Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken

Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (Ribeauvillé, Alsace, 27 February 1724 – 15 August 1767 in Schwetzingen) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty. He was the son of Christian III of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken and a member of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. He was the father of the Bavarian King Maximilian I Joseph.

Frederick Michael
Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
Portrait by Louis Tocqué (c.1745)
Born(1724-02-27)27 February 1724
Ribeauvillé, Alsace
Died15 August 1767(1767-08-15) (aged 43)
Schwetzingen
Burial
St. Michael's Church, Munich
SpouseCountess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach
Issue
HouseWittelsbach
FatherChristian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
MotherCaroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken

Seven Years' War

Frederick Michael was Palatine Fieldmarshal, Governor of Mannheim and finally in 1758 as Fieldmarshal of the Holy Roman Empire commander-in-chief of the Reichsarmee in the Seven Years' War against Frederick the Great. After the Battle of Rossbach, he managed to build up the whipped imperial army again, for which he received the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.[1] In the fall of 1758 he invaded Saxony, took the fortress Sonnenstein[2] and besieged Leipzig. The following year, Leipzig, Torgau, Wittenberg and Dresden were conquered. He secured Marshal Daun in the Battle of Maxen and fought victorious in the battle of Strehlen. 1761, he resigned from his post and handed over the imperial troops to Field Marshal Johann von Serbelloni. After the peace of Hubertusburg Friedrich Michael received the General Command in Bohemia and later became president of the secret military conference.

Family

He married Maria Franziska of Sulzbach, a granddaughter of Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine, and had five children:

He also had an illegitimate son by his mistress, Louise Cheveau :

  • Karl Friedrich Stephan (1767 – 1834), Baron of Schönfeld (1813), Count of Otting and Fünfstetten (1817). His daughter Luise married August von Senarclens de Grancy.

Ancestors

References
  1. Jaromir Hirtenfeld: Der Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden und seine Mitglieder, Kaiserliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Wien 1857, p. 1728.
  2. Karl Wilhelm Böttiger: Geschichte des Kurstaates und Königreiches Sachsen, Band 2, F. Perthes, 1831, p. 336
  3. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 93.

Bibliography
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