Prince Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm Adalbert Waldemar Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine (November 28, 1838 - September 16, 1900) was a member of the

House of Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a Imperial State, State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate ...

and a General of the Cavalry.

Biography

He was the second son of

Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine (23 April 1809 - 20 March 1877) was a German prince, officer and politician. He was the second surviving son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmine of Baden. The prince had a military career and became ...

and

Princess Elisabeth of Prussia , spouse = , issue = Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Henry Anna, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-SchwerinPrince William , house = Hohenzollern , father = Prince Wilhelm of Prussia , mother = ...

and a younger brother of the later

Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse English: Frederick William Louis Charles , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine , mother = Princess Elisabeth of Prussia , birth_date = , birth_place = Prinz-Carl-Palais, Darmstadt, Gra ...

.
Heinrich studied in Göttingen and Giessen and joined the Hessian army as a lieutenant in 1854. In 1859 he joined the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

as a captain and fought in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...

and the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

. On 17 September, 1866, Heinrich became commander of the 2nd Guards Uhlan Regiment. He led the regiment during the Franco-Prussian War and received the Iron Cross (2nd class). In 1873, Heinrich was promoted to Generalmajor. In 1879 he became commander of the 25th (Grand Ducal Hessian) Division and shortly afterwards was promoted to Lieutenant General. On August 21, 1884 Heinrich was given the distinction of a Commanding General and two years later, on September 18, 1886, was promoted to General of the Cavalry. On 7 July 1887, Heinrich retired and received the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

; being the final recipient by order of

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

as the latter died in the next year. In retirement he eventually settled in Munich. From 1881 until his death he also was a member of the Hessian

Landstände The ''Landstände'' (singular ''Landstand'') or ''Landtage'' (singular ''Landtag'') were the various territorial estates or diets in the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages and the early modern period, as opposed to their respective territorial ...

Marriage and children

Heinrich married morganatically on February 25, 1878, Caroline Willich von Pöllnitz (1848-1879) who was created Freifrau von Nidda for the occasion. She died after the birth of their only child Karl, Count of Nidda (1879-1920). He married again in 1892 - also morganatically, to Emilie Hrzic de Topuska (1868-1961). She was elevated to Freifrau von Dornberg. They had also one son: Elimar, Freiherr von Dornberg (1893-1917), who died in an accident.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogs Hessen'' (1894), Genealog
pp. 2
3

References

Sources

geni.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinrich of Hesse and by Rhine, Prince 1838 births 1900 deaths House of Hesse-Darmstadt Military personnel from Darmstadt Members of the First Chamber of the Estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse Generals of Cavalry (Prussia) German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Recipients of the Military Merit Cross (Mecklenburg-Schwerin) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class category:Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Nobility from Darmstadt Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War Burials at the Mausoleum for the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, Rosenhöhe (Darmstadt)