Prince William of Baden (1829–1897)

Prince Louis William Augustus of Baden (German: Ludwig Wilhelm August Prinz von Baden;[1] 18 December 1829 – 27 April 1897) was a Prussian general and politician.[1] He was the father of Prince Maximilian of Baden, the last Minister President of the Kingdom of Prussia and last Chancellor of the German Empire. Wilhelm was a Prince of Baden, and a member of the House of Zähringen.

For other people called Prince Wilhelm of Baden, see Prince William of Baden (disambiguation).

Prince William
Portrait, 1897
Born(1829-12-18)18 December 1829
Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden
Died27 April 1897(1897-04-27) (aged 67)
Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden
Burial
Grand Ducal Crypt Chapel, Fasanengarten, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1863)​
IssueMarie, Duchess of Anhalt
Prince Maximilian
Names
Louis William Augustus
German: Ludwig Wilhelm August
HouseZähringen
FatherLeopold, Grand Duke of Baden
MotherPrincess Sophie of Sweden

Family

Wilhelm was born in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, on 18 December 1829 as the fifth child and third surviving son of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden, and his wife Princess Sophie of Sweden.[1] Through his father, Wilhelm was a grandson of Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden and his wife Baroness Louise Caroline Geyer of Geyersberg and through his mother, a grandson of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and his wife Frederica of Baden.

Wilhelm was a brother of Alexandrine, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Louis II, Grand Duke of Baden, Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, Prince Charles of Baden, Marie, Princess Ernest of Leiningen, and Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna of Russia.

Military career

During his brief service in the Baden Federal Contingent (German: Baden Bundescontingente), Wilhelm attained the rank of Lieutenant in 1847 and First Lieutenant in 1849.[1] Beginning between 1849 and 1850, he served as a First Lieutenant in the 1st Foot Guards (German: 1. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß) infantry regiment of the Royal Prussian Army.[1][2] Wilhelm received his formal education in the Prussian Army.[3] From 1856, Wilhelm served as Major of the Guard Artillery (German: Gardeartillerie) and served as the last Major General and Commander of the Guards Artillery Brigade (German: Gardeartilleriebrigade).[1] Wilhelm retired from Prussian military service in 1863 with the rank of Lieutenant General, shortly before his marriage to Princess Maria of Leuchtenberg.[1][3]

Austro-Prussian War
Monument to Prince Wilhelm in Karlsruhe, sculpted by Hermann Volz.

In 1866, during the Austro-Prussian War between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire, Wilhelm assumed command of the Baden Division of the 8th Federal Corps (German: 8. Bundeskorps) siding with the Austrian-led German Confederation.[1][2][4][5] The dissolution of the 8th Federal Corps began on 30 July 1866 when Wilhelm sent a flag of truce along with a letter to the Prussian headquarters at Marktheidenfeld.[6] The letter stated that Wilhelm's father Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden, had entered into direct negotiations with Wilhelm I of Prussia and that King Wilhelm I granted the Baden troops permission to return to their homes.[6]

Immediately following the Austro-Prussian War, Wilhelm reformed the army of Baden based upon the Prussian system.[3] Wilhelm and Prince August of Württemberg were the two south German princes who were foremost in securing the union of the Northern and Southern German states.[3][4] On 22 September 1868, Wilhelm announced his resignation from the command of the troops of the Grand Duchy of Baden and was replaced by General Beza.[7]

Franco-Prussian War

In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, Wilhelm commanded the 1st Baden Brigade in the XIV Corps.[1][2] On 30 October 1870, Wilhelm and General Gustav Friedrich von Beyer assailed Dijon.[8] The French had transported 10,000 men by rail and the citizens of Dijon, including women, joined in the defense of the city against the Germans.[8] The resistance was not easily subdued and the Germans suffered heavy losses, however according to historian Gustave Louis Maurice Strauss, "[Wilhelm] carried the heights of St. Apollinari in gallant style and occupied the suburbs from which the Germans ultimately forced their way into the city where fierce fights from barricade to barricade from house to house lasted till midnight."[8] Dijon was occupied by 24,000 Prussians on 18 January 1870, but was reoccupied by the French after a severe battle, and subsequently retaken by the Prussians on 19 January, during which Wilhelm was shot in his cheek at Nuits-Saint-Georges.[1][2][9][10][11]

