Karl von Ingersleben

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Karl Heinrich Ludwig Freiherr von Ingersleben (born April 1, 1753 in Potsdam ; † May 13, 1831 in Koblenz ) was President of the Prussian provinces of Pomerania , the Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine , Jülich-Kleve-Berg and the Rhine Province .

family

He was the fifth child of the Prussian major general and commander of the Life Guard Baron Johann Ludwig von Ingersleben (1703–1757) and his wife Charlotte Dorothea Eva, widow of Major Ernst Friedrich von Platen , née von Herold (1712–1777). Ingersleben married Ulrika Albertine Sophia Ottilie Adamine von Brause on October 26, 1783 (born March 23, 1765 in Wusterhausen / Dosse ; † April 28, 1846 in Berlin ), daughter of the Prussian major general Karl Wilhelm von Brause (1722-1801) and Ottilie Dorothea Sophie Elisabeth von Platen. The marriage had a son and daughter who died in the Battle of Großbeeren , Wilhelmine Johanna Louise Freiin von Ingersleben (1784–1850). In 1805 she married Karl Friedrich August von der Recke (1773-1851) , President of the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt (Oder ).

Life

Ingersleben pursued a military career in the Prussian army between 1764 and 1786 . In 1769 he became a flag junior in the cuirassier regiment "von Manstein" . During the War of the Bavarian Succession he was adjutant to Major General von der Marwitz . In 1786 Ingersleben resigned from military service at his own request.

After the coronation of King Friedrich Wilhelm II , he was promoted to Rittmeister . On October 30, 1787 he was elected by the knighthood of the Altmark to the district administrator of the districts Tangermünde and Arneburg . In 1795 he was transferred to Halberstadt as President of the War and Domain Chamber . He stayed there for three years until, on May 15, 1798, he was appointed president of the Pomeranian War and Domain Chamber in Stettin as successor to the Secret Finance Council and Chamber President Johann Friedrich von Schütz . On the occasion of his change, the chamber minted a commemorative coin and published an article in the literary journal Göttinger Musenalmanach . In Prussia the serfdom of the domain farmers was abolished in 1799 under the Prussian agricultural constitution. The fact that this reform was successfully carried out in Stettin is mainly due to Ingersleben's personal commitment. He came up with the idea of ​​granting the farmers personal freedom.

As early as June 19, 1799, he submitted his plan to replace the services, his goal being that the state would not suffer any disadvantages. As early as July 16, 1799, the king approved the plan, he should bring about the cancellation of service "without any noise"; On September 21, 1799 Ingersleben set about the implementation regulations. By May 12, 1804, 173,075 days of tension work and 204,584 days of manual work in the 40 Pomeranian offices of the 5000 domain farmers were canceled, at that time work was already completely canceled in 25 offices. The state had a surplus of 23,011 thalers. The king wanted to make him Minister for the Lower Saxony-Westphalia area. But Count Schulenburg-Kehnert advised against it, as it would have come into conflict with von Stein .

Under Napoleon

Instead, he became civil commissioner on January 24, 1806 , alongside Schulenburg-Kehnert, who was entrusted with the administration of Kurhannover . On February 15, 1806 Ingersleben took over the chairmanship of the commission whose delicate task it was to ensure the neutrality of Hanover in the war between France and England. Schulenburg-Kehnert resigned in the summer and Ingersleben became his successor. He got some unpleasant tasks, so the Prussian coinage was introduced against the resistance of the Hanoverians . At the end of September, the king also ordered the Prussian army to be supplemented with material from Hanover, and on October 2, the order was issued that the country should also contribute to the costs of the war. He was appointed Minister of State on September 16, 1806, although he had to report to the king about the increasing resistance from Hanover. However, Ingersleben was able to achieve a lot for Hanover, the state finances could be arranged and he succeeded in providing Prussian funds for the Hanoverian fortress of Hameln . How he assessed the situation became clear after the battle of Jena , the old ministers took over the business in Hanover again on October 20, 1806 and the Prussian eagle was dismantled without Ingersleben protesting. He left Hanover on October 22, 1806 and reached Stettin on October 27, 1806, to where the general directorate was evacuated. The ministers Otto von Voss and Stein drove on to Danzig on the same day , while Ingersleben was stuck in Stettin because of a defect. The remnants of the Prussian army capitulated at Prenzlau and the citizens of Stettin stormed Ingersleben to take over the administration of the province, which was also in the process of dissolution. The Chamber President Friedrich von Schuckmann would have been responsible, but he was only appointed on October 8th and was not present. So he took over the business and asked the king for permission to take over. His most important order was initially to move the war chest with 253,000 thalers via Swinoujscie to Gdansk by sea.

