Karl Friedrich Albrecht, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt (10 June 1705 – 22 June 1762), a grandson of

Frederick William of Brandenburg Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...

(''the Great Elector'') and son of

Margrave Albert Frederick of Brandenburg-Schwedt Albert Frederick, Prince of Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt (24 January 1672 – 21 June 1731), was a Lieutenant General in the army of the Electorate of Brandenburg-Prussia and Grand Master of the Order of Saint John. In his lifetime h ...

, was a Prussian military officer and the ''Herrenmeister'' ( grand master) of the

Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg) Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Life

Charles of Brandenburg-Schwedt 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 ...

. He joined the Prussian Army at an early age and distinguished himself during the

First Silesian War The First Silesian War (german: Erster Schlesischer Krieg, links=no) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland) from Austria. T ...

at the capture of

Głogów Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–1998) ...

, at the

Battle of Mollwitz The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on 10 April 1741, during the First Silesian War (in the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession). It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both si ...

and the

Battle of Chotusitz The Battle of Chotusitz, or Chotusice, sometimes called the Battle of Čáslav, took place on 17 May 1742, in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic; it was part of the 1740 to 1742 First Silesian War, itself a subsidiary of the wider War of the Austr ...

. He took command in Upper Silesia in the spring of 1745, to the special satisfaction of his cousin, King

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. 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� ...

Margrave Charles again held independent commands, as Frederick II had confidence in him, and he distinguished himself at the

Battle of Hochkirch The Battle of Hochkirch took place on 14 October 1758, during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War). After several weeks of maneuvering for position, an Austrian army of 80,000 commanded by Lieutenant Field Marshal Leopold Josef ...

and the

Battle of Torgau In the Battle of Torgau on 3 November 1760, King Frederick the Great's Prussian army fought an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Leopold Josef Graf Daun. The Prussians won a costly victory in one of the bloodiest battles of the Thir ...

. In both battles, as at Mollwitz, he was wounded. The General German Biography (ADB) describes him as a noble, philanthropic character and lover of the arts and sciences. For 31 years he governed the knights, the Bailiwick of Brandenburg, and its fiefs as Grand Master of the Order of St. John, having been installed at Sonnenburg in 1731. He died in Breslau.

Issue

Charles Frederick Albert was never married, but had one daughter with his mistress, Dorothea Regina Wuthner (who was raised to the nobility on 14 January 1744 as "''Frau von Carlowitz''"): * Caroline Regina von Carlowitz ( Soldin, 12 December 1731 – Berlin, 16 September 1755), married in Berlin on 16 June 1747 to Count Albrecht Christian von Schönburg-Hinterglauchau (22 January 1720 – 9 March 1799), Charles's adjutant. They had three children: **Countess Ernestine Caroline Wilhelmine Albertine of Schönburg-Hinterglauchau (6 June 1748 – 21 March 1810); married in Berlin on 2 November 1770 to Count Frederick Louis Finck von Finckenstein (18 February 1745 – 18 April 1818). **Count Frederick William Charles Ernest of Schönburg-Hinterglauchau (9 January 1751 – 17 June 1751). **Count Christian William Charles Frederick Ernest of Schönburg-Hinterglauchau (14 June 1752 – 9 March 1770). In 1744, Charles was engaged to marry Maria Amalia of

Hesse-Cassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...

(1721–1744), but she died before they could wed. Upon his death in 1762, lacking legitimate heirs, his estate reverted to the crown. After the

Treaty of Hubertusburg The Treaty of Hubertusburg (german: Frieden von Hubertusburg) was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg Castle by Prussia, Austria and Saxony to end the Third Silesian War. Together with the Treaty of Paris, signed five days earlier, it marke ...

, Frederick II granted these fortunes to the two officers for whom he had particular gratitude:

Hans Sigismund von Lestwitz Hans Sigismund von Lestwitz (19 June 1718 – 16 February 1788) was a Prussian major general of the infantry and was especially honored by Frederick II for his action in the Battle of Torgau. His decisive leadership at Torgau, in which he snatc ...

received the estate of Friedland, and Joachim Bernhard von Prittwitz, who had led the king from the battlefield in the Kunersdorf, received the estate at Quillitz. Theodore Fontane gave this circumstance a special mention, by quoting a proverb: "Lestwitz a sauvé l'etat, Prittwitz a sauvé le roi." (Lestwitz saved the state, Prittwitz the king.) The staff officers of the Lestwitz regiment received a golden medal.

Notes

References

* ''Mitteilungen des Vereins für die Geschichte Potsdams'', vol. 3, p. 9
Online
* Joachim Engelmann, Günter Dorn: ''Friedrich der Große und seine Generale'', Friedberg, 1988 *

Hanns Joachim Friedrichs Hanns Joachim "Hajo" Friedrichs (15 March 1927 – 28 March 1995) was a German journalist. Life Friedrichs was born in Hamm. From 1971 to 1981, he was a sports journalist for the German magazine ''Sportstudio''. 1985 Friedrichs went from ZDF ...

: ''Weltgeschichte, eine Chronik'', Naturalisverlag * Hannsjoachim W. Koch: ''Geschichte Preußens'', Bertelsmann-Verlag *

External links

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Frederick Albert, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt 1705 births 1762 deaths 18th-century German people Margraves of Brandenburg-Schwedt House of Hohenzollern Military personnel from Berlin Lieutenant generals of Prussia Burials at Berlin Cathedral