Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix


Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix, baptized Quirin Frideric de Forcade, aka Friedrich Quirin von Forcade, aka Frédéric Quérin de Forcade was a Royal Prussian Lieutenant General, the second son of a Royal Prussian Lieutenant General, an early Huguenot immigrant to Brandenburg-Prussia and a descendant of the noble family of Forcade. He was one of King Frederick the Great's most active and most treasured officers. He was wounded three times and once left for dead on the battlefield. Together with his wife, he fathered 23 children.
He was Regimentschef of the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment, recipient of the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order of merit for heroism, Knight of the Order of Pour le Mérite, Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, Canon of Havelberg, Castellan in Neuenrade in the County of Mark, Lord Seneschal of Zinna, President of the Ober-Collegium Sanitatis in Berlin and Lieutenant governor of Breslau.
In 1851, his name was immortalized on the north facing commemorative plaque on the Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great in Berlin.
Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix is erroneously referred to in some 19th century historical sources in Prussia as the Marquis de Biaix. As with his father, there is no evidence that he was ever a Marquis. Biaix was not a marquisate, but instead a noble manor . He was also never the Seigneur de Biaix. The title Seigneur was not hereditary. In the case of his family, his grandfather, who purchased the Biaix Manor in 1659, was the Seigneur de Biaix. Following his death in 1684, his father's eldest brother inherited the property and the right to enter the Estates of Béarn and became the next Seigneur de Biaix. He, in turn, passed it to his eldest son.

Early life

Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix was the second son of Lieutenant General Jean de Forcade de Biaix and his wife, the Baroness Juliane von Honstedt, daughter of the Major General Baron Quirin von Honstedt, from Württemberg but in the service of Prussia. His baptismal Godfather was none less than Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg and King in Prussia in 1698, who became Frederick I of Prussia the first King of Prussia aka "the Mercenary King" in 1701.
His father was a Huguenot religious exile who was among the earliest arrivals in Brandenburg-Prussia, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by the Edict of Fontainebleau in October 1685. Unlike his father and his eldest brother, choosing to not abjure from his Calvinist beliefs, he left his native Béarn in France for Brandenburg-Prussia, where Frederick I of Prussia, then Elector of Brandenburg, was not only encouraging, but actively facilitating, Huguenot immigration.
Little else is known about his early life.

Military career

The lives and careers of both Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix and his father are intricately linked to the history of the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment, founded in 1713 and disbanded in 1806. Forcade spent the majority of his career on the infantry side of this regiment. The regiment also included a company of Grenadiers, the 2nd Grenadier Company. It was garrisoned in Berlin from 1716 until 1806. He later commanded the entire regiment, including the Grenadiers, for 17 years,. His father commanded the regiment during 13 years. During much of its existence, as well as more than 200 years after, it was referred to as Forcade's Regiment. The Regiment is immortalized in the German military marching composition "Das Regiment Forcade" that was in use as late as World War II.
Forcade entered Prussian military service in 1713 during the reign of King Frederick William I of Prussia, beginning what would become one of the most notable military careers in the history of the Kingdom of Prussia, spanning some 53 years, and further serving under King Frederick the Great.
Following Brandenburg-Prussia's declaration of war against Sweden in the summer of 1715, Forcade fought in the. He fought at the Siege of Stralsund, where he was wounded for the first time, the storming of the Peenemuende Lair and on Rügen Island.
He fought near Glogau, Breslau, Ottmachau Palace, Troppau, Graetz, the Battle of Mollwitz, at Neisse, Laa, Bruenn, Austerlitz and Wartha.
Forcade and the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment fought at Prague, Pless aka Josephstadt, Patschkau the Battle of Hohenfriedberg, Gross- and Klein Bocken, around Neustadt in Böhmen, at the Battle of Soor and at Trautenbach and Schatzlar.
The regiment lost its Regimentschef, Major General Wolf Alexander Ernst Christoph von Blanckensee, at the Battle of Soor. Forcade himself, was shot through the calf of his right foot. Badly wounded, he was left for dead on the battlefield. King Frederick the Great attributed the glory of the victory to him for his actions on the battlefield that day, and, on 6 January 1746, awarded him the Kingdom of Prussia's highest order of merit, the Pour le Mérite, as well as a pension of 600 Thaler and the title of Canon of Havelberg.
Another episode in 1746 demonstrates just how much King Frederick the Great treasured Forcade. During a ritual presentation at court at the Berlin Palace, Forcade had to lean on a window because of his wounded right foot. The King personally brought him a chair, graciously saying: "My dear Colonel von Forcade, so brave and worthy a man, as He is, well deserves that even the King himself brings him a chair."
Forcade commanded his regiment in early engagements near Pirna.
Forcade and the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment were particularly active during the Seven Years' War.

