Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (german: Friedrich Josias von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld) (26 December 1737 – 26 February 1815) was an
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: ...
nobleman and military general.
Biography
Born at
Schloß Ehrenburg in
Coburg
Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...
, he was the youngest son of
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (25 September 1697, in Saalfeld – 16 September 1764, in Rodach) was a duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
Biography
He was the fourth living son of Johann Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the thi ...
and
Princess Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
Princess Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (9 September 1700 – 11 December 1780) was a Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.
She was the daughter of Louis Frederick I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (15 October 1667 – 24 June 1718) and ...
. He was the great-uncle of King
Leopold I of Belgium
* nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik
* en, Leopold George Christian Frederick
, image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg
, caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856
, reign = 21 July 1831 –
, predecessor = Erasme Loui ...
(1790–1865); and the great-great-uncle of Queen
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
(1819–1901).
Military career
Josias joined the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
military as Colonel in 1759, participated in 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� ...
, and rose to the rank of
Lieutenant Field Marshal
Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (german: Feldmarschall-Leutnant, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), wa ...
by 1773. In the
Russo-Turkish-Austrian war of 1788, he commanded an army corps under
Freiherr von Laudon, occupying
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
, capturing
Khotyn
Khotyn ( uk, Хотин, ; ro, Hotin, ; see other names) is a city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of t ...
in
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...
and sharing in
Aleksandr Suvorov
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...
's victory in the
Battle of Focșani
The Battle of Focșani (also Battle of Fokschani or Battle of Focsani; hu, Foksányi csata) was a battle in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) fought on 1 August 1789 between the Ottoman Empire and the alliance of the Russian Empire and the Ha ...
(1 August 1789). Having completely beaten the main
Ottoman army under
Grand Vizier
Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
Koca Yusuf Pasha
Koca Yusuf Pasha was an Ottoman statesman. He was grand vizier from 25 January 1786 to 28 May 1789 (during reign of Abdul Hamid I), and Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy) after 19 December 1789.İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, ''Osmanl ...
in the
Battle of Rymnik
The Battle of Rymnik ( tr, Boze Savaşı) on September 22, 1789 took place in Wallachia, near Râmnicu Sărat (now in Romania), during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792. The Russian general Alexander Suvorov, acting together with the Habs ...
, he captured the greater part of
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
, including
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, being welcomed by the population after the flight of
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
Nicholas Mavrogenes
Nicholas Mavrogenes (or Mavrogenous; el, Νικόλαος Μαυρογένης ''Nikolaos Mavrogenis'' (Greek: "Blackbeard"), ro, Nicolae Mavrogheni ), (1735 – 30 September 1790) was a Phanariote Prince of Wallachia (reigned 1786–1789). He ...
(''see
History of Bucharest
The history of Bucharest covers the time from the early settlements on the locality's territory (and that of the surrounding area in Ilfov County) until its modern existence as a city, capital of Wallachia, and present-day capital of Romania.
Pr ...
''), and soon after becoming a field marshal.
During the occupation of Moldavia, Josias met Therese Stroffeck, a commoner. On 24 September 1789, in the town of
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
, she bore him a son, named Frederick. Josias married Therese after their return to Coburg, on 24 December and recognized his son. Frederick was ennobled by the Austrian Emperor on 25 August 1808 and on 17 February 1853 the Duke
Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha created him ''Freiherr von Rohmann'', named after the place of his birth. Frederick however, as the child of a
morganatic
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...
marriage, and his descendants were barred of the succession of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
In 1793 and 1794 he commanded the army in the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...
during the
Flanders Campaign
The Flanders Campaign (or Campaign in the Low Countries) was conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. A coalition of states representing the Ancien Régime in Western Europe – Aus ...
. Due to his victory 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 ...
at
Neerwinden
Neerwinden is a village in Belgium in the province of Flemish Brabant, a few miles southeast of Tienen. It is now part of the municipality of Landen.
The village gave its name to two great battles. The first battle was fought in 1693 between t ...
in March 1793, he returned the region to Austrian control. Entering France, he took
Condé,
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
,
Quesnoy and
Landrecies
Landrecies (; nl, Landeschie) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.
History
In 1543, Landrecies was besieged by English and Imperial forces, who were repulsed by the French defenders. In 1794, it was besieged by Dutch forces, ...
. However, due to unfortunate positioning, partly due to disunity amongst the
Allied powers and their forces, he suffered a string of minor setbacks in front of the
Revolutionary Army
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
on the
Sambre, followed by a decisive defeat at
Fleurus
Fleurus (; wa, Fleuru) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, ...
(26 June 1794).
He thereupon abandoned the Netherlands, which Habsburg diplomats had already decided to give up. Angered by this, and openly criticizing the policies of the
Baron Thugut
Johann Amadeus Franz de Paula Freiherr von Thugut (24 May 173628 May 1818) was an Austrian diplomat.
Early life
He was born in Linz. His origin and his unusual name (literally "do good") have been the subject of some legends. One such legend was t ...
, Josias resigned as Field Marshal (the
Count of Clerfayt assumed command in his place) and retired to
Coburg
Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...
, where he later died.
Ancestry
References
*''
Meyers Konversations-Lexikon
' or ' was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the '.
Joseph Meyer (1796–1856), who had founded the publishing house in 1826, intended t ...
'' of 1888–89. In turn, it cites:
**A. von Witzleben, ''Prinz Friedrich J. von Koburg-Saalfeld, Herzog zu Sachsen'', Berlin, 1859
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coburg, Prince Josias Of
Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
Austrian Empire military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
Field marshals of Austria
History of Bucharest
Princes of Saxe-Coburg Saalfeld
1737 births
1815 deaths
People from Coburg
Generals of the Holy Roman Empire
Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Maria Theresa