Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

Johann Friedrich von der Decken (25 May 1769 – 22 May 1840) was a Hanoverian general and diplomat during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Life

The

von der Decken von der Decken is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * von der Decken family, a German noble family * Georg von der Decken (1836–1898), German politician (DHP), grandson of Johann Friedrich von der Decken * Johann Friedrich von d ...

s are an old noble family in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

which produced several officers for the forces of the

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

. In 1784 Johann Friedrich joined the army, fighting in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

from 1793 to 1795. He headed a military journal with his friend

Gerhard von Scharnhorst Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst (12 November 1755 – 28 June 1813) was a Hanoverian-born general in Prussian service from 1801. As the first Chief of the Prussian General Staff, he was noted for his military theories, his reforms of the Pru ...

, the Prussian military reformer for many years. In 1803 he joined the diplomatic service on Napoleon's occupation of Hanover and left for the United Kingdom. On 28 July 1803 he began together with Sir

Colin Halkett General (United Kingdom), General Sir Colin Halkett (7 September 1774 – 24 September 1856) was a British Army officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey. Family Halkett came from a military family. His father was Major General Frederick ...

recruiting expatriate Hanoverian soldiers to fight for the United Kingdom in the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

and subsequent Napoleonic conflicts, with his recruits forming the

King's German Legion The King's German Legion (KGL; german: Des Königs Deutsche Legion, semantically erroneous obsolete German variations are , , ) was a British Army unit of mostly expatriated German personnel during the period 1803–16. The legion achieved th ...

, with which he fought from 1805 to 1807.

North Ludlow Beamish North Ludlow Beamish (31 December 1797 – 27 April 1872), was an Irish military writer and antiquary. He was the son of William Beamish, Esq., of Beaumont House, County Cork. In November 1816 he obtained a commission in the 4th Royal Irish Drago ...

History of the King's German Legion, 2 vols. London, 1834–7, Vol. 1 p. 80Vol. 2
/ref> In 1808 he was sent to Spain and Portugal during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

as a diplomat and military advisor and to recruit troops to fight against France, before returning to England, where in 1815 he organised another Hanoverian regiment to fight against the French during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

. After the war he refused military decorations from the Netherlands and Prussia. In 1817 he bought the former Benedictine monastery in

Ringelheim Ringelheim with 1,994 inhabitants is the sixth biggest quarter of Salzgitter in Lower Saxony, Germany, located on the Innerste River at the very far south-western end of the urban area. The Salzgitter-Ringelheim train station is the most important ...

and rebuilt it as his country house, the Schloss und Park Ringelheim, spending his retirement there from 1833, the year in which he was made a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(

). It is a

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

title and it was given by

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

as king of the restored

kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...

. In 1835 he also became president of the Historical Society for Lower Saxony.

Bibliography

* Richard W Fox: Conservative accommodation to revolution : Friedrich von der Decken and the Hanoverian military reform, 1789-1820 : an inquiry into the role of the military in state and society – Thesis (PhD) – Yale University, 1972 * Karl Ernst Hermann Krause
Decken, Johann Friedrich, Graf
in the ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

'' (ADB). Vol 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 2.

References

External links

King's German Legion
* *
Texts by and on Friedrich von der Decken on German WikiSource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decken, Friedrich Von der 1769 births 1840 deaths German commanders of the Napoleonic Wars German diplomats German military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars King's German Legion

Friedrich Friedrich may refer to: Names * Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' * Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other * Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...