Louis of Hesse-Philippsthal (German: ''Ludwig von Hessen-Philippsthal''; 8 October 1766 – 15 February 1816) was a German nobleman and a general. He fought for the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

(later

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

). From 1813 until his death, he was the ruling Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal.

Biography

Louis was born at

Philippsthal Philippsthal (Werra) is a market community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany, right at the boundary with Thuringia. Geography Location Philippsthal lies between the outliers of the Rhön and the Thuringian Forest (ranges) ...

as the son of William, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal and his wife Princess Ulrike Eleonora of

Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld This is a list of rulers of Hesse (german: Hessen) during the history of Hesse on west-central Germany. These rulers belonged to a dynasty collectively known as the House of Hesse and the House of Brabant,''Burke's Royal Families of the World ...

. A prince of the family of the Landgraves of Hesse-Philippsthal, he fought for the

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 ...

. In the course of 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 ...

, he commanded the garrison of the fortress of

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

in the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

laid by the French in 1806, refusing to obey the order of the Neapolitan government to surrender it. His troops resisted for six months, until 18 July after Louis, while leading his men on the bastions, was wounded on 10 July and had to leave the fortress. Later, together with colonel Nunziante and lieutenant colonel Bardot, an expedition of 4,000 men who, in 1807, left

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

to attempt the reconquest of the mainland of Naples. They were however defeated in the

Battle of Mileto The Battle of Mileto was a battle of the War of the Third Coalition. It occurred on 28 May 1807 in Calabria during an attempt by the Bourbon Kingdom of Sicily to re-conquer its possessions in continental Italy, known as the Kingdom of Napl ...

of 28 May 1807. After the death of his brother Charles in the siege of

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

in 1793, Louis succeeded him as hereditary prince of the langraviate of Hesse-Philippsthal. When Louis died childless at Naples in 1816 (his only son had died in 1802, aged four), the title went to his brother

Ernst Konstantin Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975- ...

Marriage and issue

Louis married on 21 January 1791 in

Susteren Susteren (; li, Zöstere ) is a city in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Echt-Susteren, about 7 km northwest of Sittard. It was a separate municipality until 2003, when it was merged with Echt. Susteren r ...

to Countess Marie Franziska Berghe von Trips (1771-1805), daughter of Count Franz Adolph Berghe von Trips (1732-1799) and Eleonore Kunigunde von Rathsamhausen (1747-1783). His parents were unaware of this marriage and didn't recognize when they learned about it. Moreover, he had to resign from the Dutch army, as officers were not allowed to marry

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

s. Marie Franziska had connections, and managed to get her husband a position in the army of the

. She served as

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota ...

at the court of Queen

Maria Carolina Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia (13 August 1752 – 8 September 1814) was List of consorts of Naples, Queen of Naples and List of Sicilian consorts, Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. As ''de facto'' ruler ...

. Louis and Marie Franziska had two children: * Caroline (1793–1872), married in 1810 to Count Ferdinand de la Ville sur Illon (d. 1865), divorced 1814 * William (1798-1802)

Ancestors

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Louis of Hesse-Philippsthal 1776 births 1816 deaths People from Hersfeld-Rotenburg Landgraves of Hesse German military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars