Karl Freiherr von Forstner

Karl Freiherr von Forstner
Von Forstner as commander of the 11. Husaren-Regiment
Birth name	Karl Gottfried Friedrich Peter Freiherr von Forstner
Birth date	16 September 1790(1790-09-16)
Place of birth	Ludwigslust, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
Death date	20 May 1857 (aged 66)
Place of death	Castle Neuhaus near Lübben, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Resting place	Steinkirchen (Lübben)
Allegiance	Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation Kingdom of Saxony Confederation of the Rhine Kingdom of Prussia German Confederation
Service/branch	Mecklenburg Army Royal Saxon Army Prussian Army
Years of service	1804–1848
Rank	Generalmajor (Major General)
Relations	∞ 1817 Johanna von Gentzow

Karl Gottfried Friedrich Peter Freiherr von Forstner (16 September 1790 – 20 May 1857) was a German officer, finally Major General of the Prussian Army.

Life

In 1804, Forstner joined the Mecklenburg Foot Guard as a Fahnenjunker (officer candidate) and was promoted to 2nd lieutenant at the end of February 1808. In 1809/10, he studied at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. On 8 October 1807, he became the 7th member of the (Lower) Swabian Landsmannschaft – Corps Suevia (I) (Inferior). Founded on 7 January 1807, the fraternity is considered the forerunner of the Corps Rhenania Tübingen. He subsequently transferred to the University of Leipzig. On 26 March 1810, he left the Mecklenburg service and three months later joined the Guard Cuirassier Regiment of the Saxon Army. On the side of France, the Saxon troops took part in the Russian campaign of 1812. During this time, Forstner served as Napoleon Bonaparte's orderly officer (Ordonnanzoffizier). In this position, he took part in the battles of Borodino, Smolensk, Kaluga, Vitebsk, Krasnoi and Marislovitz. Napoleon personally awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor in Moscow on 18 August 1812. By the beginning of March 1813, Forstner was promoted to 1st lieutenant before resigning from the Saxon Army on 15 May 1813. He could no longer be responsible for fighting for the French and now also against the Germans.

He returned to service in Mecklenburg-Schwerin and was employed as a Stabsrittmeister (captain 2nd Class) in the volunteer riding Jäger corps of the Freikorps on 22 May 1813. The volunteer Jäger, who equipped themselves at their own expense and were only entitled to food while on duty, rode together with the Mecklenburg-Strelitzisches Husaren-Regiment. On 29 June 1813, they set off from Neustrelitz and moved via Berlin, Frankfurt an der Oder, Züllichau, Trachenberg to Ohlau to the 1st Prussian Army Corps under General Yorck. Here they were assigned to the Second Brigade, which was under the command of Duke Karl Friedrich August, the youngest son of the reigning Duke of Strelitz. They suffered first losses near Löwenberg on 21 August; On 23 August, the corps took part in the battle of Goldberg, as well as in the Battle of the Katzbach on 26 August. On 3 October 1813, the corps crossed the Elbe in the Battle of Wartenburg and particularly distinguished itself. On 16 October 1813, it was used in the Battle of Leipzig near Möckern. During the Wars of Liberation, Freiherr von Forstner also took part in the battle of Rostock and the blockade of Lübeck. At Sehestedt, he was so badly wounded to the head that he later received permission to always wear a shako (Tschako) because of his head wound.

On 1 June 1815, during the campaign of the Seventh Coalition (Siebte Koalition), he joined the Prussian Army as a volunteer and fought in the Battle of Ligny and Namur, for which von Forstner received the Iron Cross, Second Class. On 3 September 1815, he was transferred to the Elb-Landwehr Cavalry Regiment as a Rittmeister and on 18 March 1816, he was assigned to the Dragoon Regiment (“Queen”). In mid-April 1818 he was assigned to the general command of the II Army Corps, where he met Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm (King of Prussia as of 7 June 1840), with whom he remained friends throughout his life. Under the aggregation of the 8th Uhlan Regiment, von Forstner was appointed its adjutant on 1 July 1820 and was assigned to the 8th Hussars Regiment at the end of March 1823. He was appointed commander of the 2nd Squadron in Düsseldorf at the beginning of May 1824. When he was promoted to Major on 11 April 1827, he was appointed to the regimental staff and at the same time worked as director of the division school of the 14th Division (14. Divisions-Schule) from 22 July 1827 to 14 October 1830.

Commander of the 11. Husaren-Regiment Colonel August Ferdinand von Glaser (1782–1840) retired with the Charakter als Generalmajor (Honorary Major General) on 14 October 1934. On 13 November 1834, Freiherr von Forstner was commissioned to lead the 11th Prussian Hussars in Münster. Until his arrival, staff officer Major Ludewig von Bastineller took over the deputy leadership of the regiment, From 4 April 1835, he was aggregate and interim leader (ad interim) of the regiment and was officially appointed regimental commander on 30 March 1836.

