Peter Martin Pirquet from Cesenatico

Peter von Pirquet, lithograph by Josef Kriehuber , 1846

Peter Martin Freiherr Pirquet von Cesenatico (born February 1, 1781 in Liège , † November 21, 1861 in Vienna ) was an Imperial and Royal Feldzeugmeister and knight of the Military Maria Theresa Order . He is considered the last Walloon in the military service in Old Austria .

Career

Pirquet came from an old patrician family in the Principality of Liège . Jean Martín von Pirquet worked as a commander in the Prince-Bishop's National Regiment and on May 14, 1742, he received recognition of his aristocratic origin. The young Peter Pirquet de Merdaga felt drawn to the soldier's status from childhood. When the coalition wars began, he was serving as a nine-year-old boy in the besieged Maastricht in 1790 and drew the attention of the veteran soldiers. In 1799 he joined an infantry regiment of the Imperial and Royal Army as a cadet .

Pirquet excelled in several battles in the coalition wars against France and commanded a company as an ensign near Hohenlinden . In 1805, as a lieutenant and commander of a patrol division, he captured forty enemy provision ships on Lake Constance. Lieutenant Pirquet was very involved in the heavy battle at Ebelsberg Castle near Linz on May 3, 1809. Thanks to his efforts, the castle was evacuated, but he himself was apparently fatally injured on the battlefield. The French transported him with the other prisoners and wounded to Linz . Against all odds, the doctors were able to save his life here. In 1811 Pirquet returned home after fifteen months in captivity and applied for temporary retirement because of his long convalescence .

Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order

In recognition of his deeds, Pirquet not only received the rank of lieutenant captain , but he also received the Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order on July 17, 1813, dated May 3, 1809. In June 1813, he returned to active duty Back on duty and took over a hunter battalion . The wars of liberation against Napoleonic France initially made Pirquet in Carinthia , then in Italy. On September 18, 1813, he attacked a numerically clearly superior enemy near Hermagor in the Gailtal and was able to personally capture a French flag. Thanks to these and other successful deeds, Pirquet saw himself extraordinarily promoted to major in December 1813 . Transferred to a Tyrolean hunter corps in 1814, the Austro-Neapolitan War called him back on the battlefield the following year. On April 23, 1815, Pirquet, as commander of the outposts, succeeded in attacking the Neapolitan troops near Cesenatico . Although the Neapolitans were in the majority, Pirquet used the surprise effect. This surprise attack cost the enemy around 250 dead and wounded, while the Austrians suffered comparatively low losses. Emperor Franz I of Austria awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Austrian-Imperial Leopold Order on May 2, 1815 . In October 1815 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and since 1816 Pirquet commanded the 9th Jäger Battalion .

On May 14, 1818, Peter Martin von Pirquet received the Austrian baron with the title “von Cesenatico”. The following years shaped his domestic political engagement against the gang system as well as his advancement to the generals. In 1841 Pirquet took over a post in the Imperial Arcièren Life Guard . Whenever possible, Pirquet preferred country life to residence in the royal seat. He often spent the time on the estate of his son-in-law, Captain Baron Eiselsberg zu Steinhaus.

Pirquet died in Vienna after a long illness on November 21, 1861. His body was brought to Steinhaus in Upper Austria, where the solemn burial took place.

Marriage and offspring

Peter Freiherr Pirquet von Cesenatico married Johanna Freiin von Mayern on August 25, 1825. The marriage gave birth to three sons and three daughters, among whom the best-known is Anton Freiherr Pirquet von Cesenatico (1826–1848). He fell at Forte Rivoli on July 22, 1848 and was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Maria Theresa Order. Other important personalities from the line:

• Clemens Peter Freiherr von Pirquet , pediatrician and university professor, famous for his research in the fields of bacteriology and immunology.

coat of arms

“A shield divided halfway across and the length. In the upper right silver field three upright (2 over 1) red lions; In the red lower blue field, two crossed, golden, white-feathered arrows pointing upwards, the tips of which are set with a golden star. In the left silver half of the shield protrudes from the lower right blue edge of the field, a blue-clad arm, which with its bare hand holds a flying blue-white-red flag on a pole of the same color, at the tip of which a simple left-facing little golden eagle pointing to flight is attached to a golden button . The baron's crown rests on the shield, on which rises a crowned tournament helmet placed in the visir. From the crown grows an open blue eagle flight covered with a gold star, to which a red lion with an open jaw, a knocked out red tongue and a opened tail is set. The helmet covers are covered with silver on the right and blue on the left ”(C. v. Wurzbach, Biographisches Lexikon, vol. 22, p. 340 ff.).

literature

• J. Hirtenfeld, The Military Maria Theresa Order and its Members, Vienna, 1857, pp. 949 ff. And p. 1748.
• J. Hirtenfeld, Austrian military calendar for the year 1863, 14th year, Vienna, p. 196 ff.
• Military newspaper, No. 94, 14th year, November 23, 1861.
• J. Strack, Nekrolog: Peter Freiherr v. Pirquet Mardaga-Cesenatico, in: Österreichische Militärische Zeitschrift, edited by V. Streffleur, 3rd year (1862), vol. 1, p. 315 ff.
• Constantin von Wurzbach : Pirquet von Cesenatico, Peter Martin Freiherr . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 22nd part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1870, pp. 342–345 ( digitized version ).