Kaspar Ernst von Schultze (also Casper Earnest von Schultze) (18 October 1691 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 ...

–2 December 1757 in Breslau) was a Lieutenant General of infantry in 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 ...

, commander of the Breslau fortress, and director of the royal riding academy in Liegnitz. He was also the heir of the family estates at Mahlen (today Wisznia Mała) in the Silesian county of

Trebnitz Trebnitz is a village and a former municipality in the district Burgenlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Teuchern. References

Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Teuchern {{Burgenland ...

. He fought in the wars of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

succession, the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

, and 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� ...

. He served in the Prussian army under three monarchs:

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoller ...

, Frederick William I, and Frederick II. His name was included in 1851 on the

Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great The Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great on Unter den Linden avenue in Berlin's Mitte district commemorates King Frederick II. of Prussia. Created from 1839 to 1851 by Christian Daniel Rauch, it is a masterpiece of the Berlin school of scu ...

honoring the men considered to be the founders of the modern Prussian state.

Family and character

At his birth, his father served in the Prussian military. Schultze was educated at the Joachimsthaler Gymnasium in Berlin and then at the universities of Halle,

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

and

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

. At each he acquired advanced knowledge useful in his military career. He was considered a

Renaissance man A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

, much like his king, and spoke Latin, French, Italian and some Spanish. He traveled widely in royal service, and had visited most of the territories of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

.Anton Balthasar König, ''Biographisches Lexikon aller Helden und Militärpersonen: T. M-Se''. A. Wever, 1790
p. 440
He married in 1728 with Anna Elisabeth Krielen (Kriehl) (1712–14 February 1788) from Brandenburg. They had two surviving children: * Juliana Beate Sophie (died 1752) * Christoph Johann (died 1786) ∞ 30 May 1757 Freiin 'Eleonora Sennia Friedrica von Rottwitz In acknowledgement of his service, he was raised to the nobility with his step brother, Friedrich Böning von Schulze. His brother died in 1786 as a pensioned colonel of the Infantry Regiment No. 5.

Military career

The Chief of the Artillery,

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 ...

noticed his talent, and in 1707 Schultze joined the Artillery corps. There he came to the notice of the future king, Friedrich Wilhelm I, who made him and subaltern in the Life Regiment. With this regiment, he fought in the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

, especially at the

Battle of Malplaquet The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession and was fought between a French army commanded by the Duke of Villars and a Grand Alliance force under the Duke of Marlborough. In one of the blo ...

and in the

Siege of Bouchain The siege of Bouchain (9 August – 12 September 1711), following the Passage of the Lines of ''Ne Plus Ultra'' (5 August 1711), was a siege of the War of the Spanish Succession, and the last major victory of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlbor ...

in 1711. On 13 January 1714, he was promoted to ''Fähnrich'' of the Infantry Regiment No. 2 (Jung-Dönhoff). In the Pomerania campaign of the

(1715–1716, he fought at Stralsund and was promoted to lieutenant on 28 January 1716; 3 January 1723, staff captain of Infantry Regiment Nr. 28 (Mosel) and, quickly, on 5 June 1723, he received his own company. On 20 July 1730, he was also named as regional captain for Fischhausen (Prussia). In this position, he recruited 50 officers and more than 4000 soldiers for the Prussian army. In 1732, the Crown Prince

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

became his colonel. On 25 July 1738, he was promoted to Major, and, when Frederick formed his own Life Guard Regiment, the Prince named Schultze as lieutenant colonel of the first battalion. With the Life Guards, he fought on 10 April 1741 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 ...

, where he was wounded by cannon shot and his horse, killed. On 18 May 1743, he was promoted to colonel and received command of the first and second battalions of Frederick's Life Guard. In the Second Silesian war, part of the

War of Austrian Succession War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, he was commander of the fortress at

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

. On 30 May 1747, he was promoted to major general and made commandant of the Breslau fortress as well as overseer of the Royal Riding Academy in Liegnitz. In the same year he received his own regiment, Infantry Regiment Nr. 29. With the outbreak of the

, he remained in Breslau, named lieutenant general in March 1757. During the Battle of Breslau on 22 November 1757, he led a brigade into battle and was shot through his left breast, badly wounded. He remained on his horse, leading his troops, until the animal was itself shot. Despite his own injuries, he mounted five additional horses; the horses were all killed and eventually he collapsed. He was carried to the house of Prince Ferdinand in Breslau, and there the ball was extracted, but he died of his wound two weeks later. He was buried at the evangelical church with little fanfare. In 1851,

Frederick William IV Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

included his name on the

, among the founders of the modern Prussian state.Denkmal König Friedrich II von Preußen
''Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt'', Berlin, revised 10 April 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultze, Kaspar Ernst 1757 deaths 1691 births Prussian military personnel of the Seven Years' War Lieutenant generals of Prussia