Frederick Michael,

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld The House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld (German: ''Pfalz-Birkenfeld''), later Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was the name of a collateral line of the Palatine Wittelsbachs. The Counts Palatine from this line initially ruled over only a relatively ...

(

Ribeauvillé Ribeauvillé (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Rappschwihr''; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It was a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the de ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, 27 February 1724 – 15 August 1767 in

Schwetzingen Schwetzingen (; pfl, Schwetzinge) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim. Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-sized ...

) was a member of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

dynasty. He was the son of Christian III of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and

Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

and a member of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, a branch of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

. He was the father of the Bavarian King Maximilian I Joseph.

Seven Years' War

Frederick Michael was Palatine Fieldmarshal, Governor of Mannheim and finally in 1758 as Fieldmarshal of the Holy Roman Empire commander-in-chief of the Reichsarmee 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� ...

against

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. After the

Battle of Rossbach The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the Seven Years' War) near the village of Rossbach (Roßbach), in the Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at, R ...

, he managed to build up the whipped imperial army again, for which he received the

Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (german: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; hu, Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; cs, Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; pl, Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; sl, Vojaški red Marije Terezije; hr, Vojni Red Marije Te ...

. In the fall of 1758 he invaded Saxony, took the fortress SonnensteinKarl Wilhelm Böttiger: ''Geschichte des Kurstaates und Königreiches Sachsen'', Band 2, F. Perthes, 1831, p. 336 and besieged Leipzig. The following year, Leipzig, Torgau, Wittenberg and Dresden were conquered. He secured Marshal

Daun Daun is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the ' of Daun. Geography Location The town lies in the , a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geogra ...

in the

Battle of Maxen The Battle of Maxen (20 November 1759) was a battle at Maxen, in the Electorate of Saxony during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War). It resulted in surrender of a Prussian corps. The Prussian corps of 14,000 men, commanded by ...

and fought victorious in the battle of Strehlen. 1761, he resigned from his post and handed over the imperial troops to Field Marshal Johann von Serbelloni. After the

peace of Hubertusburg The Treaty of Hubertusburg (german: Frieden von Hubertusburg) was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg Castle by Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Habsburg monarchy, Austria and Electorate of Saxony, Saxony to end the Third Silesian War. Together ...

Friedrich Michael received the General Command in Bohemia and later became president of the secret military conference.

Family

He married Maria Franziska of Sulzbach, a granddaughter of

Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine Charles III Philip (4 November 1661 – 31 December 1742) was Elector Palatine, Count of Palatinate-Neuburg, and Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1716 to 1742. Until 1728 he was also Count of Megen. Biography Born in Neuburg an der Donau, Charles Phi ...

, and had five children: * Karl II August Christian (17461795) * Klemens August Joseph Friedrich (17491750) * Maria Amalie Auguste (17521828), Married Frederick Augustus I,

King of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...

* Maria Anna (17531824), Married

Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria, full German name: ''Wilhelm, Herzog in Bayern'' (born 10 November 1752 in Gelnhausen, Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen; died 8 January 1837 in Landshut or Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria) was Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Gel ...

. * Maximilian I (17561825),

King of Bavaria King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a thousand ...

He also had an illegitimate son by his mistress, Louise Cheveau : * Karl Friedrich Stephan (17671834), Baron of Schönfeld (1813), Count of Otting and Fünfstetten (1817). His daughter Luise married

August von Senarclens de Grancy August Ludwig Freiherr von Senarclens-Grancy (; 19 August 17943 October 1871) was the firstborn son of three sons and four daughters of César Auguste, Baron von Senarclens de Grancy, (born in 1763) and his wife Élizabeth Claudine Marie-Rose de ...

Ancestors

References

Bibliography

* Wilhelm Edler von Janko: '' Friedrich Michael (1.Art.)''. In:

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). Band 7, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 627. * Constantin von Wurzbach: '' Zweybrück-Birkenfeld, Friedrich Michael Pfalzgraf am Rhein''. In: ''

Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'' (English, ''Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire'') (abbreviated ''Wurzbach'' from the author's surname) is a 60-volume work, edited and published by Constantin von Wurzbach, cont ...

''. Band 60. Verlag L. C. Zamarski, Wien 1891, p. 335 f. * Richard Du Moulin Eckart: ''Pfalzgraf Friedrich Michael von Zweibrücken'', Cotta, 1892 * Karl Theodor von Heigel: '' Friedrich Michael (2.Art.)''. In:

(ADB). Band 49, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1904, p. 134–139. *

Artur Brabant Artur is a cognate to the common male given name Arthur, meaning " bear-like," which is believed to possibly be descended from the Roman surname Artorius or the Celtic bear-goddess Artio or more probably from the Celtic word ''artos'' ("bear"). ...

: ''Das Heilige römische Reich teutscher Nation im Kampf mit Friedrich dem grossen'', Paetel, 1911, p. 41 ff. * Lebenslust und Frömmigkeit, Kurfürst Carl Theodor zwischen Barock und Aufklärung, Handbuch, 1999 y Ausstellungskatalog {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick Michael Of Zweibrucken, Count Palatine 1724 births 1767 deaths People from Ribeauvillé House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken House of Wittelsbach Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken Generals of the Holy Roman Empire People of the Silesian Wars Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Burials at St. Michael's Church, Munich