Post-war career

In 1895, Kaiser Wilhelm II promoted him à la suite to the Grenadier Regiment (German: Leibgrenadierregimentes) in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Nuits-Saint-Georges.[1] At the same time, Wilhelm II made him knight of the Order of Pour le Mérite, the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order.[1]

Wilhelm's final military rank was General of the Infantry.[1]

Political career

From a young age, Wilhelm held a seat in the First Chamber of the Diet of the Grand Duchy of Baden.[1] From 1871 to 1873, Wilhelm was a representative of Baden in the Reichstag of the German Empire in which he was a member of the German Imperial Party (German: Deutsche Reichspartei) (also known as the Free Conservative Party).[1]

Marriage and children

Wilhelm married Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, Princess Romanovskaja on 11 February 1863 in Saint Petersburg. She was the eldest surviving daughter of Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia, Russian Empire.[1][2] Upon learning of the marriage, United States President Abraham Lincoln sent a letter to Wilhelm's elder brother Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden in which Lincoln stated: "I participate in the satisfaction afforded by this happy event and pray Your Royal Highness to accept my sincere congratulations upon the occasion together with the assurances of my highest consideration."[12] Prior to the marriage, Wilhelm had traveled to England as a potential suitor of Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge.[13][14]

Wilhelm and Maria had two children:

Candidate for the Greek throne
The tomb of Prince Wilhelm of Baden in the Grand Ducal Crypt Chapel in Karlsruhe.

Following the deposition of Otto of Greece and the Greek head of state referendum of 1862, Wilhelm was considered by Wilhelm I of Prussia and Otto von Bismarck as a candidate for the throne of the Kingdom of Greece.[15][16][17] The Russian Empire's preferred candidate for the Greek throne fluctuated between Nicholas de Beauharnais, 4th Duke of Leuchtenberg and Wilhelm, his brother-in-law.[16] As a potential candidate, Wilhelm demanded no renunciations of rights to the Greek throne from King Otto's family in the Kingdom of Bavaria.[18] According to The New York Times on 16 March 1863, then recent purchases of Greek bonds in London were the result of a report that Wilhelm was to be formally recommended for the throne.[17]

Later life

Wilhelm was in attendance at the dedication of the monument to Martin Luther at Worms on 27 June 1868.[19]

Following the death of his brother-in-law Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Wilhelm traveled to Schloss Reinhardsbrunn on 23 August 1893 to visit his widowed sister Alexandrine and greet the Duke's successor, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.[20] He attended the Duke's funeral procession and service in Coburg on 28 August 1893.[21][22]

Wilhelm died in Karlsruhe on 27 April 1897 at the age of 67.[1] He was interred at the Grand Ducal Crypt Chapel (German: Großherzogliche Grabkapelle) in the Fasanengarten in Karlsruhe.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles
  • 18 December 1829 – 27 April 1897: His Grand Ducal Highness Prince Wilhelm of Baden[12]

Honours
National honours[23]
Foreign honours[23]

