Christoph August von Wangenheim

Major-General Christoph August von Wangenheim (23 March 1741 in Hanover – 23 June 1830 in Hanover) was a German Hanoverian army officer and court official.^{[lower-alpha 1][1]}

Biography

Von Wangenheim entered the Hannoverian Army in 1757. Over the next twenty years he was gradual promoted and became a major in 1777.^[1] Between 1782–1787 von Wangenheim served in India with the East India Company but retained his commission in the Royal Hanoverian army.^[1][2][3] He commanded Hanoverian brigade at the battle of Cuddalore (13 June 1783).^{[2][lower-alpha 2]} Also during that time he led a contingent 1,400 Hanoverians, along with a company of European and sepoy soldiers to suppress a mutiny of a British Army regiment.^[3] In 1797 he was promoted to Major-General.^[1]

In India in 1783 von Wangenheim treated a wounded French sergeant who was his prisoner with kindness. Two decades later (in 1803), when France conquered Hanover, Bernadotte, the French commanding general reintroduced himself to von Wangenheim and thanked him for his kindness 20 years earlier (such are the fortunes of war).^[4]

Between 1814 and 1819 von Wangenheim was a member of the Hanoverian Parliament. In 1819 he accepted the office of Hofmarschall (an administrative post in charge of a princely German court).^[1]

Notes

1. Also spelt Christian August von Wangenheim.^[1]
2. There is some confusion in the sources Mlynek says he commanded the 16th regiment,^[1] but Philippart says the brigade consisted of the 14th and 15th regiments.^[2]

1. Mlynek 2002, p. 376.
2. Philippart 1820, p. 387.
3. Arielli & Collins 2012, p. 41–42.
4. Wilks 1817, pp. 441–443.

References

• Arielli, Nir; Collins, Bruce, eds. (2012), "The Hanoverian Regiments in colonial service", Transnational Soldiers: Foreign Military Enlistment in the Modern Era, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 40–43, ISBN 9781137188038
• Mlynek, Klaus (2002), "Wangenheim von", in Böttcher, Dirk, Hannoversches biographisches Lexikon: von den Anfängen bis in die Gegenwart, Schlütersche, p. 376, ISBN 9783877067062
• Philippart, John, ed. (1820), The Royal Military Calendar, Or Army Service and Commission Book: Containing the Services and Progress of Promotion of the Generals, Lieutenant-generals, Major-generals, Colonels, Lieutenant-colonels, and Majors of the Army, According to Seniority:... (3 ed.), A.J. Valpy, pp. 386–390
• Wilks, Mark (1817), Historical Sketches of the South of India, in an Attempt to Trace the History of Mysoor: From the Origin of the Hindoo Government of that State, to the Extinction of the Mohammedan Dynasty in 1799 ..., Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, p. 441–443