Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel
Encyclopedia
Prince Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a German
prince and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
and Oels
. Nicknamed "The Black Dude", he was a military officer who led the Black Brunswickers
against Napoleonic
domination in Germany. He briefly ruled the state of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1806-1807.
as the fourth son of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Princess Augusta of Great Britain. He was the cousin and brother-in-law (from 8 April 1795) of his friend George IV, Prince Regent of the United Kingdom
(from 1811).
He joined the Prussian
Army
in 1789 as a captain and participated in battles against Revolutionary France. In 1805, after his uncle, Frederick Augustus, Duke of Oels, had died childless, Frederick William inherited the Duchy of Oels
, a small mediatized principality in Silesia subordinate to the King of Prussia
.
In October 1806, Frederick William participated in the Battle of Jena-Auerstädt as a major general
of the Prussian army, of which his father was the field marshal
. His father died from a wound he received in this battle, and Frederick William inherited Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, since his eldest brother had died childless two months earlier, and both the second and third brother were mentally retarded. After the defeat of Prussia in the Fourth Coalition, his state remained under the control of France, however, and was formally made a part of the short-lived Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia
in 1807. Frederick William fled to his parents-in-law in Bruchsal
in the Grand Duchy of Baden
, which had remained a sovereign state with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire
in 1806 by Francis II
, where he lived for the next few years.
When the War of the Fifth Coalition
broke out in 1809, Frederick William used this opportunity to create a corps of partisans with the support of the Austrian Empire
. This corps was called the Black Brunswickers
because they wore black uniforms in mourning for their occupied country. He financed the corps independently by mortgaging his principality in Oels, and made his way from Austrian Bohemia
through the French-allied states of Saxony
and Westphalia
to the North Sea
coast.
Frederick William briefly managed to retake control of the city of Braunschweig in August 1809, which gained him the status of a local folk hero. He then fled to England
to join forces with his brother-in-law, later to be King George IV
. His corps of originally 2,300 soldiers was largely destroyed in battles in Spain
and Portugal
during the Peninsular War
.
Frederick William returned to Braunschweig in December 1813, after Prussia had ended French domination in Braunschweig-Lüneburg. When Napoleon returned to the political scene in 1815 during the Hundred Days
, Frederick William raised fresh troops. He was killed by a gunshot at the Battle of Quatre Bras
on 16 June.
, Frederick William married Princess Marie Elisabeth of Baden
(7 September 1782 Karlsruhe
– 20 April 1808 Bruchsal
), daughter of Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden. The couple had three children before Marie died of puerperal fever
four days after giving birth to a stillborn daughter.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
prince and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...
and Oels
Duchy of Oels
The Duchy of Oels or Duchy of Oleśnica was one of the duchies of Silesia, with the capital in Oleśnica, Poland.Initially part of the Piast Duchy of Wrocław, the Oleśnica area became part of the Duchy of Głogów in 1294, following an armed conflict between Duke Henry III and Henry V the Fat, Duke of...
. Nicknamed "The Black Dude", he was a military officer who led the Black Brunswickers
Black Brunswickers
The Black Brunswickers were a volunteer corps raised by German-born Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel to fight in the Napoleonic Wars. The Duke was a harsh opponent of Napoleon Bonaparte's occupation of his native Germany...
against Napoleonic
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
domination in Germany. He briefly ruled the state of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1806-1807.
Life
Prince Frederick William of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was born in BraunschweigBraunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
as the fourth son of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Princess Augusta of Great Britain. He was the cousin and brother-in-law (from 8 April 1795) of his friend George IV, Prince Regent of the United Kingdom
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
(from 1811).
He joined the Prussian
My Girl's Pussy
"My Girl's Pussy" is a song by the British bandleader and clarinetist Harry Roy. The song was recorded in 1931 by Harry Roy and His Bat Club Boys.-Lyrics:"My Girl's Pussy" is a song by the British bandleader and clarinetist Harry Roy...
Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
in 1789 as a captain and participated in battles against Revolutionary France. In 1805, after his uncle, Frederick Augustus, Duke of Oels, had died childless, Frederick William inherited the Duchy of Oels
Olesnica
Oleśnica is a town in the Trzebnickie Hills in southwestern Poland with 36,951 inhabitants . It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship...
, a small mediatized principality in Silesia subordinate to the King of Prussia
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
.
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
of the Prussian army, of which his father was the field marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
. His father died from a wound he received in this battle, and Frederick William inherited Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, since his eldest brother had died childless two months earlier, and both the second and third brother were mentally retarded. After the defeat of Prussia in the Fourth Coalition, his state remained under the control of France, however, and was formally made a part of the short-lived Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a new country of 2.6 million Germans that existed from 1807-1813. It included of territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte...
in 1807. Frederick William fled to his parents-in-law in Bruchsal
Bruchsal
Bruchsal is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
in the Grand Duchy of Baden
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...
, which had remained a sovereign state with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
in 1806 by Francis II
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
, where he lived for the next few years.
When the War of the Fifth Coalition
War of the Fifth Coalition
The War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria. Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with...
broke out in 1809, Frederick William used this opportunity to create a corps of partisans with the support of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
. This corps was called the Black Brunswickers
Black Brunswickers
The Black Brunswickers were a volunteer corps raised by German-born Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel to fight in the Napoleonic Wars. The Duke was a harsh opponent of Napoleon Bonaparte's occupation of his native Germany...
because they wore black uniforms in mourning for their occupied country. He financed the corps independently by mortgaging his principality in Oels, and made his way from Austrian Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
through the French-allied states of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
and Westphalia
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a new country of 2.6 million Germans that existed from 1807-1813. It included of territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte...
to the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
coast.
Frederick William briefly managed to retake control of the city of Braunschweig in August 1809, which gained him the status of a local folk hero. He then fled to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to join forces with his brother-in-law, later to be King George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
. His corps of originally 2,300 soldiers was largely destroyed in battles in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
.
Frederick William returned to Braunschweig in December 1813, after Prussia had ended French domination in Braunschweig-Lüneburg. When Napoleon returned to the political scene in 1815 during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, Frederick William raised fresh troops. He was killed by a gunshot at the Battle of Quatre Bras
Battle of Quatre Bras
The Battle of Quatre Bras, between Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army and the left wing of the Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ney, was fought near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815.- Prelude :...
on 16 June.
Family
On 1 November 1802, in KarlsruheKarlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, Frederick William married Princess Marie Elisabeth of Baden
Princess Marie of Baden (1782–1808)
Marie of Baden , was a Duchess consort of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Brunswick-Oels. She was married to Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, 1 November 1802...
(7 September 1782 Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
– 20 April 1808 Bruchsal
Bruchsal
Bruchsal is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
), daughter of Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden. The couple had three children before Marie died of puerperal fever
Puerperal fever
Puerperal fever or childbed fever, is a bacterial infection contracted by women during childbirth or miscarriage. It can develop into puerperal sepsis, which is a serious form of septicaemia. If untreated, it is often fatal....
four days after giving birth to a stillborn daughter.
- Charles (1804–1873)
- William (1806–1884)
- Stillborn daughter (b. & d. 16 April 1808 BruchsalBruchsalBruchsal is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
)
Titles and styles
- 9 October 1771 – 20 September 1806: His Serene Highness Prince Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
- 20 September 1806 – 16 October 1806: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Duke of Brunswick
- 16 October 1806 – 16 June 1815: His Serene Highness The Duke of Brunswick
Monuments
- Brunswick Monument in Baisy-Thy, (GenappeGenappeGenappe is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 2006 Genappe had a total population of 14,136...
, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) erected by the Brunswick State for the 75th anniversary. The bronze lion was casted in the Wilhelm foundry in BornumBornumBornum am Elm is a village of about 850 inhabitants in the city of Königslutter am Elm, Lower Saxony, Germany. It was a municipality until 1974, when it was joined to Königslutter....