Historical Dictionary of the Napoleonic Era

by George F Nafziger

  FRANCIS II (1768–1835). Francis II was born to Francis I, the first Emperor of Austria, and Marie-Louise, daughter of Charles III of Spain, in Florence on 12 February 1768. In 1788 Francis II married Elizabeth of Württemberg, who died in childbirth on 18 February 1790. He then married his first cousin, Maria Theresa, daughter of Ferdinand, King of Naples, on 6 January 1788. She would bear him a son and successor, Ferdinand I, and a daughter, Marie-Louise, would marry Napoleon Bonaparte in 1810. Maria Theresa died in 1807 and Francis II remarried Maria Ludovica Beatrix of Este in 1808. She died and he remarried again to Carolina August of Bavaria in 1816.

  On 1 March 1792 Francis II succeeded his father as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Austria, and King of Hungary. He declared war on France in 1792 and the wars of the French Revolution began in earnest. Napoleon would replace the Republic as his archenemy and inflicted on him several military disasters and adverse treaties. However, it was Napoleon’s crushing victory at Austerlitz on 2 December 1805 that would break Austria’s might and force substantial changes in Francis’s Empire. Francis II was forced to resign the imperial dignity of the Holy Roman Empire on 6 August 1806. However, on 14 August 1804, he had assumed the title of “Hereditary Emperor of Austria” as a riposte to Napoleon’s assumption of the title Emperor of France.

  Francis’s desire for vengeance allowed him to be persuaded to launch the abortive 1809 campaign. The results of the Treaty of Schönbrunn, which ended the 1809 campaign, forced his kingdom into a far more subservient position vis-à-vis France and obliged him to send his daughter to marry Napoleon on 1 April 1811.

  In 1812 Francis was allied with Napoleon during his invasion of Russia, but during the retreat his army fell back to Austria and separated itself from Napoleon’s army. Austria was neutral during the 1813 spring campaign, but joined the Allies and declared war in August 1813.

  In 1815, after the close of the wars, Austria emerged stronger and more compact than in 1792. With Metternich’s assistance Austria was well ruled for many years, but with Metternich’s death the system began to collapse. It did not have a strong civil service to assure its continued smooth functioning. Austria, as a result, began a slow, steady decline toward the revolutions of 1848. Francis II died in Vienna on 2 March 1835.

  FRANKFURT, GRAND DUCHY OF. Until the end of the 18th century, the Electorate of Frankfurt contained most of the territory on the left bank of the Rhine. It was ruled by the Baron Charles-Theodore von Dalberg and was the last of the three ecclesiastic electorates of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany.

  Frankfurt had been occupied twice by the French during the revolutionary wars and, of the 173,000 square kilometers of its original territory, there remained only the small enclave between the Rhine and Main Rivers and the Bishopric of Erfurt.

  As Dalberg’s territory shrank and shrank at the hands of Prussia, Austria and Bavaria, Dalberg made every effort to save what remained to him. He turned to France, Tallyrand and Napoleon. Napoleon, seeing in him a collaborator for his designs in Germany, decided to save Dalberg from his enemies.

  Napoleon decreed on 27 April 1803 that the Diet of Rastibon was transferred to the Archbishopric of Mainz. Elector Dalberg was to retain his title and received the titles of archichancelier d’Empire (archchancellor of the Empire), metropolitan archbishop and primate of Germany. His new state was formed with the principalities of Ratisbon and Aschaffenburg and the Mark of Wetzlar. It contained 23,000 square kilometers and 70,000 inhabitants. In addition to its 65,000-florin revenue of the territory, he received 350,000 more from tolls on the Rhine River.

  After the Treaty of Pressburg destroyed the Austrian control of Germany the German princes began joining France. Dalberg sought to reinstitute the “Alliance of Rhenish Princes” that had been established in 1658 by Cardinal Mazarin. It had consisted of the Archbishoprics of Mainz and Treves, the Bishopric of Münster, the Princes of Waldeck, Hesse-Darmstadt, Württemberg and others. However, this became impossible and he then proposed to Napoleon the Confederation of the Rhine. The Confederation, or Rheinbund as it is known in German, was established on 12 July 1806.

  Frankfurt would provide a three-battalion regiment for Napoleon’s war machine. One battalion served in Spain until disarmed by the Decree of 25 November 1813 and made into an unarmed pioneer battalion. Two battalions were destroyed in Russia and reorganized in 1813 where they served as part of the garrison of Glogau. When France withdrew from Germany in 1813 the electorate passed under allied control and returned to its former status within greater Germany.

  FREDERIKSHAVEN, TREATY OF. Signed on 17 September 1809, this treaty ended the state of war that had erupted when Russia invaded Swedish Finland and conquered it. It formally ceded Finland to Russia.

  FRIEDLAND, BATTLE OF. The battle was fought in East Prussia, now Poland, on 14 June 1807. The Russians, some 60,000 soldiers under Bennigsen, took up a position with their back to the Alle River. Napoleon engaged the Russians to prevent them from crossing the Alle, and quickly concentrated a force of 80,000 against Bennigsen. The holding action was successful because the Russians had occupied a position too small to allow them to effectively deploy their army. This gave Napoleon sufficient time to build up an overwhelming force, while at the same time driving the Russians back on the four bridges, three of which were soon destroyed by his artillery. Napoleon inflicted a crushing defeat on the Russians. Their casualties are reported to have run as high as 25,000, though 18,000 to 20,000 is more likely. The French casualties were under 12,000 killed and wounded.

  FRIEDRICH AUGUST I, KING OF SAXONY (1750–1827). Friedrich August I was born in Dresden, Saxony, the son of Elector Friedrich Christian, on 23 December 1750. At age 13 he succeeded his father and governed under the regency of Prinz Xavier in 1763, coming of age in 1768. Friedrich August I married Maria Amelia, daughter of Duke Friedrich of Zweibrücken in 1763 and she would bear him one daughter. His conscientious nature and hard work earned him the sobriquet of “the Just.” His first experience with war was during the short War of the Bavarian Succession and in return for his support Friedrich the Great of Prussia, at the Treaty of Teschen, gave him 6,000,000 florins.

  Friedrich August I joined the Prussian-headed Deutscher Fürstenbund or League of German Princes in 1785, yet insisted on retaining his neutrality. In 1791 Friedrich August I declined the crown of Poland, seeking to keep out of the problems that he saw coming as Poland sank toward its demise in 1795. On 7 February 1792 Friedrich August I refused to join the league against France, but when war was declared honored his commitments as a member of the Holy Roman Empire. Friedrich August I was compelled, on 13 August 1796, to withdraw from the war as a result of the advance of the French armies under Jourdan into the heart of Germany. In 1806 his army joined the Prussians against France, but quickly concluded peace with Napoleon after the twin debacles at Jena-Auerstädt with a treaty signed in Posen on 11 December 1806.

  Napoleon, more interested in allies than subjected nations, made Saxony an ally and elevated Friedrich to the dignity of king. Saxony then joined a number of smaller German states to form the Confederation of the Rhine. When the Grand Duchy of Warsaw was created from the rump of the dismembered Poland, Friedrich was made Grand Duke of Warsaw, but with only nominal rule over affairs in the grand duchy.

  In 1809 Friedrich August I found himself at war with Austria as a French ally and again in 1812. In April 1813 his fear of the coming Russian armies caused him to flee his capital and he only returned when forced to by Napoleon. Friedrich August I even made overtures to the then neutral Austria in an attempt to escape the coming war. During 1813 his country would be the principal battleground. With the disastrous battle of Leipzig in October 1813 the French armies withdrew westward and the allied armies pursued them, evacuating, for the most part, his nation. His army had, at Leipzig, written one of the saddest chapters in its history, by defecting to the Allies on the battlefield. With the French gone, Friedrich was left in the clutches of a rapacious Prussia that quickly s
tripped three-fifths of northern Saxony away and impressed large portions of the Saxon army into the Prussian army. The Saxons provided a small contingent in 1814 that did not perform particularly well in the Lowlands. In 1815 Friedrich August I was once again obliged to send what remained of his army into the Lowlands, but it mutinied and did not participate in the 1815 campaign.

  The Congress of Vienna restored Friedrich August I’s independence and freedom of action, but it reaffirmed the theft of its territories by Prussia, leaving Saxony a smaller state. For the rest of his life Friedrich worked to undo the damage done to his nation by the wars. Friedrich August I died in Dresden on 5 May 1827.

  FRIEDRICH AUGUST KARL, DUKE OF MECKLENBURGSTRELITZ (1785–1837). Friedrich August was born in Hanover on 30 November 1785. Friedrich August was the son of Karl II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Charlotte Wilhelmine Christiane Maria, of Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1799 Friedrich August joined the Prussian army as a Stabskapitän. In 1801 he attended the Prussian military school and on 27 March 1804 was assigned to the 1st Guard Battalion. By 1805 Friedrich August had risen to the rank of major. During the 1806 campaign he fought at Auerstädt. He was promoted to oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) on 8 February 1810 and oberst (colonel) on 1 August 1812. During the 1813 campaign he fought at Lützen, Bautzen, Colditz, Haynau, Goldberg, Graditz, Löwenberg, Katzbach, Wartenburg and was wounded at Leipzig. On 25 June 1813 he was promoted to generalmajor and on 9 October he received the order of Pour le mérite. Friedrich August was promoted to generalleutnant on 8 December 1813. He assumed the title of Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on 6 November 1816. Friedrich died in Berlin on 21 September 1837.

  FRIEDRICH HEINRICH KARL, PRINCE OF PRUSSIA (1781–1846). Known as Heinrich he was born on 30 December 1781 in Berlin to Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia. On 5 September 1795 Heinrich entered the Prussian army as a Fähnrich (cadet). Heinrich’s involvement in the 1806 campaign was limited. On 11 November 1807 Heinrich was promoted to the rank of generalmajor. In the 1813 campaign he served in the headquarters of the Russian General Wittgenstein. Heinrich was promoted to generalleutnant on 15 March 1813 and on 31 May 1814 he became a general der infanterie. He died on 12 July 1846 in Rome.

  FRIEDRICH WILHELM, DUKE OF BRAUNSCHWEIG-OELS (THE BLACK DUKE) (1771–1815). Friedrich was born on 9 October 1771 in Braunschweig. He entered service in the Prussian army as a Stabskapitän in 1787. On 22 April 1792 Friedrich was a major serving on his father’s staff (Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand). He fought at the battles of Kaiserslautern, Valmy, Grandpré, Saint-Amand, in the siege of Longwy, Verdun, Landau and was wounded at Eich. On 30 March 1795 Friedrich was given command of the von Thadden Infantry Regiment and on 12 January 1796 he was promoted to the rank of oberst (colonel). His promotion to generalmajor came on 13 June 1801. During the 1806 campaign he was inactive. His father was killed at Auerstädt and he assumed the title of Duke. In 1809 Friedrich raised a freikorps (known as the Black Legion) and marched across Germany to escape with it to England. In 1815 he went with the British army to the Netherlands and fell at the battle of Quatre-Bras on 16 June 1815.

  FRIEDRICH WILHELM III, KING OF PRUSSIA (1770–1840). Friedrich was born on 3 August 1770, to the brother of Friedrich the Great, in Potsdam. His father had fallen from grace with Friedrich the Great, but as declared heir to the Prussian throne, had remained in Potsdam with his uncle. He received the usual military training mandated for a Prussian prince and by 1790 was a colonel. On 20 December 1792 Friedrich was promoted to the rank of generalmajor and participated in the 1792–93 campaigns against France and the 1794 campaign in Poland. In 1793 he married Louise, daughter of Prinz Carl von Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Upon the death of Friedrich Wilhelm II, on 16 November 1797, Friedrich succeeded to the throne of Prussia. Friedrich was not a strong ruler and was repeatedly accused of being under the thumb of his strong-willed wife, who at one point was called “the only man in Prussia.”

  Friedrich’s lack of decisiveness boded ill for Prussia and after the crushing defeat his armies suffered in 1806, the Treaty of Tilsit only served to demonstrate his ineffectiveness. When Louise died in 1810 the stiffness went out of his backbone. Friedrich provided a contingent that joined Napoleon in the invasion of Russia. His weak and vacillating hand was called by the actions of Diebitsch, a Prussian officer in Russian service, and the Prussian General Yorck, who commanded the Prussian contingent with the Grande Armée in Russia. These two men signed the Convention of Tauroggen that neutralized the Prussian army under Yorck and eventually forced Friedrich’s hand. Initially Friedrich denounced Yorck’s actions. In late February 1813 he signed the Convention of Kalisch that formally allied Prussia with Russia.

  During the 1813 and 1814 campaigns Friedrich would accompany his armies and the Czar of Russia in the field. Friedrich was present at the battles of Lützen, Bautzen, Dresden, Kulm, Leipzig, La Rothière, Bar-sur-Aube, Arcis-sur-Aube and Paris. When the wars ended he returned to governing his expanded kingdom, attending the various European congresses where he stood for the status quo of repressive, authoritarian governments. In 1824 he remarried Countess Auguste von Harrach, whom Friedrich made Princess von Leignitz. He died on 7 June 1840.

