Yermolay Fedorovich Kern (1765-1841) - Russian general, participant in the wars against Napoleon .
| Yermolay Fedorovich Kern | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Yermolai Fedorovich Kern workshop [1] of George Dow . Military Gallery of the Winter Palace , State Hermitage Museum ( St. Petersburg ) | |
| Date of Birth | 1765 |
| Date of death | January 8, 1841 |
| Affiliation |  Russian empire |
| Type of army | infantry |
| Rank | lieutenant general |
| Commanded | 48th Jaeger Regiment , Pernovsky Musketeer Regiment , Belozersky Infantry Regiment , 3rd Brigade of the 17th Infantry Division, 15th Infantry Division 2nd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, 11th Infantry Division 2nd Infantry Division |
| Battles / wars | The Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 , the Polish campaign of 1792 , the Caucasian War , the War of the Fourth Coalition , the Russo-Swedish War of 1808–1809 , the Patriotic War of 1812 , the Foreign Campaigns of 1813 and 1814 |
| Awards and prizes | Order of St. Anne , 2nd art. (1812), Order of St. Vladimir , 4th art. (1812), Order of St. Vladimir , 3rd art. (1812), Order of St. George , 4th art. (1814) |
Biography
Born in 1765. [2]
On April 10, 1777, he was enlisted as a sergeant in the Smolensky Dragoon Regiment and on March 2, 1789, was transferred by a sergeant to the Kherson Grenadier Regiment.
Under the leadership of A.V. Suvorov, he took part in the war with the Turks ; promoted to ensign for the distinction during the assault of Ishmael on December 11, 1790, and to lieutenant for the battle of Machin on June 28, 1791. The ensuing war with Poland , brought him the following two ranks for military distinctions.
In 1806, he participated in hostilities in the Caucasus against the Avar Khan when he was wounded. In the campaign of 1806-1807. he distinguished himself from the French under Heilsberg , and on December 4, 1807 he was appointed commander of the Pernovsky Musketeer Regiment (promoted to lieutenant colonel on December 12 of that year). At the end of the war with France, Kern took part in the Russian-Swedish war of 1808-1809.
However, on December 29, 1809, he was dismissed with a full pension and uniform due to poor health and not fully recovering from wounds received in battles with Lezgins. Returning to service on March 30, 1811, Kern immediately took command of the 48th Jaeger Regiment. April 16, 1812 was appointed commander of the Belozersky Infantry Regiment .
The Patriotic War of 1812 and the Foreign Campaigns of 1813 and 1814 again gave Kern the opportunity to show his courage and fighting talents. In 1812, while at the forefront, he covered the retreat of the 1st Army from Vilna to Drissa and valiantly participated in the battles near Smolensk and at the village of Gedeonova. In the battle of Borodino, Kern was sent to the village of Utitsa to reinforce the left flank and, participating in Tuchkov’s counterattack, was wounded in the leg; for the difference it was made on November 21, 1812. After the battle of Tarutin, he was appointed to the vanguard of Miloradovich and especially distinguished himself in the battles of Vyazma and near Krasnoye . In contrast to Vyazma, Kern was awarded the rank of major general (July 18, 1813 with seniority on October 22, 1812), orders of St. Anne of the 2nd degree and St. Vladimir of the 4th and 3rd degrees. Having made the campaign of 1813-1814, Kern was the commandant of the German city of Meissen , near Bauzen he commanded a detachment operating against the enemy cavalry, participated in the “Battle of the Peoples” near Leipzig , was the military governor of Kassel and was awarded March 18, 1814 for the assault on Montmartre . Order of St. 4th degree George No. 2883.
Then Kern consistently held the posts of commander of the 3rd brigade of the 17th Infantry Division (from June 1, 1815), the head of the 15th Infantry Division, the commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, the head of the 11th Infantry Division. Moved July 25, 1820 to the post of head of the 2nd Infantry Division, Kern then served as commandant in Riga (from September 26, 1823 to July 20, 1827) and Smolensk (from February 29, 1828). On April 14, 1829, he was promoted to lieutenant general and on November 17, 1837, was dismissed.
He died on January 8, 1841.
Family
From the first marriage with the daughter of the Vitebsk landowner Severinov, according to other sources, the son was left out of the marriage:
- Alexander (3.12.1810—?) [3] - a college assessor serving in the Inspection Department of the Civil Office. He was married since February 4, 1849 to the daughter of a titular adviser Vera Mikhailovna Florova (1831—?). Two of their children are known:
- Nikolay (12.10.1853—?)
- Alexander, married since 1882 to Alexei Fedorovich (Alexis Arthur Gustav) Landezen ( 11/22/1854 - 05/30/1903).
On January 8, 1817, Yermolay Fedorovich Kern married Anna Petrovna Poltoratskaya (1800-1879), the heroine of one of Pushkin's hobbies, and served as the prototype of Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin . Anna Kern herself wrote in her diary about her husband: “It is impossible to love him - I have not even been given the comfort of respecting him; I will say directly - I almost hate him . " Later this was expressed in relation to children from a joint marriage with the general - Anna was cool enough for them. From this marriage there were 3 daughters:
- Catherine (1818-1904)
- Anna (1821—?)
- Olga (07/07/1826-1833)
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. 257, cat. No 7995. - 360 p.
- ↑ According to Polovtsov’s dictionary and Sytin’s encyclopedia, according to the “Dictionary of Russian Generals”, Kern was born in 1773 in Petrovsk, Saratov province. The date of 1765 should be considered true as confirmed in the diary of his wife Anna Kern.
- ↑ The Metric Book of the Ascension Church in the Admiralty Settlements of St. Petersburg (entry No. 352 of 1810) says about the birth on December 3 of the “retired colonel Yermolai Fedorov’s son Kern” of his illegitimate son Alexander and his baptism on the same day by the priest of this church Kirill Yakovlev.
Sources
- Kern, Ermolay Fedorovich // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.
- S. N. P. Kern, Yermolay Fedorovich // Russian Biographical Dictionary : in 25 volumes. - SPb. - M. , 1896-1918.
- 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. 421 . - ISSN 0869-20011 . (Comm. A. A. Podmazo )