Frederick III, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg

Frederick III John Otto Francis Christian Philip, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg (1745-1794), Prince of Hornes and Overijse, Prince of Ahaus, Bocholt and Gemen, Count of Solre-le-Château, reigned in Salm-Kyrburg from 1779 to 1794.

Life

Frederick was the eldest son of Philip Joseph, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg and his wife, Princess Maria Theresa of Hornes. He grew up at the French court. Through his mother, the eldest daughter of Maximilian, Prince of Hornes, he inherited all the possessions of the Hornes family. Frederick commissioned the construction of the Hôtel de Salm in Paris, which took place of 1782 and 1787 and cost so much that he had to look for other sources of income.

Patriots

Frederick played an important role in the Dutch Republic during the era of the Patriots, probably through the mediation of Benjamin Franklin. He became commander of the Huzaren regiment, formed during the Kettle War at the end of 1784. The prince took part in the negotiations with the Austrian emperor Joseph II that bought off Joseph with a large sum. In September 1786, the States of Holland put him into their service, but half a year later came a proposal that his regiment should be dismissed on cost-cutting grounds. From Haarlem came instructions to send the regiment to the Hague and, in Amsterdam, demonstrations forced the mayors to reject the proposal. A few days later, the popular Prince of Salm-Kyburg set up a fund to support his troops so that he could remain in office: it brought in a considerable sum. [nl icon Christiaens, W. & M. Evers (2002) Patriotse illusies in Amsterdam en Harderwijk, p. 106]

From 12 May 1787 Frederick led the army sent out over the apology of the city of Utrecht, the "democratic Eldorado" that had since 1 May been besieged by Spain. On 28 June, he marched with a hundred man in the direction of Woerden, maybe in an attempt to capture princess Wilhelmina of Prussia. [nl icon Knoops, W.A. & F.Ch. Meijer (1987) Goejanverwellesluis. De aanhouding van de prinses van Oranje op 28 juni 1787 door het vrijkorps van Gouda, p. 30, 63.] On 9 August, he became colonel of a Gelderse Hunters corps which, a month later, occupied Makkum on the initiative of Court Lambertus van Beyma. Upon the approach of the Prussian army, that on the orders of Frederick William II of Prussia had invaded the Dutch Republic, Frederick gave up the city Utrecht on without giving battle. [S. Schama, Patriots and Liberators, Revolution in the Netherland 1780-1813, p. 129-30 ] His regiment fell back on Amsterdam and finally on Muiden and Weesp, for which the vainglorious idler Frederick endured heavy criticism. Within a week, he left the city of Amsterdam, no longer trusted by the Republic.

There are different versions of what happened to him next. Some maintain that he remained hidden for a few months in the house of Henry Hope, others that he stopped in Jever (then a Prussian city and ideal for lying low). The Dutch New year books mention that he fled to his brother at Grumbach in the Rhineland-Palatinate [nl icon Nieuwe Nederlandse Jaarboeken 1787, 5386. ] and also how Pieter Paulus refused to admit him on a summer 1788 visit to Paris. [nl icon Vles, E.J. (2004) Pieter Paulus (1753 - 1796) Patriot en Staatsman, p. 84. ] Quint Ondaatje, the Utrecht patriot, wrote him an apology in 1791.

Von Salm was guillotined at the end of July 1794 for his ties with the "Ancien Regime", together with his sister Amalie's lover Alexandre de Beauharnais.

Madame de Stael gave her soirees from 1797 at the Hôtel de Salm. From 1804, the Légion d'Honneur resided in the Hôtel, that was then destroyed by fire in 1871. The villa was rebuilt and is named now Palais de la Légion d'Honneur. It is said that Henry Hope wanted to copy the Hôtel de Salm in Haarlem, for his Villa Welgelegen.

Marriage and issue

Frederick married in 1781 Princess Johanna Francesca of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. They had four children, of whom only one lived to adulthood:

*Hereditary Prince Frederick Henry Otto (1785-1786)
*Prince Frederick Emmanuel Otto Louis Philip Conrad (1786)
*Prince Frederick IV Ernest Otto Philip Anton Furnibert (1789-1859), his father's successor
*Princess Philippine Friederike Wilhelmine (1783-1786)

Ancestry

ahnentafel-compact4
style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
border=1
boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
boxstyle_1=background-color: #ADB3D3;
boxstyle_2=background-color: #B1BAE9;
boxstyle_3=background-color: #c9d3F6;
boxstyle_4=background-color: #d6dfF0;
1= Frederick III, Princes of Salm-Kyrburg
2= Philip Joseph, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg
3= Princess Maria Theresa of Hornes
4= Henry Gabriel Joseph, Count of Salm
5= Princess Marie Therese of Croÿ
6= Maximilian, Prince of Hornes
7= Lady Marie Bruce
8= Charles Florentin, Count of Salm
9= Marie Gabrielle de Lalaing, Countess of Hoogstraeten
10=Philippe François Albert, marquis de Warneck
11=Claudine Françoise de la Pierre du Fay
12=Philippe Emanuel, Prince of Hornes
13=Princess Marie Anne Antoinette of Ligne
14=Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury
15=Charlotte d'Argenteau, comtesse d'Esneux

References

*nl icon [http://www.milwiki.nl/dutchregiments/index.php?n=RepInf.IK784a Information on the formation of the Rijngraaf of Salm's legion]