1757

He commanded his regiment, fighting alongside of his men, at
Forcade's infantry lost 600 men during each of the battles at Prague and Leuthen.
When the King took possession of Leuthen, he personally wrote of von Forcade:
English translation:
"My dear Lieutenant General von Forkade. I know that he has endured much at this siege, and it is our fortune because of him, that we were soon able to become masters of the city, because he otherwise, without my being able to help or relieve him, would have had to endure even more. So I thank him for it, and because he endured the most here : so shall he also alone have the honor from it. So, I herewith award him not only the Order of the Black Eagle, but also appointed him as Lieutenant governor of Breslau. I have awarded the vacant the Bremen Grenadier Company in Golz' Regiment to his eldest son, who is my Adjutant, because he well deserves it".

1758

Forcade was wounded again at the Zorndorf. The Prussians lost 12,800 men, the Russians lost 18,000 men at Zorndorf. Forcade lost 1,600 of his men that day, 800 each from his infantry and Grenadiers, as well as the Grenadier's commanding officer, Major Ernst Sigismund von Wedell.
He again lost 1,600 of his men again at Hochkirch, 800 each from his infantry and Grenadiers, where the Prussians were defeated on the battlefield.

1759

During this successful battle, Forcade's infantry took 700 prisoners and destroyed an important munitions depot.

1760

At the Battle of Torgau, Forcade lost 15 officers and more than 600 men.

1761

Although Forcade's Grenadiers won the Battle of Grethen against 4,000 Austrians, they lost their commanding officer, Major Joachim Friedrich von Rathenow, who died from his wounds a week after the battle.
In 1763, following the Treaty of Hubertusburg, he received a gift of 8,000 Thaler from King Frederick the Great.
A cabinet order of the King on 19 May 1763 created a War Tribunal, presided over by Lieutenant General von Forcade, together with Lieutenant Generals von Wedell, von Czetteritz and von Wylich.

Final Years

The proverb "Brave wie Forcade" became a standard expression of valor in the Prussian Army during the 18th century. "Das Regiment Forcade " was long a standard, at times mandatory, composition in the German military song repertoire.

His Legacy

Following Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix's death in 1765, his widow received a handwritten letter, in French, from King Frederick the Great, that reads:
English translation: "I take advantage of the first moment of my convalescence to let you know the part I take in the loss you experienced, and what I want to do to relieve your justifiable pain. I give you a first pension of five hundred crowns for the long and faithful service that your husband rendered me; a second identical sum, in consideration of your happy fertility; and a third, also of five hundred crowns, to help you raise your children. I can only recommend that you make sure that they follow in the footsteps of their father."
Madame von Forcade undoubtedly highly appreciated this well-deserved gesture. She made sure that their children respected the King's wishes; all four sons were said to have been commissioned officers; six of the seven daughters were said to have married military men, and the seventh married a pastor and was the head of a religious order.
Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix was interred following a state funeral where he was given a vault for himself and his family in the crypts under the Old Garrison Church in Berlin, which was destroyed during the allied bombing of Berlin on 23 November 1943. Following the destruction of the church, the tombs not destroyed during the bombings, where among others 15 Prussian Field Marshals and about 50 Prussian Generals were buried between 1722 and 1830, were broken into and plundered by grave robbers on several occasions. At the recommendation of the Soviet military authorities, the 199 human remains still present were gathered from the vault and were placed into 47 coffins, and transferred into a community grave at the :de:Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf near the chapel. His remains, and those of his wife, were among those transferred.
A 19th century theatrical play centered around Frederick the Great, affectionately referred to as , and Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix.
In 1851, General von Forcade was immortalized on the north facing commemorative plaque on the Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great in Berlin.

Family

Coat of Arms

The family motto of the Prussian branch is "In Virtute Pertinax".
Coat of Arms: An escutcheon with the field divided into four parts. Left half: argent tincture, a gules lion holding a sinople eradicated oak tree between its paws; azure tincture charged with three or mullets; Right half: a gules castle with three towers on an argent tincture; sinople tincture charged with three argent roses below it. A Grafenkrone as helmut on top of the escutcheon, crested with a or fleur-de-lis. Two or lions supporting the escutcheon. Motto: "In Virtute Pertinax".
Heraldic Symbolism: The lion symbolizes courage; the eradicated oak tree symbolizes strength and endurance; the towers are symbols of defense and of individual fortitude; the mullets symbolizes divine quality bestowed by god; the rose is a symbol of hope and joy; the fleur-de-lis is the floral emblem of France; the coronet is a symbol of victory, sovereignty and empire. A Count's coronet to demonstrate rank and because the family originally served the counts of Foix and Béarn during the English Wars in the Middle Ages.

