Alfred Cuno Paridam

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

von dem Knesebeck-Milendonck (29 August 1816 – 14. December 1883) was a soldier, landowner and member of the

Prussian House of Representatives The Prussian House of Representatives (german: Preußisches Abgeordnetenhaus) was the lower chamber of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the upper house, the House of ...

and the

Reichstag of the North German Confederation The Reichstag () of the North German Confederation was the federal state's lower house of parliament. The popularly elected Reichstag was responsible for federal legislation together with the Bundesrat, the upper house whose members were appoi ...

for

Free Conservative Party The Free Conservative Party (german: Freikonservative Partei, FKP) was a liberal-conservative political party in Prussia and the German Empire which emerged from the Prussian Conservative Party in the Prussian Landtag in 1866. In the federal ele ...

Life

Alfred von dem Knesebeck was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on 29 August 1816 to

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Karl Friedrich von dem Knesebeck Karl Friedrich von dem Knesebeck (5 May 1768– 12 January 1848) was a Prussian field marshal and military adviser in the Napoleonic Wars, best known for designing the campaign plan of the Battle of the Nations and the subsequent invasion of Fran ...

and Adolphine von Klitzing. He attended the Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster in Berlin before commissioning into the

Gardes du Corps A ''Garde du Corps'' (French for lifeguard) is a military unit, formed of guards. A ''Garde du Corps'' was first established in France in 1445. From the 17th century onwards, the term was used in several German states and also, for example, in ...

in 1834, during which he became closely acquainted with Bismarck and Prince Waldemar of Prussia, with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship. In 1844 he resigned his regular commission in order to take over the management of the family estates, though he remained in the

Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortif ...

until 1859, reaching the rank of Major. In 1858 he witnessed the French colonial campaign in

Kabylie Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of the ...

. On 28 September 1843 Knesebeck married Franziska von Bojanowski, daughter of

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Alfred von Bojanowski, following a brief courtship. From 1859 to 1862 and 1866–68 he was a Member of the

, and in 1867 a Member the

. As a Knight of the Order of St John he became heavily involved in care for the wounded during the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

(1864), the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

(1866) and the Franco-Prussian War (1871). For these services he received the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) 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 se ...

, the Order of the Crown with St John device, and the Bavarian Order of Military Merit. At the personal request of Crown Prince Frederick William, he was also presented with the first

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

to be awarded for services in the Order of St John.A. von dem Knesebeck: ''Meine Erlebnisse''. Edition Rieger, Karwe 2008, p.136. In light of his services and those of his father he was granted the joining the barony of Milendonck to that of Knesebeck. The Milendonck family had married into the Knesebeck family in the early 18th century, but had since become extinct. This was granted by royal decree on 10 March 1870.

Honours

, 3rd Class *: Order of the Crown, 3rd Class with Order of St John device. The first such awarded. *:

Order of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

, Knight of Justice *:

, 2nd Class *:

Service Award Cross {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A Service Award Cross (''Dienstauszeichnungskreuz'') was an award for long-time service as a civil servant or member of the military. Prussia had a service cross for 25-years service for office ...

*: Military Merit Order, 2nd Class

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knesebeck, Alfred von dem 1816 births 1883 deaths German Empire politicians German landowners Free Conservative Party politicians Members of the Prussian House of Representatives German people of the Franco-Prussian War People from Neuruppin Prussian Army personnel Prussian nobility