In the meantime, the first French troops had reached Szczecin and requested the surrender, which was refused. In the afternoon the request was repeated. The governor Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm von Romberg conferred with his officers; to Ingersleben's astonishment, the fortress was handed over without a fight. He was later accused of having done nothing about it and even negotiating the terms of the surrender. Ingersleben was suspended and an investigation started against him. The files have not been preserved, but a letter from State Chancellor Prince Hardenberg dated March 15, 1816 shows that Ingersleben "has been completely acquitted of all charges". However, he remained unemployed between 1806 and 1812. This may have been due to the fact that on November 1st, 1806 his brother Friedrich Wilhelm handed over the abundant provisions for the Küstrin fortress to a French cavalry without being asked. Friedrich Wilhelm was sentenced to death in absentia in 1807 and was not pardoned by the king as in other cases. Karl's brother died outside Prussia in 1814.

1812 to 1816

On June 25, 1812, the king appointed him - at the request of the Pomeranian estates - in place of the Secret Finance Councilor Ernst Ludwig Hering (1752-1832) as President of the Pomeranian government that had been organized shortly beforehand and was based in Stargard in Pomerania . As such, he had to take care of the troops returning from Russia ; When the Wars of Liberation broke out in 1813 , he was able to set up the Pomeranian National Cavalry Regiment, where his only son then served as a lieutenant. The son died on August 23, 1813 in the battle of Großbeeren . In the spring of 1814, the Stargard government moved to Stettin and in the same year he was awarded the Iron Cross on a white ribbon by the king for his services . In July 1815 he received the newly created post of Chief President of Pomerania. On October 19, 1815 he was commissioned to organize the takeover of Swedish Pomerania . He was characterized by a lot of skill. The Prussian King then awarded him the Order of the Red Eagle First Class, King Karl XIII. of Sweden the Commander's Cross of the North Star Order .

Relocation to the Rhine

On January 10, 1816, Hardenberg transferred the Governor General of the Rhineland, Johann August Sack, to Pomerania, and Ingersleben was appointed Upper President on the Rhine. He received the administration of the Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine with the seat in Koblenz with the administrative districts Koblenz , Trier and Aachen . This appointment disgruntled Gneisenau , the commanding general of the Rhenish Army Corps , who was friends with Sack. The Chancellor Hardenberg and the War Minister Boyen were able to convince him. On March 23, 1816 Ingersleben took over the business. As in Halberstadt and Pomerania, it was also very popular on the Rhine. He only had a dispute with the district president of Schmitz-Grollenburg .

In 1817 he was involved in the development of the new army constitution together with the chief presidents Sack, Schön , Auerswald , Vincke , Solms and Merkel . He was a proponent of a militia system , but encountered many difficulties with the introduction of the Sunday Landwehr exercises.

When he met Georg IV in Wetzlar in 1821 , the latter awarded him the Grand Cross of the Guelph Order for his services in Hanover. On February 24, 1822, Count Friedrich zu Solms-Laubach , chief president of the Jülich-Kleve-Berg province, which comprised the administrative districts of Cologne , Düsseldorf and Kleve , died . Then he received his duties. In the military, General von Hake had replaced Gneisenau , Hake was replaced by von Thielmann ; In October 1824 von Ingersleben's nephew, General von Borstell , took over the Rhine Army . In the school system he was able to push through the reforms of Johannes Schulze and Gerd Eilers and he became friends with the Archbishop of Cologne , von Spiegel . He also supported the renovation of Cologne Cathedral . Steam shipping on the Rhine was set up under his administration . When he celebrated his 60th anniversary in service in 1828, he was made Knight of the Black Eagle by the King .

He died of a stroke on May 13, 1831 and was buried with great sympathy among the population.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Großer Generalstab (Ed.): 1806. The Prussian officer corps and the investigation of the war events. Ernst Siegfried Mittler and Son, Berlin 1906, p. 49f., 268–277, especially on Ingersleben p. 273.
  2. ^ Rolf Straubel : Biographical manual of the Prussian administrative and judicial officials 1740–1806 / 15 . In: Historical Commission to Berlin (Ed.): Individual publications . 85. KG Saur Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-598-23229-9 , pp. 411 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  3. ↑ a b c Journal of Surgery and Ophthalmology
  4. ^ Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldatisches Führertum . Volume 2, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1937], DNB 367632772 , p. 198, no. 713.
personal data
SURNAME Ingersleben, Karl von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ingersleben, Karl Heinrich Ludwig Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION President of the Prussian provinces of Pomerania, the Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine, Jülich-Kleve-Berg and the Rhine Province
DATE OF BIRTH April 1, 1753
PLACE OF BIRTH Potsdam
DATE OF DEATH May 13, 1831
Place of death Koblenz