Parents

, was a Royal Prussian Lieutenant General. He was the Regimentschef of the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment, Commandant of the Royal Residence in Berlin, Gouverneur militaire of Berlin and Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle.
He married the Baroness Juliane von Honstedt, from the noble house of Erdeborn, on 15 April 1697. She was the daughter of Major General Quirin, Erbherr von Honstedt, Herr of Sulzau, Weikenburg and Erdeborn, and his wife Maria Magdalena Streiff von Löwenstein, of Falkenau, Diedenhosten and Bacour.

Marriage

Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix originally intended to marry a daughter of French Baron François Mathieu Vernezobre de Laurieux. The rich baron and his family had left Paris after the collapse of John Law's Mississippi Company in 1720 and befriended King Frederick William I of Prussia. When the King ordered Vernezobre to marry his daughter to von Forcade de Biaix, who she rejected, the marriage was only averted when Vernezobre agreed to undertake the construction of a prestigious city residence for the King, referred to as the Vernezobre'sche Palais, located at Husarenstraße 102, later renamed in his honor to Wilhelmstrasse 102, after the King's death in 1740.
He subsequently married on 7 October 1727 at the French Cathedral in Berlin with 18 year old Baroness Marie de Montolieu de St.-Hippolyte aka Maria von Montaulieu, Freiin von St.-Hippolyte, the youngest daughter of Sardinian and Prussian Major General Louis de Montolieu, Baron de Saint-Hippolyte, also a Huguenot exile. From their marriage and until their respective deaths, the couple maintained a fixed residence and home in Berlin.

