Moller, Alexander Adamovich

Born in the Ostseen aristocratic family of Adam von Moller (German: Adam v. Möller) (07/12/1772, Annenhof estate ( Võru County ) - 03/03/1813, Mitau ) and his wife Maria Elisabeth ur. von Rumm (German: Maria Elisabeth v. Rumm) (1775, Revel -?). In his youth, after graduating from the Naval Corps, his father served in the Navy, and participated in the Russian-Swedish war of 1788-1790 as a midshipman. and even distinguished himself in the Hogland and Revel battles. He retired as a lieutenant in 1799 when he was only 27 years old, but apparently later managed to instill in his son an interest in naval service. Father, who had completed primary education, twelve-year-old father brought to St. Petersburg, where he was enrolled in the Naval Cadet Corps on the exam on February 18, 1814 .

Not reaching the age of 15, Alexander Moller was promoted to midshipman on June 10, 1817 , and on February 23, 1820 he received the rank of midshipman. He conducted his first campaign in the officer rank in 1820 on the 74-gun battleship “Berlin” ^[3] , sailing along the Baltic Sea .

A year later, A. A. Moller was appointed officer in charge of the responsible round-the-world voyage on the new Ajax military brig. It was assumed that two Russian sailboats - the Ajax brig and the Apollon sloop - will deliver goods to Kamchatka and further to Novo-Arkhangelsk, the capital of Russian America in Alaska ^[4] .

September 28, 1821 , raising the sails, the ships left the Kronstadt raid. Troubles began on October 30, when in the North Sea during a sudden storm a sailboat lost each other. Then, when trying to enter the port of Calais , due to the strong wind, Ajax was unable to overcome the English Channel , was assigned to the northeast and on November 25 was stranded off the coast of Holland . The crew was rescued by fishermen, but the ship was significantly damaged. After a long repair in Gerlingen , having spent an entire year on an epic, but still not fulfilling the task, the brig returned to Kronstadt in October 1822 ^[5] .

Sailing to the shores of Alaska for A.A. Moller still took place, and the very next year. On July 28, 1823, the Enterprise sloop, under the command of Lieutenant Commander O. E. Kotzebue, left Kronstadt and set off on the same route to the North Sea. Interestingly, another officer with the same surname turned out to be a member of the sloop crew. This was the son of the naval minister, Admiral A.V. Moller, and second cousin of Alexander Adamovich, midshipman Pavel Antonovich Moller. As a researcher, a famous physicist, one of the founders of physical geography, Professor E. H. Lenz and a novice geologist E. K. Hoffman, were on a sailboat.

The main task of the 24-gun sloop was to protect the settlements of Russian America and, above all, Novo-Arkhangelsk ^[6] . All set goals, including very interesting hydrological studies under the program of E. Kh. Lenz, were successfully fulfilled. The journey ended in Kronstadt exactly 3 years after its launch - July 10, 1826 . For his voyage to the shores of America, Alexander Adamovich was awarded the Order of St. Anna of the 3rd degree and a pension under the rank of midshipman, and immediately after Christmas he was promoted to lieutenant.

The campaign of 1827, A. A. Moller began with the transition on the battleship "St. Andrew" from Kronstadt to the UK , where it was planned to repair it in Portsmouth . After the delivery of the ship, Alexander Adamovich was assigned to the battleship Azov , which, under the command of the legendary 1st-rank captain MP P. Lazarev, as part of the Russian squadron of Admiral L. P. Geiden, was heading to the shores of Morea in the Mediterranean Sea .

In that year, a very remarkable company of future illustrious naval commanders gathered at Azov: Lieutenant P. S. Nakhimov , Warrant Officer V. A. Kornilov , Midshipman V. I. Istomin , Warrant Officer E. V. Putyatin .

On October 8, 1827, the flagship of the Russian squadron Azov played a key role in the Battle of Navarino . During the battle, he sank three frigates alone, one corvette, forced to run aground and burned the 80-gun flagship of the Turkish squadron, the battleship Mukharem Bey ^[7] . Among the distinguished ones in this battle was Lieutenant A. A. Moller, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree.