  FRIEDRICH WILHELM HEINRICH AUGUST, PRINCE OF PRUSSIA (1779–1843). Known as August, he was born on 19 September 1779 to Prinz August Ferdinand of Prussia. On 14 August 1797 he was promoted to the rank of Kapitän in the Alt-Larisch Infantry Regiment. August was promoted to the rank of oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) on 15 October 1805 and in the 1806 campaign he fought at Jena. August was promoted to generalmajor on 11 November 1807 and generalleutnant on 19 March 1813. During the 1813–14 campaigns he fought at Lützen, Dresden, Kulm, Leipzig, Vauchamps, Champaubert and in the siege of a number of French fortresses. August became general inspector and chief of artillery on 3 April 1820 and continued his service in the Prussian army until he died on 19 July 1843 in Bromberg.

  FRIEDRICH WILHELM KARL, PRINCE OF PRUSSIA (1783–1851). Known as Wilhelm, he was born on 3 July 1783 in Berlin to Friederich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia. On 18 March 1799 Wilhelm became a Stabskapitän in the Guard Infantry Regiment. In 1805 he was an oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel). During the 1806 campaign he fought at Auerstädt. On 8 March 1807 Wilhelm was promoted to the rank of oberst (colonel) and given command of the Brandenburg Dragoon Regiment.

  On 11 November 1807 Wilhelm became a generalmajor and on 17 March 1813 he became a generalleutnant. During the 1813–14 campaigns he fought at Lützen, Katzbach, Löwenberg, Pilgramsdorf, Goldberg, Kaub, Leipzig, Laon, Saint-Dizier, La Chaussée, Châlons, Château-Thierry and Méry-sur-Seine. On 30 May 1814 Wilhelm was promoted to the rank of general der kavallerie. On 24 September 1830 he became governor-general of the provinces of Westphalia and the Lower Rhine. On 7 March 1835 Wilhelm became governor-general of Mainz. He died on 28 September 1851 in Berlin.

  FUENTES DE OÑORO, BATTLE OF. Fought in Spain between 3 and 5 May 1811, Masséna’s Army of Portugal had fallen back from Torres Vedras and was judged by Wellington to be unable to interfere with his plans. Masséna, however, had other plans, pulled together a force of 48,000 men, and advanced to break Wellington’s siege of Almeida. Shocked by this, Wellington deployed his 37,000 men on ground of his choosing and waited for Masséna’s advance. Masséna’s initial thrust was blocked, so he sought to turn Wellington’s right flank. The subsequent fight was a bloody one and a near run thing. When it ended inconclusively, Masséna withdrew, leaving 2,844 casualties. Wellington’s army suffered around 1,800 causalties.

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  GAUDIN, MARTIN CHARLES (1756–1841). Gaudin was born in 1756 in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris. His father was a lawyer attached to the French Parlement. As a young man, in 1773, he entered the Bourbon bureau of the Contrôle Général, which handled the collection of direct taxes for the monarchy. When the Revolution erupted he was engaged by the Assembly and later by the Convention to continue as one of six commissioners of the central treasury board that reported to the Committee on Fina
nces. He declined to serve under the Directory as minister of finances, but on 10 November 1799, accepted the same post under Napoleon.

  Gaudin was a prodigious worker who taught Napoleon the basics of sound financial administration. Under Napoleon he prepared the cadastre, or official register of the quantity, value, and ownership of every parcel of land in France. This register was to serve as the basis for an equitable system of real estate taxes. In 1809 Napoleon elevated Gaudin to the dignity of the Duc de Gaète. Gaudin held office continuously from 1799 to 1814 and again during the Hundred Days. Under the Bourbons he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies and from 1820 to 1834 served as governor of the Bank of France.

  GENTZ, FRIEDRICH VON (1764–1832). Gentz was born in Breslau, Prussia, on 2 May 1764. He studied in Berlin and was thought to be a brilliant student. Gentz attended the University of Königsberg and fell under the influence of Kant. When the French Revolution erupted he initially greeted it with enthusiasm, but the Terror cooled his ardor. Gentz began a literary career that is best described as moderate liberalism. Gentz published a series of essays on politics, some of which were regarded as masterpieces. They brought him a reputation and gifts of money from the British and Austrian governments. These, sadly, made his position as an official in Berlin impossible. On 6 December 1802 Gentz found himself employed in Austria as the imperial counselor, courtesy of his acquaintance with Count Stadion.

  As Napoleon grew in power, Gentz threw himself into writing against Napoleon. Gentz denounced the recognition of Napoleon’s imperial title and wrote a manifesto for Louis XVIII against it. His continued attacks resulted in Napoleon’s comment, “a wretched scribe named Gentz, one of those men without honor who sell themselves for money.”