Count Christian Louis Casimir of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg, by German School of the 19th Century

Christian Louis Casimir, 2nd Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg (german: Christian Ludwig Casimir Graf zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg) (13 July 1725, Berleburg – 6 May 1797, Rheda) was a reigning Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg line of

Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn-Wittgenstein was a county of medieval Germany, located in the Sauerland of eastern North Rhine-Westphalia. History Sayn-Wittgenstein was created when Count Salentin of Sayn-Homburg, a member of the House of Sponheim, married the heiress Cou ...

family from 1750 to 1796.

Early life

He was a son of Count Ludwig Franz of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

(a descendant of Ludwig I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein, through his son Count George II) and his wife Countess Helene Emilie zu

Solms-Baruth Solms-Baruth was a Lower Lusatian state country, from 16th century until 1945. History The House of Solms had its origins at Solms, Hesse, and ruled several of the many minor states of the Holy Roman Empire. These lost their independence in the G ...

Military service

Christian Ludwig Casimir served as an officer in the Hessian army (in the "Waldenheimische Regiment" for

William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel William VIII (10 March 1682 – 1 February 1760) ruled the German Landgraviate Hesse-Kassel from 1730 until his death, first as regent (1730–1751) and then as landgrave (1751–1760). Life Born in Kassel, he was the seventh son of Charles I, La ...

), took part in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

(in the

Pragmatic Army The Pragmatic Army was an army which served during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was formed in 1743 by George II, who was both King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover, and consisted of a mixture of British, Irish and German forces. I ...

as aide-de-camp (adjutant) of British Field-Marshal Baron Howard de Walden) and was taken captive in Kolberg as a

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

of the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

in 1761 during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

in the Russian Empire.

Russian service

Like so many German officers he was offered a commission by the German

Peter III of Russia Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and entered the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

in 1762. His last war was the Russo-Turkish campaign of 1769. In command of a brigade of the 2nd Army of Count

Nikita Panin Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin (russian: Ники́та Ива́нович Па́нин) () was an influential Russian statesman and political mentor to Catherine II of Russia, Catherine the Great for the first 18 years of her reign (1762-1780). In ...

, he tried to capture town of Bendery but, in absence of heavy artillery, was unsuccessful. After his transfer to the 1st Army, he proceeded not to take part in the 1770 campaign. In the same (1770) year he resigned his commission, was granted approval and at the same time promoted (common promotion for higher pension retirees) to general-poruchik (lieutenant-general).

Personal life

He was married two times. Firstly, on 13 July 1763 with Countess Amalia Louise Finck von Finckenstein. Secondly, on 14 February 1774 with Princess Anna Petrovna

Dolgorukov The House of Dolgorukov () is a princely Russian family of Rurikid stock. They are a cadet branch of the Obolenskiy family (until 1494 the rulers of Obolensk, one of the Upper Oka Principalities) and as such claiming patrilineal descent from ...

a (1742-1789). All of his seven children, including Ludwig Adolph Peter, Prince Wittgenstein, came from the first marriage: * Count Paul Ludwig Karl (1764-1790) * Count Fedrinand (1766-1771) * Prince Ludwig Adolf Peter zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg (1769-1843), married in 1798 to Polish noblewoman Antonia Cäcilie Snarska and had in this marriage 11 children, among them Prince Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. * Count Georg Ludwig Alexander (1770-1774) * Countess Karoline Polyxena Friederike (1765-1766) * Countess Karoline Luise (1771-1779) * Countess Amalie Luise (1771-1853), married in 1790 to Count Dorotheus Ludwig Christoph von Keller. They were maternal grandparents of Princess Leonilla zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.

References

1725 births 1797 deaths Christian Louis Casimir Christian Louis Casimir of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg German military personnel of the Seven Years' War German military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession {{germany-noble-stub