Duke Charles of Mecklenburg
Karl ( Friedrich August), Duke of Mecklenburg [- Strelitz ] ( born November 30, 1785 Hannover, † September 21, 1837 in Berlin; Pseud.: C. Weiss main, JE Mand ) was a Prussian officer, last general of the infantry, 1827 President of the Prussian State Council and writer.
Life
Charles was the son of Duke Charles II and his second wife Charlotte of Hesse- Darmstadt, who died of complications from childbirth. As a prince of the house of Mecklenburg Strelitz dynasty he bore the title of " Duke ".
He resigned on January 1, 1799 as a staff captain in the Prussian army. From 1800 until their escape from Napoleon in 1806 was Karl constant companion of his sister Louise, Queen of Prussia. After she died in 1810, Charles served as director for a short time in the theater Neustrelitz.
Karl took in 1813 as a member of Blücher's staff in the wars of liberation in part. He fought in August 1813 in the Battle of the Katzbach and was able to maintain superior enemy forces into the night at bay. Later he secured the connection paths between the Russian and Prussian units. As attacking again superior French forces, he placed himself at the head of his brigade and managed to ward the attacks. For the Iron Cross, First Class, he was awarded on 31 August 1813. He then could be characterized in Wartenberg and Möckern in the Battle of Leipzig again. At the last battle on October 16, 1813 Karl and many officers were wounded, and his brigade suffered massive losses. For his bravery in the battle of Wartenberg received on 9 October 1813 Order Pour le Mérite with oak leaves. Karl was also since July 20, 1810 Knight of the Black Eagle.
On October 21, 1813 Charles was head of the 1st Infantry Regiment and shortly thereafter on December 8, 1813 promoted to lieutenant general. He then acted as such from September 20, 1814 as head of the Guards Brigade. This was followed on December 2, 1816 he was appointed Commanding General of the Guards and Grenadier Corps. From 1817 he was a member of the newly founded Prussian State Council, which he became president in 1827. In the meantime, he had been promoted on 18 June 1825 General of Infantry.
From 1814 onward, staged Karl court and family events as well as theater performances (May 24, 1819 Goethe's Faust, July 13, 1829: Feast of the White Rose in Potsdam- Sanssouci occasion of the visit of the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with Charles Festival The charm of white rose ). Various pieces and literary texts are preserved even today.
He died unmarried and was held in the royal crypt at Mirow his final resting.
Curiosities
From his childhood following anecdote is narrated: Because his sisters were already living in Darmstadt with his grandmother Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen- Falkenburg - Dabo, the two year-old Karl was often alone in the Old Palace. In order to draw attention to himself, he put a box with cast iron Order of the father on the window ledge, climbed from a chair and threw himself onto the ledge heavy medal from the first floor in the line road. That was enough for a complaint because pedestrians felt threatened by it. The father decided now to bring to Darmstadt Karl and his brother George.
1860 an infantry regiment was named after him: Infantry Regiment " Duke Charles of Mecklenburg -Strelitz " ( 6 Ostpreußisches ) No 43
The Berlin who did not like the Duke, compacted upon him the Spottvers: "As a person, as a prince, as a general miserable - divine only as Mephistofel " ( Duke Charles had in a performance of "Faust" in the setting of Prince Anton Radziwill the Mephisto given )
Works
- History and statute of Rose knighthood. o.o. (Berlin) o.J. (1827 ).
- Memories of Berlin. o.o. (Berlin) o.J. ( around 1830 ).
- We German officers: excerpt from a letter of the late General of the Infantry Duke Charles of Mecklenburg. Berlin: Decker 1893.
- Novels: Carl, Duke of Mecklenburg -Strelitz and Caroline de La Motte Fouque: past and present: a novel in letters. Berlin 1822.
- Pieces: [ Pseudonym ] C. Weiss main: The insulated: Conversations piece in four acts ( printed as manuscript). Berlin 1837
- [ Pseudonym ] J. E. Mand: Demoiselle Bock. Berlin: Bloch o.J.
- [ Pseudonym ] J. E. Mand: The enigma. Berlin: Bloch o.J.
As the playwright Carl Goldschmidt († 1857) also used this pseudonym [ JE MAND ], the other published under this name pieces usually can assign it.