Children

A look at the baptisms of the couple's children provides a both interesting and noteworthy documentary of just how close the ties were between the Forcades, the royal family, members of the royal household and other key figures in Frederick the Great's most intimate inner circle.
Over a period of 25 years, the couple had 23 children, including four said to be stillborn. Eleven survived their father, of which four were sons. Known are:
  1. Friedrich Wilhelm von Forcade de Biaix, the eldest son, Royal Prussian Colonel, Schwadronschef of the 2nd Grenadier Company in the 24th Prussian Infantry Regiment, and, after 1 July 1761, acting Regimentschef of the garrisoned in Frankfurt/Oder, recipient of the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order of merit for heroism, Knight of the Order of Pour le Mérite He was presented for baptism on 23 August 1728 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by none less than the King, Frederick William I of Prussia and Major General Jean de Forcade de Biaix, the paternal grandfather, together his Godfathers. Also present at the baptism were the Princess Johanna Charlotte von Anhalt-Dessau, Margrave Douairière and widow of Margrave Philip William of Brandenburg-Schwedt, Countess Anna Sophia von Treskow, second wife of General Field Marshal Count Alexander Hermann von Wartensleben, and Susan de Pelissier, wife of Major General Louis de Montolieu, Baron de Saint-Hippolyte and the child's the maternal grandmother, collectively his Godmothers.
  2. Louis von Forcade de Biaix. The child was presented for baptism on 27 August 1729 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Louis de Montolieu, Baron de Saint-Hippolyte, Major General in the service of the King of Prussia and Lieutenant Marshal in the service of Philip V of Spain, King of Sardinia, the child's maternal grandfather, and by Dame Julie von Honstedt, widow of Lieutenant General Jean de Forcade de Biaix, his paternal grandmother, his Godparents.
  3. Charlotte Sophie von Forcade de Biaix, ∞ 29 July 1748 in Berlin-Garnisonkirche with Heinrich Siegismund von Eberhard. She was presented for baptism on 8 August 1730 in her parents' home in Berlin by Baron Friderich Charles, de Montolieu, the King's Chamberlain and the child's maternal uncle, and by Dame Philippine Sophie de Forcade de Biaix, wife of Major Paul Albrecht de Glereau and the child's paternal aunt, his Godparents.
  4. Louise Susanne von Forcade de Biaix ∞ on 17 November 1756 in Berlin with Carl Bernhard Feriherr von Prittwitz und Gaffron. She was presented for baptism on 14 December 1731 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Forcade's commanding officer Colonel Egidius Ehrentreich von Sydow, Baron Eberhard Wilhelm von Honstedt, Louise Charlotte von Sturm, wife of Colonel Christian Reinhold von Derschau, and by Susanne de Montolieu, Baroness de Saint-Hippolyte, wife of Lieutenant Colonel Henri le Chenevix de Beville and the child's maternal aunt, collectively the Godparents.
  5. Christian Louis von Forcade de Biaix. The child was presented for baptism on 14 December 1731 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Monseigneur the Margrave Christian Louis, Baron Johann Gottfried von Cocceji, Minister of State, Gertrud von Haeseler, wife of Ehrenrich Bogislaus von Creutz, Minister of State and Cabinet Secretary under King, Frederick William I of Prussia, and by Anna Charlotte von Brandt, wife of General Egidius Ehrentreich von Sydow, collectively his Godparents.
  6. Twin: Albertine Marthe von Forcade de Biaix, the elder twin. The child was presented for baptism on 7 March 1734 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by the General Field Marshal Count Albrecht Konrad Finck von Finckenstein and by Madame Marthe de RocoulleErman/Reclam, p. 252 , Grand Governess to the royal family, a Huguenot refugee who arrived in Berlin as the widow of Esaie du Maz de MontbailErman/Reclam, pp. 116-127 Erman/Reclam, p. 210 in 1685.
  7. Twin: Françoise Wilhelmine von Forcade de Biaix, the younger twin. The child was presented for baptism on 7 March 1734 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Johann Moritz von Viebahn, Minister of State and Auditor General of the Prussian Army in the Department of Criminal Affairs, and by Miss Sophia Wilhelmine von Kameke, Lady in Waiting to the Queen of Prussia, Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, daughter of Paul Anton von Kameke, the Grand Master of the King's wardrobe and his wife, Ilse Anna von Brünnow, the Grande Maîtresse to the royal household.
  8. Elisabeth Marie Henriette Quirin von Forcade de Biaix, ∞ 22 August 1756 with Lieutenant General Philipp Friedrich Lebrecht von Lattorff. She was presented for baptism on 5 January 1734 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Prince Henry of Prussia, Lieutenant General Count Friedrich Sebastian Wunibald Truchsess zu Waldburg, by the Duke of Holstein, by the Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia, by the Margrave Douairière Louise Charlotte of Brandenbourg, née Duchess of Courland, and by Christiane Freiin Wolfskeel von Reichenberg, aka Madame von Katsch, Grand Governess to the Queen and widow of Christoph von Katsch, First Minister of Justice, collectively her Godparents.
  9. Guillaume Henry Leopold Philippe von Forcade de Biaix . He was presented for baptism on 10 March 1737 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by General Field Marshal Friedrich Wilhelm von Grumbkow, Minister of State, Count Heinrich von Podevils, Minister of State, Leopold August von Wülknitz, Chamberlain and later Hofmarschall to the King, Lieutenant Colonel Philippe de Brueys, Baron de Bézuc, Margarethe Elisabeth von Rhetz, widow of Lieutenant General David Gottlob von Gersdorff, and by the wife of the Chamberlain von Morian, collectively his Godparents.
  10. Sophie Mariane Louise von Forcade de Biaix. She was presented for baptism on 15 November 1737 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Monseigneur Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, his wife, Adam Otto von Viereck, Paul Anton von Kameke, and the Baroness von Montzinger, the Baroness Luise Susanne von Beschefer, wife of Baron Ludwig Kasimir von und zu Hertefeld and daughter of Huguenot Lieutenant General Jacob de Bechefer, aka Jakob von Beschefer, Commandant of Magdeburg, collectively her Godparents.
  11. Caroline Albertine Louise von Forcade de Biaix, ∞ before 1766 with three time widower Baron Matthieu de Vernezobre de Laurieux, married in his first marriage with Charlotte Henriette Amalie von Cocceji. She was presented for baptism on 15 December 1739 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Monseigneur Charles William Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Count General Field Marshal Christoph Wilhelm von Kalckstein, her first cousin once removed Captain Isaac de Forcade de Biaix, Countess Charlotte Albertine Finck von Finckenstein, wife of Colonel Friedrich Wilhelm von Kannenberg, Sophia Albertine von Creutz, wife of Royal Adjutant General Count Hans Christoph Friedrich von Hacke, and the wife of Gerhard Heinrich von Wolden, Chamberlain to Frederick William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt and later Hofmarschall in Rheinsberg to Frederick the Great, collectively her Godparents.
