Ludwig von Borstell

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Ludwig von Borstell, Prussian general of the cavalry
Memorial plaque to Ludwig Carl Georg Leopold von Borstel on the old garrison cemetery in Berlin-Mitte

Karl Leopold Heinrich Ludwig von Borstell (born December 30, 1773 in Tangermünde , † May 9, 1844 in Berlin ) was a Prussian general of the cavalry and a member of the Prussian Council of State .

Life

origin

Ludwig was the third of four sons of the Prussian general Hans Friedrich Heinrich von Borstell (1730-1804) and Charlotte von Ingersleben (1749-1815), daughter of the Prussian general Johann Ludwig von Ingersleben (1703-1757).

Military career

In 1788 Borstell joined the "von Ilow" No. 7 cuirassier regiment of the Prussian Army and later became an adjutant to his father, who was major general and chief of the cuirassier regiment at the time. In 1793 he took part in the campaign in the Palatinate , where he particularly distinguished himself in the battle of Pirmasens and Kaiserslautern . On December 11, 1793, King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia awarded him, the then Second Lieutenant , the order Pour le Mérite . His older brother Hans Friedrich Georg Ludwig Wilhelm von Borstell (1770–1793) fell in Pirmasens , and his tombstone is preserved in the old cemetery there. Ludwig von Borstell was a member of the military society . As a major in the Garde du Corps in 1806, on the retreat from Jena , he skillfully held back the pushing Ney back and then managed to get through to Blücher .

After the peace treaty of Tilsit in 1807 he became a member of the commission established for the reorganization of the army. Borstell was promoted to colonel in 1809 and in 1811 commander of the Pomeranian Brigade . Eager and energetic, in February 1813 he began the advance on the Oder without authorization . He commanded as major general under Bülow and took a glorious part in the meeting near Möckern (April 5th). Borstell also decided by his timely intervention the victories of Großbeeren and Dennewitz , for which he received the Iron Cross 1st class. In addition, on October 21, 1813, the king awarded him the oak leaves for the Pour le Mérite.

After the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig , where he commanded the assault on the Grimmaische Vorstadt, promoted to lieutenant general, he blocked Wesel and advanced into Belgium in early 1814 . Here he played a major role in the favorable outcome of the battle at Hoogstraten and, after having fought at Courtrai, covered the siege of Antwerp .

In 1815 he was given command of the II. Prussian Army Corps . While he was still busy with its organization, the order to separate the Saxon troops according to the division of Saxony provoked the uprising of the teams of three Saxon battalions in Liege . Blücher ordered the insurgent regiment's flag to be burned and seven ringleaders shot. But Borstell had promised not to burn the flag and declared that he would not be able to obey Blucher’s order. He was therefore relieved of his command by Blücher on May 8, 1815, and after a court martial in November 1815 he was sentenced to six months ' imprisonment for insubordination , which he began in December 1815. But already in January 1816 he was at the request of Blucher by King Friedrich Wilhelm III. pardoned and appointed commandant of Magdeburg . In the same year he became the commanding general of the I. Army Corps in Königsberg . On June 18, 1825, he was promoted to commanding general of the VIII Army Corps in Koblenz and to general of the cavalry. In addition, on September 13, 1825, the king appointed him chief of the 5th Cuirassier Regiment .

On May 9, 1840, Borstell was put on hold and appointed a member of the Council of State. From November 4, 1840 he was also President of the General Order Commission. He died on May 9, 1844 in Berlin and was buried four days later in the old garrison cemetery. His grave is no longer preserved. His grave slab is dedicated to the city of Berlin as an honorary grave .

family

Borstell had married Albertine Wilhelmine Luise Amalia von Voss from the Vielbaum house (born May 3, 1777 in Berlin † September 2, 1842 ibid) in the canton of Lahde on September 17, 1797. She was the daughter of the manor owner and regional director of the Altmark Arnold von Voss . The marriage remained childless.

Honors

For his services in the army and civil service Borstell received numerous medals and decorations . He was a knight of the Black Eagle Order , the Order of the Seraphine , holder of the Grand Cross of the Guelph Order and the Order of the Tough Lion . Shortly before his death, on September 6, 1843, the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Dennewitz, the Berlin municipal authorities made him an honorary citizen of the Prussian capital.

Borstellstrasse in the Berlin district of Steglitz was named after him.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The New German Biography gives Karl Leopold Georg Ludwig as the first name .
  2. ^ Gustav Lehmann: The knights of the order pour le merite . Volume I. Berlin 1913, p. 300, no.596
  3. ^ Genealogical handbook of the nobility . Volume A VII. CA Starke-Verlag, Limburg 1965, p. 47 with a picture of the general after p. 72.
  4. ↑ Borstellstrasse. In: Street name lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein (near  Kaupert )
personal data
SURNAME Borstell, Ludwig von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Borstell, Karl Leopold Heinrich Ludwig von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian general of the cavalry
DATE OF BIRTH December 30, 1773
PLACE OF BIRTH Tangermünde
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 1844
Place of death Berlin