- Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Prince Bernhard Carl of
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (30 May 1792 –21 July 1862 ) [http://hansdenyngre.dk/hans_uk/wizg26.htm#6075 Descendants of Hans den Yngre af Sønderborg – Ninth Generation: Bernhard Carl von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach] ]He, was a distinguished soldier, who, in 1815, after the
congress of Vienna , became colonel of a regiment in the service of the king of the Netherlands.Encyclopaedia Britannica Eleventh Edition [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Charles_Augustus Charles Augustus] ] He fought at theBattle of Quatre Bras and theBattle of Waterloo where he commanded the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Dutch Division.Early life
Prince Bernhard, the seventh child of
Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , was born on30 May 1792 inWeimar . He enlisted in the Prussian army and in 1806 he fought in the army of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen. By 1809 he had enlisted in the Saxon army and he fought under Marshal Bernadotte at Wagram.Waterloo campaign
Prince Bernhard's 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Dutch Division (Sedlnitsky) was the first of the Duke of Wellington's forces to arrive at the cross roads of
Quatre Bras . Prince Bernhard's brigade (joined later by the 1st Brigade,) held the cross roads atQuatre Bras for almost 24 hours from the late afternoon of15 June 1815, until about 3 p.m. on the16 June , preventing MarshalMichel Ney with the left wing of the French "L'Armée du Nord " from taking the cross roads before the Duke of Wellington and substantial allied forces arrived to reinforce the 2nd Division and fight theBattle of Quatre Bras . The successful holding action by the two brigades of the Dutch 2nd Division was one one of the most important actions by any of the coalition brigades in the whole of theWaterloo Campaign .At the
Battle of Waterloo Prince Bernhard commanded the allied forces holding the farms of "Papelotte", "Frichermont" and "La Haie" on the extreme left of the Duke of Wellington's line of battle. [ [http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/riley/787/Napoleon/100/waterloo.html The Battle of Waterloo] ] They were strategically important, not just because if the forces holding these positions gave way then the French could out flank Wellington, but because it was from that direction that Wellington expected and received Prussian support. Though in the course of the battle Durutte’s 4th French Division obtained a temporary foothold in Papelotte, it was never captured. [N. Gash. [http://www.archives.lib.soton.ac.uk/wellington/pdfs_for_all/waterloo_gash_edit.pdf Wellington and the Waterloo campaign] ]Later life and family
In the years after Waterloo, Bernhard, distinguished himself as commander of a Dutch Division in the Belgian campaign of 1831 (the
Ten Days Campaign ), and from 1847 to 1850 held the command of the forces in theDutch East Indies . He died21 July 1862 inLiebenstein .He married Ida of Saxe-Meiningen, daughter of
Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen , on30 May 1816 in Meiningen. Prince Bernhard's son, William Augustus Edward, known asPrince Edward of Saxe-Weimar (b. 1823 - d. 1902), entered the British army, served with much distinction in theCrimean War , became colonel of the 1st Life Guards, and later a BritishField Marshal .His daughter Amalia married
Prince Henry of the Netherlands .References
Further reading
* [http://www.waterloo-campaign.nl/ Pierre de Wite] . [http://www.waterloo-campaign.nl/june16/qb.1.pdf The prince of Orange at Quatre Bras and the order of battle of the 2nd Dutch division] gives a description of Prince Bernhard's actions at Quatre Bras
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