  12. Christophle Louis von Forcade de Biaix. He was presented for baptism on 3 April 1741 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Christoph II., Burggrave and Count of Dohna-Schlodien Lord Steward of the Household of Queen Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, by Count Friedrich Ludwig von Wartensleben, the Queen's Hofmarschall, by Baron von Müller, Queen Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern's Chamberlain, by Johanna Charlotte von Beschefer, wife of Minister of State Samuel von Cocceji and daughter of Huguenot Lieutenant General Jacob de Bechefer, aka Jakob von Beschefer, Commandant of Magdeburg, by Katharina Dorothea Charlotte von Erlach, wife of Leopold August von Wülknitz, Queen Mother Sophia Dorothea of Hanover's Hofmarschall, elevated on 5 November 1742 to Count, and the Countess Anne Friederike von Kameke, wife of Leopold Alexander von Wartensleben, Adjutant General to the King. He died on 2 November 1768 in Jakarta, Indonesia, while employed as a sergeant for the Dutch East India Company on his first voyage. There is some evidence, although inconclusive, that he may have married a Marguerite Dubeau from Bitburg, and had at least one son, Johann Baptiste von Forcade, born in Berlin about 1765, who immigrated to Québec and married there in 1787.
  13. Leopoldine Augustine Anne Charlotte von Forcade de Biaix, ∞ about 1766 with Carl Ludwig von Koschembahr, Royal Prussian Lord Steward of Forests. She was presented for baptism on 3 September 1742 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Leopoldine Marie of Anhalt-Dessau, wife of Frederick Henry, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, Princess Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis, Duchess of Württemberg, by Anne de Bezuc, Baroness de Verfeuil,Erman/Reclam, p. 219 wife of Monsieur Alexandre de la Tour du Pin-Gouvernet, Baron de Verfeuil and sister of Colonel Philippe de Brueys, Baron de Bezuc, by Marguerite Charlotte le Chenevix de Beville, widow of Colonel Philippe de Brueys, Baron de Bezuc, Governor of Neuchâtel, Knight of the Ordre de la Générosité, by Catherine de Thibaud, wife of Conseiller de cour Aymar de Montolieu de Saint-Hippolyte, and by Major Duclos, collectively her Godparents.
  14. Charlotte Sophie Therese Marthe von Forcade de Biaix, First Lady-in-Waiting to the Princess of Prussia, ∞ 29 September 1775 in Berlin-Friedrichstadt with Baron Johann Hugo Wilhelm Löw von und zu Steinfurth, Royal Prussian Chamberlain and Knight of the Order of Joseph. She was presented for baptism on 7 November 1743 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, the Minister of State Friedrich Wilhelm von Borck and the Grand Squire Friedrich Wilhelm von Roeder, by Sophie-Caroline de Brandt, aka the Countess de Camas, Grand Governess of the court of Queen Elisabeth Christine and widow of Paul de Camas, formerly the Prussian Ambassador to Paris and a close personal friend of the French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher, Voltaire, Dorothea von Trzebitzky, aka the Countess Truchsess zu Waldburg, wife of Lieutenant General Count Friedrich Sebastian Wunibald Truchsess zu Waldburg, and by Mademoiselle Marthe de Montbail, collectively her Godparents.
  15. Georg Friedrich Wilhelm von Forcade de Biaix, baptized Friedrich Wilhelm von Forcade de Biaix, later referred to as the second son, Royal Prussian Major in the 1st Hussar Regiment; married before 1783 with Johanna Sophia Zippelius. He was presented for baptism on 29 October 1746 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Major General Georg Konrad von der Goltz on behalf of King Frederick the Great, by Prince Augustus William of Prussia, Prince of Prussia, by General Field Marshal Count Samuel von Schmettau, by Major General Count Hans Christoph Friedrich Graf von Hacke, by Princess Luise Amelie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, wife of the Prince of Prussia, by Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia, by Madame von Blaspigel, Grand Governess to Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia, and by Anna von Brünnow, aka the Countess von Kameke, widow of Paul Anton von Kameke, collectively his Godparents.
  16. Friedrich Heinrich Ferdinand Leopold von Forcade de Biaix, the third son, retired Royal Prussian Lieutenant Colonel, participated in the Rhine Campaigns, recipient of the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order of merit for heroism, Knight of the Order of Pour le Mérite, Castellan in Neuenrade in the County of Mark after his father's death; ∞ 15 April 1782 at Ossen Manor in Oels, Silesia to Johanna Christine Wilhelmine von Koshembahr und Skorkau from the house of Ossen. He was presented for baptism on 13 January 1748 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt on behalf of the King Frederick the Great by the Duke of Holstein and Governor of Berlin Frederick Ernest of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, Messeigneurs Prince Henry of Prussia and Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, the King's brothers, the Reigning Prince Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, the General Field Marshal Count Kurt Christoph von Schwerin, Infantry Major General Baron Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué, and Burgrave and Count Christoph II., von Dohna-Schlodien, collectively his Godfathers. The Godmothers were Princess Leopoldine Marie of Anhalt-Dessau, wife of Frederick Henry, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, Marie Johanna von Riffer, aka the Countess von Schmettau, wife of General Field Marshal Samuel von Schmettau, Countess Maria Anna Finck von Finckenstein, wife Minister of State Adam Otto von Viereck, Countess Sophia Henrietta von der Schulenburg wife of Count Heinrich von Podevils, and Mademoiselle Auguste-Marie-Bernardine von Tettau, First Dame d'atour to Queen Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern and daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Karl von Tettau.
  17. Albertine Wilhelmine von Forcade de Biaix, secular Canoness of the :de:Kloster Stift zum Heiligengrabe|Convent of the Holy Sepulcher in Heiligengrabe, ∞ 12 April 1776 in Heiligengrabe-Techow with Pastor Gottlieb Joachim Hindenberg
  18. Leonore Wilhelmine Albertine Susanne von Forcade de Biaix. She was baptized on 30 August 1750 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt. Her Godparents were the Count von Besse, General Field Marshal Alexander Hermann Count von Wartensleben, Baron Johann Georg von Reisewitz,, Squire to Prince Henry of Prussia, the Queen Mother's Lord Marshall, Baron Ernst Maximilian von Reist Sweerts, Director of the Berlin Opera, Countess Eleonora Lucia von Ilten, widow of Georg Christoph von Schlieben, Grand Huntsman, Charlotte Wilhelmine von Grävenitz, widow of Major General Georg Konrad von der Goltz, the widow of Baron von Klessing, and Countess Eleonore Louise Albertine von Schlieben, widow of Baron Dietrich Cesarion von Keyserlingk and formerly Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Elisabeth Christine. She may have married a von Woldeck. Historical literature published in 1799 about the Huguenot community in Prussia make specific reference to such a marriage, but without precision as to whether it was a daughter or a sister of Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix.Erman/Reclam, p. 319
  19. Wilhelmine Friederike von Forcade de Biaix. She was presented for baptism on 13 January 1748 at the French Temple in Berlin-Friedrichstadt by Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Kassel, wife of Prince Henry of Prussia, Prince Frederick of Prussia, the Count de Bredow, Lord Steward of the King's Wardrobe, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Kannenberg, Lord Steward of the Household of Queen Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Crown Princess of Prussia, Lieutenant Colonel von Königsmark, the Countess von Schwerin, Governess to Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia, Countess Charlotte Sophie von Aldenburg, aka the Countess von Bentinck, Countess von Bess, and Countess Sophie Henriette Susanne Finck von Finckenstein, from the house of Gilgenburg, wife of Count Karl-Wilhelm Finck von Finckenstein, collectively her Godparents.

