Petar Terzić

Petar Terzić was born in 1739 in Kovilj in Slavonia, Habsburg monarchy, the part of the Military Frontier of the ever-present conflict between the forces of two empires from the early 1600s into the 1900s. Petar Terzić came from an old Serbian family with a military history dating back to time. In 1751 he became a cadet; in 1752, an ensign; and in 1753, lieutenant. As a graduate cadet of the Imperial-Royal Army in the Habsburg Monarchy, he rose through the military ranks, in 1765, he was promoted to captain; and by 1790, he was a colonel already.[2]

In the Serbian Banat there were the occasional occurrence of depriving officers and frontier guardsmen of their rank.[5] Terzić would always support the Serbian claim in military lawsuits when General Peter Duka came to adjudicate.[4] Duka tried to mitigate the charges against General Terzić in Pančevo who openly supported the Serbs.[6][7]

In 1804 when the First Serbian Uprising broke out Terzić's support went out to Karađorđe's Serbia[8] It was Terzić who recorded the exact date of the start of the Serbian Revolution, "7 March 1804"[9]

He was promoted to brigadier general in 1794[10] and on 21 August 1796 he received the rank of General Major[1] He retired in 1807 and a year later died in Pančevo.[3] He was 69.