Ludwig Franz Philipp Christian von Kleist

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Ludwig Franz Philipp Christian von Kleist (born July 18, 1748 in Sandau (Elbe) , † October 13, 1809 in Orpensdorf ) was a Prussian colonel and knight of the order Pour le Mérite .

Origin and family environment

Ludwig Franz Philipp Christian came from the old, ancient Pomeranian von Kleist family . He was the eldest son of the Prussian major general Reimar von Kleist (1710–1782) on Sandow and Hedwig Elisabeth, née von der Hagen (1722–1806).

Military career

Ludwig Franz Philipp Christian joined the Prussian army as a Junker in 1764, following the family tradition, in order to become a professional officer. He chose the noble Leibkarabinier Regiment No. 11, in which he was appointed cornet on December 2, 1765 and lieutenant on March 2, 1771. In peacetime advancement in the army was slow; so he was not until 1783 staff assistant master and 1784 squadron chief in the cuirassier regiment "von Kalckreuth" .

The First Coalition War against revolutionary France brought a career boost . Kleist became major in 1891 and marched with the Prussian troops against France. He took part in the battle of Kaiserslautern , which was victorious for the Prussians , and distinguished himself in such a way that the commander-in-chief, Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand of Braunschweig , proposed him to King Friedrich Wilhelm II. To be awarded the order Pour le Mérite. In a very high cabinet order of September 17, 1793, the king made it up to the Duke of Braunschweig to select 25 of the 47 officers proposed for the Pour le Mérite who were to receive the medal. According to an entry in the diary of Lieutenant von Fritsch on October 1, 1793, Major von Kleist was among those selected.

On June 1, 1799 Kleist was promoted to lieutenant colonel and on May 31, 1801 to colonel . In 1802 he finally became regimental commander. During the war in 1806/07 he took part with his regiment in the Battle of Auerstedt , which ended in defeat for Prussia . After that his regiment was carried away by the general retreat and included in the shameful surrender of Magdeburg . On December 12, 1807 he then received the requested farewell , which King Friedrich Wilhelm III. without a pension approved with the indication that this departure had been requested for family reasons.

Kleist now withdrew to his estates Orpensdorf, Rönnebeck and Flessau, located in the Stendal district in the Altmark near Osterburg . He died there on October 13, 1809. He was married twice without children.

literature

  • Gustav Kratz : History of the Kleist family. Volume III.
  • Gustav Lehmann: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite. Mittler, Berlin 1913.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gustav Kratz: History of the Kleist family. Volume III, No. 484b, p. 341.
  2. ^ Gustav Kratz: History of the Kleist family. Volume III, p. 344.
  3. ^ Gustav Lehmann: The Knights of the Order Pour le Mérite, Awards under King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Volume 2, No. 503, p. 282, Mittler, Berlin 1913.
  4. ↑ Gustav Lehmann: The Knights of the Order Pour le Mérite, awards under King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Volume 2. No. 503, p. 283.
  5. ^ Gustav Kratz: The Knights of the Order Pour le Mérite, Awards under King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Volume 2, No. 503, p. 344.
  6. ^ Letter from the king to Kleist dated December 11, 1807, printed in Gustav Kratz: History of the Kleist family. Volume 2, No. 503, p. 345.
personal data
SURNAME Kleist, Ludwig Franz Philipp Christian von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian colonel, knight of the order Pour le Mérite
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1748
PLACE OF BIRTH Sandau (Elbe)
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 1809
Place of death Orpensdorf