After the battle, Alexander Adamovich continued his service at the Azov, which, having completed repairs by March next year , sailed the entire campaign of 1828 in the Mediterranean Sea and the Archipelago (Aegean Sea) . March 28, 1828 A.A. Moller was lucky to take part in the ceremony of awarding the ship with the St. George flag.

The consequence of the battle of Navarino was the next Russo-Turkish war , in which Azov took an active part. January 28, 1829 in the Archipelago he was captured by the 14-gun Egyptian brig. Under the name "Kandia" he became part of the Russian Navy, and A. A. Moller became its commander. True, it soon became clear that the vessel was incapable of serving in terms of its seaworthiness, and Alexander Adamovich was assigned to the battleship Alexander Nevsky ^[8] . On it, he took part in the blockade of the Russian fleet of the Dardanelles .

With the end of the campaign, in 1830, on the battleship Prince Vladimir ^[9], A. A. Moller returned to Kronstadt, where on November 5 he was promoted to lieutenant “for distinction”.

In 1832, A. A. Moller urgently left for Arkhangelsk. He was assigned to the newly launched battleship. In honor of the legendary "Azov", a year earlier removed from the fleet due to decrepitude, he received the name "Memory of Azov". On this ship, A. A. Moller made the transition from the White Sea to Kronstadt. Campaigns 1833 - 1835 first, on the Memory of Azov, and later on the battleship Empress Alexandra, he sailed in the Baltic Sea.

In 1836, as part of the detachment of Admiral M. F. Reineke, Alexander Adamovich commanded the schooner Whirlwind . While sailing on the Baltic Sea, he was engaged in hydrographic work in the Finnish skerries . July 3, 1836 the schooner "Whirlwind" took part in the ceremonial meeting of the botanist Peter I at the Kronstadt raid.

The next two campaigns A. A. Moller commanded the brigade "Zeal" . In 1838, he sailed on it in Swinemuende for the body of Adjutant General K. I. Bistrom, who died in the resort of Kissingen . In the same year, December 6, Alexander Adamovich was promoted to captain of the 2nd rank.

In 1840 , commanding the battleship Finland, which entered service, A.A. Moller moved from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt. Having become the captain of the 1st rank in the same year, he commanded the “Finland” until 1847 , until due to illness on March 13 he retired with the rank of rear admiral.

The next 29 years, A. A. Moller lived on his estate in Estonia. For many years in Reval, he was a member of the Guild of St. Canut ^[10] . Alexander Adamovich died on December 6, 1876 in Revel.

• wife: Julia Karlovna ur von Berends (German: Julie Luise Emilie v. Berends) (07/12/1812, Ida-Virumaa - 08/14/1887 Revel);
  • daughter: Julia Alexandra Clara von Roth (Ur. Moller) (German: Julie Alexandra Clara v. Roth) (08/12/1841, Kronstadt - 11/27/1885, Revel);
  • daughter: Lydia Emilia Louise von Moller (German: Lydia Emilie Luise v. Möller) (08/22/1852, Revel - 04/12/1931, Tallinn);
• cousin uncle: Anton Vasilievich von Moller (German: Berend Otto v. Möller) (02/08/1764, Mustel (Võru County) - 10/10/1848, St. Petersburg) - Admiral, Minister of the Sea of ​​the Russian Empire;
• second cousin: Pavel Antonovich von Moller (German: Reinhold Julius Paul v. Möller) (05/18/1808 - 1897, Zaporozhye) - vice admiral, adjutant wing;
• nephew: Fedor Bogdanovich von Schulz (German: Teodor Gottlieb v. Schullz) (06/08/1820, Revel - 09/20/1880, St. Petersburg) - Rear Admiral.

• Order of St. Anne of the 3rd degree (1826);
• Order of St. Vladimir , 4th degree (1827);
• Order of St. George 4th degree for 18 naval campaigns (1831);
• Order of St. Stanislav 2nd degree (1835);
• Order of St. Anne II (1846).

• Veselago F.F. General marine list from the base of the fleet until 1917. - St. Petersburg. : Printing House of the Ministry of the Sea, 1893. - T. VII / The reign of Emperor Alexander I. D - O. - S. 549-550. - 672 p. - (Military Historical Library).