Ivan Nikolaevich Essen ( Magnus Gustav von Essen ; 1759 - August 23, 1813 ) - Lieutenant General of the Russian Imperial Army , military governor of Riga at the initial stage of the Patriotic War of 1812 .
| Ivan Nikolaevich Essen | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| him. Magnus Gustav von Essen | |||||||
 Portrait of Ivan Nikolaevich Essen workshop [1] George Dow . Military Gallery of the Winter Palace , State Hermitage Museum ( St. Petersburg ) | |||||||
| Date of Birth | 1759 | ||||||
| Place of Birth | |||||||
| Date of death | August 23, 1813 | ||||||
| Place of death | |||||||
| Affiliation |  Russian empire | ||||||
| Rank | lieutenant general | ||||||
| Commanded | infantry corps | ||||||
| Battles / wars | Friedland , World War 1812 | ||||||
| Awards and prizes |
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Biography
From an ancient Estland noble family . In 1783-1785 he fought in Poland, was seriously wounded.
He participated in the Russian-Swedish war of 1788-1790 , as well as in the Polish campaigns of 1792 and 1794 . For distinctions at Maciejovice, he was awarded the Order of St. George of the 4th degree.
In 1799, the commander of the 1st division as part of the expeditionary corps of General German , sent to Holland . Since 1802, the military governor of Smolensk .
He participated in the campaign of 1807 and was heavily shell-shocked in the battle of Friedland .
Patriotic War of 1812
During the Patriotic War of 1812, he served as the Riga military governor instead of Lobanov-Rostovsky . All the troops defending the Riga direction were subordinate to him. Essen was ordered to burn the outskirts of Riga immediately with the entry of the enemy into the "borders of the land." After unsuccessful attempts to stop the Prussians at distant approaches and an unsuccessful battle near Ekau , an order was issued to burn the suburbs. Due to the strong wind, the fire turned out to be uncontrollable and thousands of citizens were left without shelter and property [2] .
Closer to the fall, the course of the war changed. The extended positions of the Prussian corps, MacDonald’s passivity, Wittgenstein’s success near Polotsk , the beginning of Napoleon’s general retreat, as well as the arrival of the Steingel corps in Riga — all of these factors pushed Essen to the beginning of the offensive, however, due to poor command, the Russian troops suffered heavy losses in several battles. In October, Essen was replaced at his post by General Paulucci and filed a resignation.
Essen was treated for a long time and drowned on August 23, 1813 while swimming in the Sulfur waters of Baldon near Riga. According to one version, committed suicide on the anniversary of the fire of Riga suburbs.
In marriage with her cousin Baroness Margarita Stackelberg (1760–1841) had her only daughter Elizaveta Ivanovna (1797–1821), who in 1817 married Baron Matvey Palen .
Notes
- ↑ State Hermitage Museum. Western European painting. Catalog / Ed. V. F. Levinson-Lessing; ed. A. E. Krol , K. M. Semenova. - 2nd edition, revised and supplemented. - L .: Art, 1981. - T. 2. - P. 261, cat. No. 7834. - 360 p.
- ↑ There is an erroneous legend that the Riga suburbs were burned due to a herd of cows. It is based on the real actions of Major Apushkin, who, having seen a dusty cloud on the road to Mitava and thinking that it was raised by the advancing French, burned the bridge to Doblen . This story has nothing to do with the fire on the outskirts of Riga.
Literature
- Dictionary of Russian generals, participants in the hostilities against the army of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812-1815. // Russian archive. The history of the Fatherland in the evidence and documents of the XVIII — XX centuries. : Collection. - M .: TRITE studio N. Mikhalkova , 1996. - T. VII . - S. 630-631 . - ISSN 0869-20011 . (Comm. A. A. Podmazo )