George Frederick Koehler (14 January 1758 – 29 December 1800) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
artist, soldier and engineer. He is known for creating a gun that recoiled allowing it to fire down the side of a mountain without sending the gun carriage flying into the air. The
Koehler Depressing Carriage is still commemorated today in
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
where it was an important defence during the
Great Siege of Gibraltar.
Life
Koehler was born in 1758 and baptised in
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...
. His father was a bombardier born in Rennermuehle, Bavaria, who emigrated to Britain via Hesse and Hannover. He became a second lieutenant in the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
in January 1780.
[
Koehler is remembered for his invention of a gun-carriage allowing the axis of the gun to be depressed to an angle of seventy degrees. This was demonstrated during the Great Siege of Gibraltar on 15 February 1782 at Princess Royal's Battery. This new carriage enabled the defending guns to take advantage of the height of the Rock of Gibraltar. Although not a new idea it was ingenious and the invention of the sliding carriage allowed the gun to recoil without pulling the gun carriage into the air. This idea was later built into more conventional gun carriages.] Colonel John Drinkwater in his accounts claimed that the gun hit its target 28 times out of 30 when aimed at the Spaniards' San Carlos Battery. He was a first lieutenant when he made the invention but he became a brevet-major the following year. He joined the Governor of Gibraltar
The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...
's staff and despite the poor first impressions he first made he was to become a confidential ''aide de campe'' with Charles Holloway. By 1800 he was a brevet Colonel.[
]
Koehler was awarded the Governor's sword for his action during a famous sortie against the Spanish.[Alastair W. Massie, ‘Koehler, George Frederick (1758–1800)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200]
accessed 3 April 2013
/ref>
Koehler, Sir George Augustus Eliott, Charles Holloway, George Mackenzie, Thomas Trigge
General Sir Thomas Trigge (c. 1742 – 11 January 1814) was a British army officer who began his career in 1759 during the Seven Years' War, as an ensign in the 12th Regiment of Foot. He remained with the regiment for the next 36 years, and co ...
and General William Green are amongst those recorded as the principal officers serving in the siege who were painted by George Carter for the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
. The National Portrait Gallery have an oil sketch but the final painting is at the National Army Museum
The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the " Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public bo ...
.
He commanded the army of the United Belgian States
The United Belgian States ( nl, Verenigde Nederlandse Staten or '; french: États-Belgiques-Unis; lat, Foederatum Belgium), also known as the United States of Belgium, was a short-lived confederal republic in the Southern Netherlands (modern-da ...
in 1790 which fought against the troops of the Austrian Emperor Leopold II during the Brabant Revolution
The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (french: Révolution brabançonne, nl, Brabantse Omwenteling), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed insurrection that occurred in the Aust ...
.
In 1794, Gilbert Elliot, Earl of Minto who was to be a viceroy to the short lived Anglo-Corsican Kingdom
The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom (Italian: ''Regno Anglo-Corso''; Corsican: ''Riame anglo-corsu'', ''Riamu anglu-corsu''), also known as the Kingdom of Corsica (Italian: ''Regno di Corsica''; Corsican: ''Regnu di Corsica''), was a client state of th ...
, Lieutenant-colonel John Moore and Koehler went to Corsica for talks with the renegade General Pasquale Paoli
Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; french: link=no, Pascal Paoli; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Genoese and later ...
.
In December 1800 he led a mission to help the Ottomans eject the French. The British Government had authorised stores, artillery and 100 personnel. He arrived in July and visited Jerusalem in October and arrived in Jaffa assisting in its defence. This is where he and his wife died as a result of fever. He was replaced by Major General Charles Holloway who had served with him in Gibraltar.
Legacy
Koehler died without a will and his fortune went to the British Government. A claim was made by a family in Germany in 1820. The legal battle went on until 1859 when it was ruled that three people should get a share of over £7,600 pounds from his estate and over fourteen thousand pounds worth of interest.[
In 1995 Gibraltar issued a new design for their ten pound note and this includes a small picture of Koehler's gun.£10 pound 1995 design]
gibraltar-stamps.com, accessed April 2013
In 2012 the Gibraltar Government issued designs for new coinage which included a representation of Koehler's novel gun design on the ten pence coin.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koehler, George Frederick
1758 births
1800 deaths
People from Woolwich
Royal Artillery officers
English people of German descent
British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
People of the Brabant Revolution