Peter Christian von Kleist

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Peter Christian von Kleist (* 1727 in Damen ; † 1777 ) was a Prussian colonel and holder of the Pour le Mérite .

Origin and family environment

Peter Christian von Kleist auf Groß-Tychow came from the branch of the same name of the Kleist family from the ancient nobility of Western Pomerania . He was the third and youngest son of Hans Christian von Kleist (1685–1749), gentleman on women and Lestin , and the Prisca Catharina von Kleist (1691–1753). He was born in Damen in 1727 and baptized there on November 9, 1727.

Military career

As the third son who was not entitled to inheritance, he chose, like many of his peers, the soldier profession. At the age of almost 20 he entered the Prussian military service, in which he made an exceptionally fast career. On October 9, 1747 he was appointed Ensign in the Kleist Infantry Regiment No. 26 . On April 20, 1749 he became second lieutenant and April 3, 1750 premier lieutenant , now in the infantry regiment Prince Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau No. 22 . On September 25, 1753, he was promoted to captain and at the same time appointed adjutant to Prince Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau . With this he went to the Seven Years' War in 1756 . He took part in the battle of Kolin as well as later in the battles of Liegnitz and Torgau . On July 22, 1757 he became company commander and on August 29, major . From February 1760 he served as a wing adjutant to King Friedrich II , who valued him for his bravery and prudence and who had promoted him to lieutenant colonel on January 8, 1760 . The king, who trusted him and also used him for difficult tasks, had sent him to Torgau at the beginning of 1759 to watch the enemy, the Imperial Army , and to prevent them from crossing the Elbe . He fulfilled this task with success and to the satisfaction of the king, who then called him back to Liegnitz. In the Battle of Liegnitz, which was victorious for Prussia on August 15, 1760, his bravery made a significant contribution to the Prussian success, so that the king promoted him to colonel on the battlefield, he was just 33 years old, and gave him the order of Pour le Mérite awarded. However, efforts had already been made in 1757 to award Kleist this medal. After the Battle of Kolin, his then commander, Prince Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau, proposed him to be awarded this medal in a report dated November 6, 1757, without any decision on the proposal. After the Battle of Liegnitz, Peter Christian von Kleist fell seriously ill. He suffered a stroke and therefore asked the king to leave him, which was finally granted.

Further life

In addition to his retirement from active military service, Peter Christian von Kleist asked in 1760 for permission from the king to marry the daughter of Lieutenant General von Retzow. The king refused the marriage license and consoled him with the fact that he would gladly agree to the marriage after a peace agreement. Since Kleist did not want to wait any longer, he married the wealthy heiress Maria Charlotte von Retzow without royal consent on April 26, 1762. He was punished by the king with six months of imprisonment and with the withdrawal of the administration for Angerburg , which had been transferred to him since 1756 . Through this marriage he became wealthy, because his wife brought some land into the marriage in addition to a dowry of 24,000 thalers . In addition, Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau, who held him in great esteem, gave him rich wills after he was seriously wounded in the battle of Hochkirch . The assets inherited from him included a. several houses in Stargard in Pomerania , two Hufen farmland and 12 limestone mountains, meadows and his horses except for one, the best that Moritz bequeathed to the king.

But when his Groß-Tychow estate and all its buildings burned down in 1772 due to lightning, he ran into financial difficulties. So he turned to the king for help. This granted him a grant of 7000 Thalers from the amelioration fund, with which he could rebuild Gut Groß-Tychow.

His marriage to Maria Charlotte von Retzow resulted in two surviving sons, including Hans Jürgen von Kleist-Retzow , and two daughters. He died on November 21, 1777, his widow on September 25, 1781.

literature

  • Gustav Kratz : The history of the Kleist family . Part 3, Department 3, Trowitzsch and Son, Berlin 1885, pp. 129–136. [1]
  • Gustav Lehmann: The knights of the order pour le merite . Mittler, Berlin 1913.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kratz, Gustav: The history of the von Kleist sex, Volume III, p. 127
  2. ^ Kratz, Gustav: The history of the von Kleist sex, Volume III, p. 129
  3. ^ Kratz, Gustav: The history of the von Kleist sex, Volume III, p. 129
  4. ^ Kratz, Gustav: The history of the von Kleist sex, Volume III, p. 131
  5. ^ Kratz, Gustav: The history of the von Kleist sex, Volume III, p. 132
  6. ^ Lehmann, Gustav: The Knights of the Order Pour le Mérite, Volume I, p. 63
  7. ^ Kratz, Gustav: The history of the von Kleist sex, Volume III, p. 132
  8. ^ Kratz, Gustav: The history of the von Kleist sex, Volume III, p. 134
  9. ^ Kratz, Gustav: The history of the von Kleist sex, Volume III, p. 130
  10. ^ Kratz, Gustav: The history of the von Kleist sex, Volume III, p. 136
personal data
SURNAME Kleist, Peter Christian von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian officer
DATE OF BIRTH 1727
PLACE OF BIRTH Ladies
DATE OF DEATH 1777