Andreas Samuel Krebs (10 March 1766 – 28 March 1818) was a Danish-Norwegian army officer.

Early years

Born on 10 March 1766 at

Tønder Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might ...

Sønderjylland Southern Jutland ( da, Sønderjylland; German: Südjütland) is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called da, Nør ...

, Krebs was the son of vicar Peter Ditlev Krebs and Birgitte Marie Lutz. Originally, he was to follow in his father's footsteps and study

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, but when he showed good understanding within

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, he got a desire for a career within the military. In order to study and prepare for his officer exam, Krebs was sent to his uncle, Professor John Heinrich Krebs. After he passed his exam, he was accepted as a cadet in 1779 and later joined the Jäger Corps in

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. During the

Theater War {{Campaignbox Dano-Swedish Wars The Theatre War ( sv, Teaterkriget), Cowberry War, Cranberry War or Lingonberry War ( no, Tyttebærkrigen, da, Tyttebærkrigen), was a brief war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden, starting on 24 September 1788 ...

in 1788, Krebs was sent to Norway and took part in the advance against

Bohuslän Bohuslän (; da, Bohuslen; no, Båhuslen) is a Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea ...

and the victory over the Swedes at Kvistrum bridge. After the war was over Krebs joined the Norwegian jäger corps, and married Else Thyrholm Gude on 12 February 1798. In 1806 he was also promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Military career

When war once again broke out between

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe I ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

from 1808 to 1809, Krebs was put in direct command over the jäger corps. During the war, he distinguished himself during skirmishes at

Høland Høland is a former municipality in Akershus county, Norway. History Høland was created in 1837 as a formannskapsdistrikt, a Norwegian local self-government district. The district Setskog was separated from Høland to form a separate municipali ...

Rødenes Rødenes is a former municipality in the former Østfold county, Norway. The parish of ''Rødenæs'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The district of Rømskog was separated from Rødenes as a municip ...

and Berby, and was for his efforts awarded with the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

. After the war, Krebs was appointed interim commander at

Kongsvinger Fortress Kongsvinger Fortress ( no, Kongsvinger festning) is located in the city and municipality of Kongsvinger in the county of Hedmark, Norway. It is situated on a hill west and north of the Glomma river, standing astride the ancient Vinger Royal Road, ...

, while he became regimental commander of the newly formed

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

sharpshooter regiment, where he advanced to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. During the Swedish campaign against Norway in 1814, Krebs was appointed head of a division in the district around Kongsvinger. Here he successfully led the defense of Lier entrenchment, and the counter-attack that drove the Swedes back across the border at

Matrand Matrand is a village in Eidskog Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located approximately south of the town of Kongsvinger and about north of the village of Skotterud. Matrand is approximately northwest of the border with ...

. The Norwegian victories at Lier and Matrand strengthened the morale among the Norwegian population and King

Christian Frederik Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederic ...

was sure that the fortunes of war had turned in favor of Norwegians. Although the war ended with a Swedish victory after the

Convention of Moss The Convention of Moss (''Mossekonvensjonen'') was a ceasefire agreement signed on 14 August 1814 between the King of Sweden and the Norwegian government. It followed the Swedish-Norwegian War due to Norway's claim to sovereignty. It also becam ...

, Krebs was hailed as the "hero from Lier and Matrand", and was considered to have saved Norway's pride in an otherwise despondently campaign. After the union between Norway and Sweden was signed, Krebs was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and became adjutant to

Charles XIII Charles XIII, or Carl XIII ( sv, Karl XIII, 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818), was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sw ...

in 1816. In 1818 Krebs was appointed commander of the 1st

Brigade, but died the same year.

Legacy

Krebs' street ( no, Krebs' gate) in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

was named after him in 1874, the same time as he has streets named after him in

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

and

Skotterud Skotterud is the administrative centre of Eidskog Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the Norwegian National Road 2 and the Kongsvingerbanen railway line. Skotterud sits about south of the town of Kongsvinger ...

. In 1879 a memorial to Andreas Samuel Krebs was unveiled at Christ Cemetery in Oslo. On every 17 May (

Norwegian Constitution Day Constitution Day is the national day of Norway and is an official public holiday observed on 17 May each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to as ''Syttende Mai'' ("Seventeenth of May"), ''Nasjonaldagen'' ("National Day"), or ''Grunnlo ...

) a garland is laid on the memorial by

Hans Majestet Kongens Garde , image=Coat of arms of His Majesty The King's Guard of Norway.svg , image_size=150px , caption=Insignia of Hans Majestet Kongens Garde , country= , allegiance= Monarchy of Norway , type=Foot Guards , branch= , dates=1856–present , specialization ...

. This is one of the few 17 May events in the capital that has directly to do with the events that took place in 1814.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krebs, Andreas Samuel 1766 births 1818 deaths Norwegian Army personnel Norwegian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars