl and took part in the battle of Langensalza on February 19, 1760 , in which the Prussian cavalry attacked an enemy column and dispersed it. The commanding officer von Syberg reported to the king as follows: “ ... Since EKM have graciously ordered me to name those who have distinguished themselves so excellently, I have the grace to report submissively ... I ask therefore subject to the EKM, whether they want to deign, "following" .... (attached list of officers has not been received) .... to be pardoned with the plm medal ... ". Although the list of those nominated for the award has not been preserved, Schmettau must have been included in it and also received an award, because he appears in the general list of knights from 1767 as a holder of the order. At that time he was on July 19, 1757 lieutenant and on June 13, 1761 staff assistant master.

Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von Schmettau continued to serve in the Frederick Army after the Seven Years' War. On April 24, 1765 he was Rittmeister and company commander and on March 2, 1771 major. As such, he took part in the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1778/1779 . He then became lieutenant colonel on May 26, 1782 and colonel on September 25, 1784. On July 9, 1788 he was appointed commander of the body carbine. But on May 10, 1790 he became chief of the Dragoon Regiment No. 2 and on August 14, 1780 he was appointed major general. During the First Coalition War he took part in the cannonade of Valmy , fought in the skirmishes near Hochheim, Guntersheim, Limbach and Eschweiler until he fell seriously ill with dysentery in March 1794 and was taken to the hospital in Frankfurt am Main . He stayed there for some time and then returned to his garrison. On January 1, 1796 he was promoted to lieutenant general with patent on January 2, 1796. Then on January 23, 1797 he received his resignation with a pension of 1200 thalers. He died on March 31, 1797 in Liegnitz.

family

Von Schmettau was married to Sophie Luise Agnese von Goetze († August 16, 1780) the daughter of Major General Ernst Ludwig von Goetze (1697–1745). The couple had the following children:

  • Karl Ernst Ludwig Wilhelm (born October 20, 1765 - † March 27, 1807), Privy Councilor of Justice
  • Henriette Auguste Karoline (23 October 1766 - 23 January 1796)
  • Katharina Sophie Dorothea Charlotte (born January 13, 1768)
  • Reinhold Karl Kasimir Leopold (born July 12, 1769)
  • Eleonore Henriette Luise Charlotte (born September 8, 1771 - † October 8, 1829)
  • Karoline Wilhelmine Philippine (December 14, 1773 - January 6, 1774)
  • Henriette Philippine Eleonore (March 3, 1776 - January 3, 1830)
  • Friedrich Wilhelm (born November 3, 1777; † July 7, 1845), lieutenant, heir to Schilkowitz ⚭ Beate Amalie Helene von Prittwitz and Gaffron , daughter of Wolfgang Moritz von Prittwitz

After the death of his first wife, he married on October 6, 1782 in Helene Sophie Wilhelmine von Alvensleben (* December 7, 1745, † April 8, 1794), widow of the secret war council Gebhard August II. Von Alvensleben from Hundisburg. From this marriage:

  • Eleonore Dorothea Wilhelmine Ludmilla (born April 19, 1784)
  • Philipp Wilhelm Johann Georg (born May 27, 1790)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Adelslexikon . Volume XII, CA Starke-Verlag, Limburg 2001, p. 516.
  2. ↑ Gustav Lehmann: The Knights of the Order pour le mérite, Volume I, awards under King Friedrich II. , No. 582, Mittler, Berlin 1913, p. 99 f.
  3. ↑ Carrier of the Pour le Merite in the military weekly paper: Supplements digitized
  4. ^ Siegmund Wilhelm Wohlbrück, Hellmut Kretzschmar: Historical messages from the Alvensleben gender. Volume 3, 1829, p. 364, digitized
personal data
SURNAME Schmettau, Karl Wilhelm Friedrich von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian officer
DATE OF BIRTH December 28, 1734
PLACE OF BIRTH Sandau
DATE OF DEATH March 31, 1798
Place of death Liegnitz