Other Family

Historical terms, in particular those related to offices, titles and awards, are often outdated in their usage to the point that modern dictionaries no longer contain them. To understand their meaning in the present day context it is necessary to look into dictionaries from the period. Historical terms in German used in the production of this article, and their English definitions, include:

Regimentschef

The appointment to Regimentschef, a Regimental Commander in the Prussian Army, was usually for life. For this reason, most regiments were known and referred to by the name of their Chef, the commander, for example Forcade's Regiment instead of the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment.
Note: In a similar tradition, a Schwadronschef aka Rittmeister was a Squadron Commander, usually for life, or until retirement or discharge for disability. The terms Schwadronschef and Rittmeister are synonymous and are often used interchangeably in the 18th century.

Amtmannschaft von Zinna

the Office of Lord Seneschal of Zinna
Lord Seneschal of Zinna
Canon of Havelberg
the Canonship of Havelberg
Castellan of Neuenrade
In accordance with the Medical Edict of 12 November 1685 a central national "Collegium Medicum" was created in Berlin to supervise the medical professions. In 1719, the "Collegium Sanitatis" was founded, in large part due to the impact of the Plague of 1709-11. Its mission was paramedical policing, in particular sanitation policing in the community, and disease control. The two were later merged into the "Ober-Collegium Sanitatis".

Literature