Ferdinand Carl Maria Wedel-Jarlsberg (1 December 1781 – 16 April 1857) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

military officer and commanding general of the

Royal Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway i ...

Biography

He was the son of Frederik Anton Wedel Jarlsberg (1748–1811) and Catharina Storm (1756–1802). He was born in

Naples, Italy Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

where his father served as Danish-Norwegian diplomat. His elder brother,

Herman Wedel Jarlsberg Count Johan Caspar Herman Wedel Jarlsberg (21 September 1779 – 27 August 1840) was a Norwegian statesman and nobleman. He played an active role in the constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814 and was the first native Norwegian to hold th ...

(1779–1840), was a statesman and member of the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...

. In 1790, he entered the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

. In 1807, he participated against the

Royal British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fra ...

during the Battle of Copenhagen. After resignation from the Danish Army he was appointed in November 1814 as a major in the Norwegian cavalry. Wedel-Jarlsberg was a commander of

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress h ...

from 1819. In 1823 he became a Major General and head of the cavalry. In 1833 he became General Lieutenant and was commander of the

from 1836–50. He was awarded membership in the Order of St. Olav in 1847, and won the Borgerdådsmedal in gold in 1850.

References

1781 births 1857 deaths Danish military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Norwegian Army generals 19th-century Norwegian military personnel Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Wedel-Jarlsberg, Ferdinand Carl Maria Ferdinand Carl Maria {{Norway-mil-bio-stub