With a patent dated 14 April 1839, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 30 March 1839, before von Forstner was given a pension and palced at dosposal (z. D.) on 14 July with effect from 15 July 1839 due to his head injury. King Friedrich Wilhelm III allowed him to continue to wear the regimental uniform and expressed hope for a speedy recovery. After von Forstner reported himself fit for duty again, he was taken back into active service on 30 March 1840 as commander of the 6th Hussar Regiment. In mid-October 1840, he was promoted to Colonel in this position. Due to a further deterioration in his health as a result of his head injury, Freiherr von Forstner was discharged on10 March 1842 and given the honorary rank of Major General (Charakter als Generalmajor) with a pension.

On 30 March 1844, Forstner was re-employed by the generals à la suite of the king and from 6 April 1844, he received the honour of wearing the uniform of the wing adjutants with the general's sepaulettes. At the end of March 1847, he also received the patent for his rank, now an active Major General. During the barricade fighting in Berlin, von Forstner was wounded in the left leg by a bruising shot on 9 May 1848 and was then finally retired with a pension on 9 May 1848.

Family

Karl (Carl Friedrich) was the son of the ducal Mecklenburg chamberlain and head cupbearer Wilhelm Joachim Jasper Freiherr von Forstner (1751–1813) and his first wife (∞ 3 February 1886 in Hoppenrade) Johanna Gottliebe von Storch from the House of Hoppenrade (1760–1794). His father married a second and third time:

• ∞ 5 May 1797 in Ankershagen Bernhardine Ottilie Dorothea von Oertzen (1772–1802)
• ∞ 18 August 1808 in Schwerin Henriette Maria von Müllern (1758–1836)

Karl had several siblings and half-siblings, among them were:

• Wilhelm Bernhard Adolf (1798–1857), Major of the Württemberg Army
• Friedrich Karl Georg (1800–1861), Rittmeister of the Württemberg Army
  • Freidrich Freiherr von Forstner of Stuttgart emigrated to the USA in 1847 with his wife Julie, née Freiin von Irmtraut (1808–1891), and their five children: Julius Albert Karl Wilhelm, Auguste Caroline Wilhelmine Mathilde, Maria Auguste Caroline Philippine, Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm Philipp Karl Eugen and the youngest child, daughter Anna. After a colonization attempt in Texas collapsed, they moved near the German colony of Wartburg, Morgan County, Tennessee. Von Forstner bought 1500 acres in Morgan County and built a large home on it. Despite his concern about the remoteness of Morgan County, he lived there until his death in 1861 and his wife until her death 1891.

Marriage

On 26 May 1817 in Stargard in Mecklenburg, Freiherr von Forstner married his fiancée Johanna Friederike Charlotte Dorothea Ernestine von Gentzow (1794–1873). They had several children, known are:

• Therese Magdalena Friederike Wilhelmine (1818–1881); ⚭ 18 June 1846 widower (since 1843) Louis Otto Bonaventura Johann von Katz(e)ler (1797–1869), Prussian Captain (ret.), chamberlain and lord of the manor (Nistitz near Glogau); their son Nikolaus August Ludwig (1855–1929) was a colonel in Prussian Army (dragoon officer) and a Knight of Justice (Rechtsritter) of the Johanniter-Orden.
• Veronika "Verona" Maria Magdalena Johanna Gottliebe (1820–1913); ⚭ Karl Gottlob Freiherr von Houwald (1816–1883), Prussian jurist, civil servant and district administrator of the Lübben district
• Reimar Karl Rudolf Friedrich Wilhelm (1823–1896), Prussian Lieutenant Colonel
• Siegfried Richard Friedrich Christoph (1828–1891), Prussian Lieutenant, later American Engineer Colonel and veteran of the American Civil War; died in New York

Awards and decorations

• Knight of the Legion of Honour (FEL5/FE5) on 18 August 1812
• Mecklenburg Military Merit Medal for 1813/1815 (MMV) in Gold
• Iron Cross (1813), 2nd Class
• Swedish Order of the Sword, Knight's Cross (SS3) on 2 February 1814
  • Later classified as SS3a, Knight of the Grand Cross First Class. Normally (as of 1889), SS3a stands for Knight's Cross 1st Class, In the event of war, there was a separate decoration (created 1788), the Knights of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword, 1st and 2nd Class, which was only awarded for merit against the enemy. The medal could also be awarded in the event of a serious wound or when an enemy victory symbol (e.g. flag) was captured. There is no known source to confirm that Freiherr von Forstner was upgraded to Knight of the Grand Cross First Class.
• Prussian War Commemorative Medal for the Wars of Liberation (Kriegsdenkmünze für die Befreiungskriege)
• Russian Order of St. George, 5th Class (RG5) in September 1823
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class (PRAO4/PrA4)
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz; DA)
• Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow
• Knight (Ritter; Rr) of the Johanniter-Orden in September 1841
• Hesse House Order of the Golden Lion, Grand Cross (CHL1) in June 1845
• Red Eagle Order, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves in January 1846

Further reading

• Güstrow, der Sammelplatz der freiwilligen Jäger (History of the volunteer Jäger in Mecklenburg)
• Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Forstner, in: Rittmeister von Eck, "Geschichte des 2. Westfälischen-Husaren-Regiments Nr. 11 und seiner Stammtruppen von 1807–1893", Part 3, 1893, p. 372</ref>