Ancestry

References
  1. Poten, Bernhard von (1897), "Wilhelm, Prinz von Baden", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, Band 42: Wilhelm (Prinz von Baden), Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 701–703, archived from the original on 31 January 2016
  2. Longmans, Green, and Co. (1897), The Annual Register: A Review of Public Events at Home and Abroad for the Year 1897, Longmans, Green, and Co., archived from the original on 16 December 2017{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Lewis (1881), A history of Germany: from the earliest times, founded on Dr. David Müller's "History of the German people", Harper & Brothers, archived from the original on 16 December 2017
  4. Gifford, Augusta Hale (1899), Germany, her people and their story: a popular history of the beginnings, rise, development, and progress of the German empire from Arminius to William II, Lothrop publishing company, archived from the original on 16 December 2017
  5. Malet, Alexander (1870), The overthrow of the Germanic confederation by Prussia in 1866, Longmans, Green, and Co., archived from the original on 16 December 2017
  6. Wright, Charles Harrison von; Hozier, H.M. (1872), The campaign of 1866 in Germany, archived from the original on 16 December 2017
  7. Townsend, George Henry (1869), The Handbook of the Year, archived from the original on 16 December 2017
  8. Strauss, Gustave Louis Maurice (1875), Men who have made the new German empire: a series of biographical sketches, Tinsley Brothers, archived from the original on 16 December 2017
  9. The Evening Post Staff (25 January 1871), "Arrival of the English Mail at Hokitika.", The Evening Post, p. 2, archived from the original on 2 October 2012, retrieved 15 August 2010
  10. Deseret News Staff (21 December 1870), "Foreign News.", Deseret News, archived from the original on 30 June 2016, retrieved 15 August 2010
  11. Morning Chronicle Staff (21 December 1870), "Nuits Stormed by Germans – With Loss 300 Killed", Morning Chronicle, retrieved 15 August 2010
  12. Lincoln, Abraham (2008), The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 6, Wildside Press LLC, ISBN 978-1-4344-7697-5, archived from the original on 16 December 2017
  13. Duff, David (1985), Queen Mary, Collins, ISBN 9780002172400
  14. Sophie of Württemberg (1989), A stranger in The Hague: the letters of Queen Sophie of the Netherlands to Lady Malet, 1842–1877, Duke University Press, ISBN 0-8223-0811-8, archived from the original on 15 July 2014
  15. Wilhelm I, German Emperor; Otto von Bismarck; J. A. Ford (1903), The Correspondence of William I. & Bismarck: With Other Letters from and to Prince Bismarck, F.A. Stokes
  16. Christmas, Walter (1998), King George of Greece, Adegi Graphics LLC, ISBN 978-1-4021-7527-5
  17. The New York Times Staff (16 March 1863), "Financial and Commercial News", The New York Times, archived from the original on 19 April 2015, retrieved 15 August 2010
  18. John, Van der Kiste (1994), Kings of the Hellenes: the Greek kings, 1863–1974, Alan Sutton, ISBN 0-7509-0525-5
  19. The Sydney Morning Herald Staff (23 September 1868), "The Luther Monument at Worms", The Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved 15 August 2010
  20. The New York Times Staff (24 August 1893), "Duke of Edinburgh's Throne: An English Prince to Rule a German Duchy" (PDF), The New York Times, retrieved 15 August 2010
  21. The New York Times Staff (28 August 1893), "Buried in the Mortizkirche: Funeral of Duke Ernst of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" (PDF), The New York Times, retrieved 15 August 2010
  22. Deseret News Staff (28 August 1893), "Funeral of Duke Ernst", Deseret News, retrieved 15 August 2010
  23. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1896), Genealogy p. 1
  24. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch für des Herzogtum Anhalt (1894), "Herzoglicher Haus-Orden Albrecht des Bären" p. 17
  25. Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Hessen: 1878. Staatsverl. 1878. p. 12.
  26. Oldenburg, Staat (1873). Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg: für ... 1872/73. Schulze. p. 31.
  27. Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1869), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 12
  28. Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen (1867) (in German), "Königliche Ritter-Orden", p. 4
  29. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" p. 27
  30. "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), Berlin, 1: 5, 30, 1886 – via hathitrust.org
  31. Lehmann, Gustaf (1913). Die Ritter des Ordens pour le mérite 1812–1913 [The Knights of the Order of the Pour le Mérite] (in German). Vol. 2. Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn. p. 564.
  32. "Ritter-Orden: Leopold-orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1897, p. 73, retrieved 18 December 2020
  33. M. Wattel, B. Wattel. (2009). Les Grand'Croix de la Légion d'honneur de 1805 à nos jours. Titulaires français et étrangers. Paris: Archives & Culture. p. 419. ISBN 978-2-35077-135-9.
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