Duke Eugen of Württemberg (; 8 January 1788 – 16 September 1857) was a German prince and a

General of Infantry General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...

in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Early life and family

Duke Eugen was born at Oels,

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

(now Oleśnica,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

). He was the first child of Princess Louise of

Stolberg-Gedern The Lordship of Gedern (German: ''Herrschaft Gedern'') was a lordship or herrschaft centred on Gedern near Büdingen in Hesse, Germany. It is first recorded in a document from Lorsch Abbey dating to 780. History The lords of Ortenburg (descended fr ...

(1764 – 1834) and her husband Duke Eugen of Württemberg (1758 – 1822), who was brother of Empress Maria Feodorovna the consort of

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

and son of

Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg Friedrich Eugen, Duke of Württemberg (21 January 1732 – 23 December 1797) was the fourth son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis. He was born in Stuttgart. From 1795 until 1797, he was Duke ...

and Margravine Sophia Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Louise was a daughter of Prince Christian Karl of

and Countess Eleanore of

Reuss-Lobenstein Reuss-Lobenstein () was a state located in the German part of the Holy Roman Empire. History The members of Reuss-Lobenstein family belonged to the Reuss Junior Line. Reuss-Lobenstein has existed on two occasions, it was firstly created in 1425 ...

. Another of Eugen and Louise's children was the explorer

Duke Paul Wilhelm of Württemberg Duke Friedrich ''Paul Wilhelm'' of Württemberg (; 25 June 1797, in Pokój, Opole Voivodeship, Bad Carlsruhe, Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia – 25 November 1860, in Bad Mergentheim, Mergentheim, Kingdom of Württemberg) was a member of the List of ...

. From 1776 he lived in Russia. As a child, Eugen followed his aunt to the Tsar's court. After his cadet years in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, he began a brilliant career in the

. The murder of his uncle Paul I in 1801 interrupted the first military service. His further education took place in Silesia by Ludwig von Wolzogen.

Military career

After a few years his military career reactivated and by 1805 he was already major-general. He participated in the campaigns from 1806 to 1807 in East Prussia against France and 1810 in part of Turkey. He accompanied his father Eugen, who was commander of Prussian Reserve, in 1806. He joined staff of Russian General Bennigsen. In 1812, he was a division commander (4th div of II Corps) under Barclay de Tolly. During the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the Continenta ...

he fought at the Battles of

Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. T ...

and Krasnoi. During the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition () (December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (), a coalition of Austrian Empire, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, History of Spain (1808– ...

he fought in five major battles. In the battle of Lutzen, Eugen's corps was heavily engaged and suffered many casualties recapturing villages from the French. In the battle of

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

, Eugen's men, acting as the Russian rearguard, slowed the French advance by defending positions on hills and behind a village. The slow advance of the French infuriated Napoleon himself, who took over the command of the advance guard personally-but he did no better. In the battle of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, the heavily outnumbered Eugen held off the forces of the French general Vandamme for a day before retreating. In the battle of Kulm, Eugen suffered over 3,000 casualties in his victorious rematch with Vandamme. And in the battle of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, most of Eugen's artillery was destroyed by the French. Despite this, and despite the losses at Kulm only a few weeks before, Eugen's infantry made a heroic, tenacious stand. Two-thirds of his troops and all of his regimental commanders became casualties. In 1828, he commanded the Russian 7th Army Corps in the

Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) The Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 resulted from the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1829; war broke out after the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II closed the Dardanelles to Russian Empire , Russian ships and in November 1827 revoked the 18 ...

. He retired after the Treaty of Adrianople.''The Encyclopedia Americana: a library of universal knowledge''
Volume 10, Encyclopedia Americana Corp., 1918 He was interested in music. He was acquainted with

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

, who was his father's music director of 1806 – 1807. He also composed several operas, and many songs, including "The Ghost Bride".

Marriage and issue

On 21 January 1817, in

Arolsen Bad Arolsen (, until 1997 Arolsen, being the German name for ''Spa'') is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck (state), Waldeck-Pyr ...

, he married Princess Mathilde of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1801 – 1825), daughter of

George I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

and Princess Augusta of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. They had three children: *

Duchess Marie of Württemberg Marie of Württemberg (Antoinette Friederike Auguste Marie Anna Herzogin von Württemberg; 17 September 1799 – 24 September 1860) was a daughter of Duke Alexander of Württemberg and Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She was Duchess of Saxe- ...

(25 March 1818 – 10 April 1888), married in 1845 to

Charles II, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal Charles II of Hesse-Philippsthal (22 May 1803 in Philippsthal – 12 February 1868 in Philippsthal) was a member of the House of Hesse and was Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal from 1849 until 1866. Life Charles was a son of Landgrave Ernest Const ...

, had issue. * Duke Eugen of Württemberg (25 December 1820 – 8 January 1875), married in 1843 to Princess Mathilde of Schaumburg-Lippe, had issue. *Duke William Alexander of Württemberg (13 April 1825 – 15 April 1825) On his first wife's death, Eugen married secondly in 1827 to Princess Helene of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1807–1880), daughter of Charles Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Countess Amalie of Solms-Baruth. They had four children * Duke William of Württemberg (20 July 1828 – 5 November 1896) *Duchess Alexandrine Mathilde of Württemberg (16 December 1829 – 2 September 1913) * Duke Nicholas of Württemberg (1 March 1833 – 22 February 1903), married in 1868 his half-niece Duchess Wilhelmine of Württemberg, no issue. * Duchess Agnes of Württemberg (13 October 1835 – 10 July 1886), married in 1858 to Heinrich XIV, Prince Reuss Younger Line, had issue.

Ancestry

Notes and sources

;Sources *The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: page 222

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wurttemberg, Eugen Duke 1788 births 1857 deaths People from Oleśnica People from the Province of Silesia Imperial Russian Army generals Members of the Prussian House of Lords 19th-century Prussian military personnel

Eugen Eugen is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Archduke Eugen of Austria (1863–1954), last Habsburg Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order from 1894 to 1923 * Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865–1947), Swedish painter, art collector, and pa ...

German commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Commanders of the Military Order of Max Joseph Knights of Malta Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class Ethnic German people from the Russian Empire