Otto Friedrich Ferdinand von Görschen (born April 12, 1824 in Neuruppin

Neuruppin

Neuruppin is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. Located on the shore of Ruppiner See , it is the capital of the district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin. Population: 32,800 .-Overview:...

, died June 8, 1875 in Eberswalde

Eberswalde

Eberswalde is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in the German Federal State of Brandenburg, about 50 km northeast of Berlin. Population 42144 , geographical location . The town is often called Waldstadt , because of the large forests around it, including the...

) was a Royal Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n lieutenant colonel and highly decorated war hero of the 19th century.

Military career and merits

Much like his father lieutenant colonel August Friedrich von Görschen (1794−1866), Otto Friedrich Ferdinand von Görschen firstly took up a career as a commissioned officer in the 24th regiment in the German infantry from the 6th Division

6th Division (German Empire)

The 6th Division was a unit of the Prussian/German Army. It was formed in Düsseldorf in 1816 as a brigade and became the 6th Division on September 5, 1818. The headquarters moved to Torgau in 1820 and then to Brandenburg in 1850. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the III Army Corps...

, and was promoted there in 1864 to the position of Captain and Chief of the 6th Company. On January 16, 1866 he was promoted to become a Major, and at the same time he was posted to the 8th Brandenburg infantry Regiment of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828-1885) from the same Division.

Otto von Görschen was instrumental in the Second Schleswig War in 1864 Battle of Dybbøl

Battle of Dybbøl

The Battle of Dybbøl was the key battle of the Second War of Schleswig and occurred on the morning of 18 April 1864 following a siege lasting from 7 April. Denmark suffered a severe defeat against the German Confederation which decided the war...

 during the transition to Alsen Battle of Als

Battle of Als

The Battle of Als was fought on 29 June 1864 during the Second Schleswig War between Denmark and Prussia. It was the last major engagement of the war, as the Prussians under General Herwarth von Bittenfeld secured Als after a night attack masterminded by the Chief of Staff Leonhard Graf von...

 and the assault to the Düppeler Schanzen (rempal of Dybbøl).

For his previous merits, inter alia, he was decorated as follows:

• House Order of Hohenzollern
  House Order of Hohenzollern
  The House Order of Hohenzollern was an order of chivalry of the House of Hohenzollern. It was both a military and a civil award...
  
   with swords
• Order of the Red Eagle
  Order of the Red Eagle
  The Order of the Red Eagle was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements...
  
   with swords
• Prussian Order of the Crown
  Order of the Crown (Prussia)
  The Order of the Crown was Prussia's lowest ranking order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an award equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, it could only be awarded to commissioned officers , but there was a medal associated with the order which could be earned by non-commissioned officers...
  
   with swords
• Order of the Iron Crown
  Order of the Iron Crown
  The Imperial Order of the Iron Crown was established June 5, 1805 by Napoleon Bonaparte . It took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombardy, a medieval jewel with an iron ring, forged from what was supposed to be a nail from the True Cross as a band on the inside. This crown also gave its...
  
   of Austria

According to rankings of 1868, Otto von Görschen and Alfred von Lewinski (1831-1906) were the only officers in the Prussian Army

Prussian Army

The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...

 with the above three swords. As commander of the Second Battalion of the Brandenburg Infantry Regiment, he later was a recipient of the Iron Cross

Iron Cross

The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....

 first class.

After two injuries in 1864 and 1870, and incipient disease from 1872, he was exempted from military service. He was married to Emma Clara Helene Riedel (1845−1924), daughter of the archivist, historian and politician Adolph Friedrich Johann Riedel (1809-1872). From this marriage three children were born. After his early death, Emma Riedel von Görschen married again to Eduard Tempeltey (1832−1919).

Sources

• Archive documents Hans-Thorald Michaelis
  Hans-Thorald Michaelis
  Hans-Thorald Michaelis was a German historian, germanist and genealogist- Life and career :...
  
  
• Records of the family von Görschen
  Von Görschen
  The name von Görschen is an old German name of nobility originating from the 12th century. The family name derives from its original headquarters: the place Goresin or even from an older "oppida goresin" near Lützen, which was already appointed by Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg in the year 998,...
  
   by Horst Friedrich Ernst von Görschen, Cranz (now Zelenogradsk
  Zelenogradsk
  Zelenogradsk, is a town and the administrative center of Zelenogradsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, Located on the Sambian coastline near the Curonian Spit on the Baltic Sea...
  
  ) 1933
• Theodor Fontane
  Theodor Fontane
  Theodor Fontane was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist writer.-Youth:Fontane was born in Neuruppin into a Huguenot family. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to an apothecary, his father's profession. He became an...
  
  : poems by Theodor Fontane, 21-23 editions, p. 277/278
• Theodor Fontane: Quitt, 2 Auflage, S. 224 Editions, p. 224
• Hugo Bartsch: Images from Arch of Pictures from my Life, Cotta’sche Buchhandlung (bookstore) second edition

External links

• http://www.textlog.de/40327.html http://www.textlog.de/40327.html
• http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=118837
• http://www.jahrbuch-daun.de/VT/hjb1984/hjb1984.33.htm