Rudolf von Hammerstein
Rudolf Georg Wilhelm Freiherr von Hammerstein (born September 30, 1735 in Loxten , † October 4, 1811 in Schenkenhorst ) was a Hanoverian lieutenant general and member of the well-known noble family von Hammerstein .
Life
Rudolf von Hammerstein was the seventh child of Friedrich Christoph von Hammerstein (1679–1740) from the Loxten line of the Hammerstein family and Bartha Sophie von der Schulenburg (1709–1785). At the age of sixteen he joined on 13 April 1751 the kurhannoveranische Infantry - Regiment Guard and served during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) under the Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick in West Germany against France. He became a lieutenant on February 6, 1756 and a captain on August 3, 1758 .
He used the following years of peace from 1763 to 1765 for an extensive journey through the Netherlands, France, Bohemia and the German Empire. In the following years he changed garrisons several times. In 1771 he became major in the “La Motte” regiment in Lüneburg and in 1781 Lieutenant Colonel in the “Count Taube” regiment. In 1789 he finally became a colonel of the 11th regiment and three years later took over the 6th Infantry Regiment in Nienburg.
During the First Coalition War (1792–1797) he was involved in the campaigns in the Netherlands. Promoted to major general in 1793 , he first led a brigade in the battles at Famars , Rexpoede , Hondschooten and Tourcoing under the command of the Duke of York .
He gained great fame during the siege of Menin in April 1794. With 2,500 men, he defended Menin against a 20,000-strong French army under Victor Moreau . After three days the small garrison broke out and successfully made its way through the French lines. He was supported by Gerhard von Scharnhorst as Chief of Staff , who published a detailed report on these battles. ( see: Military Memorabilia IV, Hanover 1803 ) In recognition of his merit, he received from King George III. a golden sword sent from England . (On the handle it read "virtuti" and on the blade "For my country the King" ) Later he rose to the command of all Hanoverian troops and in the winter of 1794/95 mastered the difficult retreat from the Netherlands.
After the war he was promoted to lieutenant general on May 17, 1798. When the army of the electorate was disbanded in 1803 after the French invasion ( Convention of Artlenburg ), Hammerstein was division commander and received no new command in the following years. He then lived in Hanover, where he stood up for the former members of the Hanoverian military. In this way he achieved the continued payment of the pensions of these officers under the French occupation. He spent the last years of his life on an estate in Schenkenhorst near Gardelegen / Altmark that belonged to his wife's family. There he succumbed to an illness on October 4, 1811 at the age of 76.
family
On November 17, 1772 he married Louise Sophie Eleonore von Schenk von Flechtingen (* August 12, 1754 - June 3, 1835), with whom he had four sons and five daughters. He was succeeded by his son Ludwig Friedrich (* January 20, 1781; † November 14, 1852), who had been married to Hermine Schmidt (* April 26, 1821; † January 24, 1899) since March 30, 1838 and had four children. Rudolf's eldest son Ernst (* June 23, 1774; † around 1815) was adjutant general of his father in 1794, Rittmeister in 1795 and, after the dissolution of the Hanoverian army, went into Russian services where he died.
literature
- Bernhard von Poten : Hammerstein, Rudolf Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1879, p. 492 f.
- Bernhard von Poten (Ed.): Concise dictionary of the entire military sciences. Leipzig 1877-1880
- History of the Baron von Hammerstein family. Hanover 1856
- Gerhard von Scharnhorst: The defense of the city of Menin and the self-liberation of the garrison under Major General von Hammerstein , In: Scharnhorst - Selected military writings. Berlin 1881
- Christian von Stramburg , Anton Joseph Weidenbach : Memorable and useful Rhenish antiquarian , Abt. 3, Bd. 6, 1859, S. 526ff
Web links
- Grave site at the garrison cemetery in Halmeln ( Memento from October 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.garnisonkirche-hameln.de/019_Hammerstein.htm ( Memento from October 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the baronial houses, volume 12, p. 344, digitized
- ↑ Memorable and useful Rhenish antiquarian , Volume 6S, p. 545, digitized
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hammerstein, Rudolf von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hammerstein, Rudolf Georg Wilhelm Freiherr von (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Hanoverian lieutenant general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 30, 1735 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Loxing |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 4, 1811 |
| Place of death | Schenkenhorst |