Michael Friedrich Kowalzig

Michael Friedrich Kowalzig (born December 12, 1780 in Arys , † December 29, 1862 in Berlin ) was a Prussian lieutenant general .

Life

origin

He was the son of Johann Kowalzig and his wife Elsa, née Radtke. His father was the small farmer and blacksmith in Arys.

Military career

Kowalzig was brought up in his parents' house and, after having improved his education at private schools somewhat, joined the Prussian Army's “von Diericke” infantry regiment on April 1, 1801 as a musketeer . During the Fourth Coalition War he was promoted to ensign on February 10, 1807 for his bravery and seriously injured in the head by a shotgun while defending Danzig .

After the Peace of Tilsit and passed the officer's examination, Kowalzig came to the 4th East Prussian Infantry Regiment on January 1, 1808 . There he was promoted to secondary lieutenant and regimental adjutant in mid-July 1810 . On January 4, 1813, he was assigned as adjutant to General von Krauseneck and two months later to General von Thümen in the same capacity . With the promotion to prime lieutenant on May 15, 1813 Kowalzig was adjutant to Colonel von Krafft . During the Wars of Liberation , he acquired the Iron Cross 2nd class from Großbeeren and received a commendation for Dennewitz . He took part in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig , became a staff captain at the end of 1813 and fought at Laon , Ligny , Belle Alliance , Hoyerswerda, Breda and Herzogenbusch. For Antwerp , Kowalzig received the Order of St. Vladimir IV class. He fought in Compiègne and received the Iron Cross First Class at Namur . He also fought in the sieges of Wittenberg, Soissons , Landrecies, Philippeville and Givet. On March 22, 1815, Kowalzig was promoted to captain .

After the war, on March 30, 1817, he became a major in the Adjutantur of the Brigade in Stettin . This was followed from March 27, 1820 to March 29, 1830 as a commander of the 1st Battalion in the 3rd Landwehr Regiment. He then became commander of the Fusilier Battalion in the 4th Infantry Regiment and in this capacity was promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 30, 1834 with a patent from April 3, 1834 and to colonel on March 30, 1836 with a patent from April 5, 1836.

End of March 1837 instructed to Kowalzig first with the leadership of the 7th Infantry Regiment , and on 14 January 1838 he was appointed commander of this association . On March 25, 1841, he was transferred to Danzig as commander of the 2nd Landwehr Brigade, and on April 6, 1841, he was aggregated to the 7th Infantry Regiment . On April 7, 1842 he was promoted to major general and on September 2, 1844 by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Awarded the Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd class with oak leaves. Kowalzig was appointed commandant of the Danzig Fortress on March 27, 1847 . Basis of an assessment of his commanding general to Dohna- Schlobitten was adjusted Kowalzig on 3 March 1848 under presentation of the character as a lieutenant general with an annual pension of 2700 thalers for disposition . On August 7th, 1749 he got the farewell with his previous pension. He died in Berlin on December 29, 1862.

family

Kowalzig married Josephine Friederike Emilie von Pfuhl (1802-1849) on November 16, 1824 in Königsberg . She was a daughter of the Prussian colonel and former commander of the 1st Leib-Hussar Regiment Dietrich Bogislav von Pfuhl (1755-1825). The couple had two sons, including Karl, who took his leave on June 14, 1851 as a second lieutenant in the 1st Battalion in the 27th Landwehr Regiment.

Kowalzig had his wife buried on June 18, 1849 in the St. Salvator Cemetery in Danzig.

literature

• Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 6, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1938], DNB 367632810 , pp. 36-37, no. 1676.
• von Lewinski, von Brauchitsch: History of the Grenadier Regiment King Wilhelm I (2nd West Prussian) No. 7. Second volume, Verlag Fleming, Glogau 1897, p. 54.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Obituary. In: Military weekly paper . Volume 48, p. 214.