Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Buxhoevden (russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Буксгевден, ''Fyodor Fyodorovich Buksgevden''; other spellings: ''Feodor Buxhoeveden'', ''Buxhœwden'', ''Buxhöwden'') (September 14, 1750 Võlla,

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

– August 23, 1811 near

Kullamaa Kullamaa (german: Goldenbeck) is a village in Lääne-Nigula Parish, Lääne County, in western Estonia. (retrieved 28 July 2021) The first Estonian professional composer Rudolf Tobias (1873–1918) lived in Kullamäe between 1885 and 1889, wher ...

) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

and government official. Buxhoeveden commanded the Russian armies during the

Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a re ...

Family

The Buxhoevedens, a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

family from

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, traced their roots to Bexhövede in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. Buxhoevden's wife, countess Natalia Alexeyeva, was the illegitimate daughter of

Grigory Orlov Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov (russian: Князь Григорий Григорьевич Орлов; 6 October 1734, Bezhetsky Uyezd – 13 April 1783, Moscow) was a favourite of the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. He became a leade ...

(1734–1783) by a lady of the court, but her mother – contrary to some claims – was not the Empress Catherine, but a member of the Apraksin family. Buxhoeveden's granddaughter

Varvara Nelidova Varvara Arkadyevna Nelidova (Варвара Аркадьевна Нелидова, 1814–1897) was a mistress of Nicholas I of Russia from 1832 until his death in 1855. Her aunt Yekaterina Nelidova was a mistress of Nicholas' father Paul, and her ...

was a mistress of

Nicholas I of Russia , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...

(1796–1855) for 17 years (1832–1855).

Career

In 1805 Buxhoevden took part in the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz i ...

as a commander, contributing to 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 ...

's failure to defeat

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

by being drunk during the battle.Todd Fisher & Gregory Fremont-Barnes, ''The Napoleonic Wars: The Rise and Fall of an Empire.'' p. 52 In 1808 he served as Commander-in-Chief in the Russian conquest of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, and led Russian troops during the initial battles of the

(1808-1809).

Estates

Buxhoevden received the castle and lands of Koluvere in western Estonia after

Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Duchess Augusta Caroline Friederika Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (3 December 1764 – 27 September 1788) was the first wife of Frederick of Württemberg and the mother of William I of Württemberg. Early life Princess Augusta was born in Br ...

had died there in 1788 in suspicious circumstances. He also owned the villa and manor of

Ligovo Ligovo (russian: Лигово) is a historical area of the federal city of Saint Petersburg (Russia). It is located in the southern part of the city on the road leading to Petergof. A settlement of east Slavs existed on the site of modern Ligovo f ...

near

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Awards

Russian Empire awards: * Order of Saint George, 4th Degree (26 November 1774) * Order of Saint George, 3rd Degree (22 August 1789) *

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

(8 September 1790) * Cross "For the Capture of Praga" (1794) *

Golden Weapon for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery (russian: Золотое оружие "За храбрость") was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished ...

with diamonds (1794) * Order of Saint Vladimir, 2nd Class (1794) *

Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

(15 February 1797) * Order of Saint Vladimir, 1st Degree (1806) * Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (17 September 1807), diamond badges added in 1808 * Order of Saint George, 2nd Degree (27 April 1808) Foreign state awards: * Order of the White Eagle, 1795 from the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

* Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1795, from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth *

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...

, from

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

* Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, from Kingdom of Prussia

References

External links