Peter von Blanckensee (General)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter von Blanckensee (born July 1, 1659 in Schönwerder , † August 27, 1734 in Wulkow ) was commander of the Dragoons Leibregiment and general of the cavalry .

family

The von Blanckensee family was widespread in Brandenburg and Pomerania from ancient times . Peter von Blanckensee was born on July 1, 1659, probably in Schönwerder, Pyritz district , as the eldest of three sons, where his father Joachim Christoph, lieutenant of the cavalry from Kurbrandenburg , was wealthy. In 1683 he married Susanna Maria von Wedel , widowed von Papstein ; the marriage remained childless.

Military career

Peter von Blanckensee became a soldier in 1676. In 1682 he was a lieutenant in the Briquemault regiment on horseback , in 1689 Rittmeister of the 6th company of the Derfflinger cavalry regiment , in 1694 a major in the regiment of Margrave Philipp Wilhelm on horseback, in 1704 colonel and commander of the Dragoons body regiment. In 1713, after Friedrich Wilhelm I took office , he was promoted to major general , in 1721 to lieutenant general and in 1733 to general of the cavalry. Due to his age, he handed his regiment over to the later General Field Marshal Friedrich Leopold von Geßler and was given the command of the Kolberg Fortress. On May 24, 1721, Friedrich Wilhelm I appointed him Knight of the Black Eagle Order , but unlike his Baroque father without ceremonies and obligations.

Friendship with Friedrich Wilhelm I.

When Friedrich Wilhelm met Colonel von Blanckensee is uncertain, perhaps in 1706 during the siege of Menen (Belgium) , but at the latest in 1709, when the Crown Prince inspected all Prussian troops near Maastricht on May 15th . A friendship between men developed between them that lasted until the end of their lives. Both characters were very similar: upright and honest, averse to anything contrived. Blanckensee was one of the permanent members of the famous Tobacco College and was nicknamed Blitzpeter .

Tax reformers

An important project of Friedrich Wilhelm I after his accession to the throne was the rehabilitation of the broken state finances. After this had succeeded in 1715 in East Prussia under Karl Heinrich Graf Truchsess zu Waldburg with the introduction of the so-called general hoof lap, something similar was to happen in what was then Prussian Pomerania . After several unsuccessful attempts, the king surprisingly decreed in 1717 that the hoof classification should be carried out according to a proposal by Major General von Blanckensee. In the same year, a commission headed by Blanckensee traveled to Eastern Pomerania , in 1718 to Neumark and in 1719 to the rest of Eastern Pomerania with the Principality of Cammin , examined the individual villages and set the taxes on site. The king, however, was very satisfied with the work and entrusted von Blanckensee with tax matters, for example in 1720 in the Prussian part of Western Pomerania and in 1727 in Lithuania .

The judgment of posterity

“According to the judgment of the contemporaries, however, Major General v. Blankensee became famous in Prussia because of this tax reform. According to the general impression, however, it is to be regarded as much better than the previous registers and at least as a major economic reform. "

- Zakrzewski

In official Prussia, however, Peter von Blanckensee was soon forgotten, which was probably mainly due to the negative judgment of Frederick the Great .

“Entre l'âme de ce général et celle des bêtes la différence n'est pas grande. »

"There is not much difference between the mind of this general and that of the animals."

- Leopold von Zedlitz-Neukirch

Frederick II probably thought similarly of his own father, the soldier king, but given the authority of the great king, this word was devastating for Blanckensee. But the people remembered Blitzpeter for a long time . In the middle of the 19th century several popular publications appeared, revolving around him and the hoof classification.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Acta Borussica . The organization of the authorities and the general state administration of Prussia in the 18th century . Files from the beginning of January 1726 to the end of December 1729. Keip. Frankfurt am Main 1986/87
  2. ^ CA Zakrzewski: The more important Prussian reforms of direct rural taxes in the eighteenth century. In: Gustav Schmoller: State and social science research. Vol 7, H. 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1887, p. 95.
  3. ^ Leopold von Zedlitz-Neukirch : New Prussian Adelslexicon . Leipzig, Gebrüder Reichenbach 1836. Vol. I, p. 248.
  4. ↑ Carl Eduard Geppert : Chronicle of Berlin from the creation of the city to today . Ferdinand Rubach, Berlin 1840.
  5. ↑ Max Ring : Patriotic Stories . First volume, Otto Janke, Berlin 1862.
  6. ^ Adolph Streckfuß : From fishing village to cosmopolitan city - Berlin for 500 years. Third volume. Alexander Jonas, Berlin 1864.
personal data
SURNAME Blanckensee, Peter von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian dragoon commander, cavalry general
DATE OF BIRTH July 1, 1659
PLACE OF BIRTH Ziemomyśl A , District Pyritz
DATE OF DEATH August 27, 1734
Place of death Wulkow