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against him. Marshal Von Buddenbrock and General Von Flanz, the King's favourite officers, judging more truly of Von Zieten's talents and difpofitions, became his advocates with their Sovereign. Yet, it was fometime before the Monarch could be perfuaded to give a new commiffion to a perfon whom he thought of a temper too quarrelfome to leave peace and orderly obedience among his brother officers, in any regiment into which he fhould be admitted.

Luckily for Von Zieten, the King had begun in the year 1722, to introduce huffars into the Pruffian fervice; and had then formed two companies, his experience of which difpofed him, in the year 1730, to add a third company. He had named the captain and the cornet, when Von Zieten was recommended to him to be the lieutenant. He at first refused, but, at laft with fharp admonition, gave to the broken dragoon-officer, the appointment requested for him. Von Zieten now thirty-one years of age, had greatly fubdued the first hotnefs of his temper. His captain failed not to try it by many little acts of teazing infolence which, but for the hard leffon he had received, Von Zieten could fcarce have patiently endured. But he fuppreffed every warm emotion, and became exemplary in facrificing his private refentments. The King having his eye much upon the new company, foon diftinguished, by his own obfervation the lieutenant's true merits, as an officer. When in the beginning of the next year two new companies of huffars were raised; the command of the fecond company of Brenkendorff's corps was given to Von Zieten.

In the fpring of the year 1735, Von Zieten was fent by his Majefty, at the head of one hundred and twenty huffars, to learn under General Von Baronnay, the perfection of the huffar-discipline, as it was practifed in the Austrian service. On his march he and his foldiers were entertained with fuch profufe hofpitality by the Duke of Saxe Weimar at Buttftadt, that they got all drunk, and fome very unpleafant confequences had almoft enfued. Thefe, Von Zieten recovered from the effects of his debauch, in time to prevent. But, the leffon was not loft upon him: for, he, never after, fuffered himself to be feduced to excefs in drinking! He arrived on the 12th of May, at the Auftrian camp, then in the vicinity of Mentz. The campaign was against the French, Von Zieten, by his zeal, activity, and prudent conduct, foon made himself highly acceptable to General Von Baronnay, and the other

Auftrian officers. After affifting, in feveral fkirmishes, in a manner exceedingly honourable to himself and his Pruffians; he was entrusted by General Von Baronnay, with the command of a separate enterprife; in which the most alert movements and artifices of the huflar-warfare were to be tried; and in which he perfetly fucceeded. A report of his fuccefs and good conduct being transmitted to the King of Pruffia, his master, he was, on the 29th of January, 1736, honoured with promotion to the rank of major. Peace was foon after concluded between Auftria and France: and Major Von Zieten returned, with his huffars to Berlin.

About this period, he married Leopoldine Judith Von Jurgas, a lady of the kindred of his mother, beautiful, fenfible, and endowed with the mildeft and with the most exalted virtues.'

In his regiment he was now placed under the intermediate command of Lieutenant Colonel Wurm, an officer who had been, in Von Zieten's abfence, advanced from the infantry, to this rank in the huffarfervice. Brenkendorff, his former captain and rival, had been difmiffed. Wurm was tall and out: noted for his duels at the univerfity, in which he had killed four or five of his fellow ftudents; unfkilled in the huffar-difcipline; and poffeffed with a conceit of his own knowledge and ability, which made him defpife every means of improvement.

Von Zieten had not long begun to ferve under Wurm, when a diftribution of horfes, in which the Lieutenant Colonel fhewed undue partiality to his own fquadron, excited a fierce difpute between him and the Major. They were alone. They faftened the door of the room, drew their fabres, and fought till Wurm was wounded in the head, Von Zieten, in the right hand, Wurm then propofed to finish the combat with piftols. But, Von Zieten, though not more averfe than Wurm, to push the matter to any extremity, yet more confiderate of duty, fuggefted, that they might end their contention at another time, but ought now to have their wounds dressed, and go upon the parade. Wurm complied. He alfo receded from the injustice out of which the quarrel had arifen; and diftributed the horfes among the two fquadrons by lot; fo that it was not afterwards renewed.

In 1740, Von Zieten loft, by the death of King Frederick William the First, a patron whofe confidence he had fully gained, after conquering by prudence and activity, his early diflike; and whom he therefore fincerely and deeply regretted.

Not

Not many months had paffed, when fortunately for Von Zieten's defire of promotion, Frederick the Second was induced to commence hoftilities against the young Queen of Hungary, for the recovery of Silefia. In the campaign of 1741, in which the Great Frederick served his own firft apprenticeship in actual warfare, no occafion occurred for the employment of the huffars in any eminent fervices.

Von Zieten had, in this war, the glory of creating, in fome manner, a new fpecies of force in the Ruffian fervice, and of making Frederick fenfible of the advantages to be gained by adopting, for a part of his army, the drefs, the armour, and the difcipline of Huffars. Huffars caps to protect the head even from the ftroke of a fabre: clofe and light vefts fimilar to the doublets anciently worn under the coats of mail; pantaloons at once ftrong and light; half-boots rifing almost to the point of the knee; a ftrong belt or girdle to confine and defend the waist; compofed a dress for these Huffars, the lighteft and fafelt that can be imagined for truly effective cavalry. The fabre and piftols with which they were armed, were adapted to do as much injury to enemies, in an engagement, as it could be poffible to effect with heavier but more cumbersome arms. The horfes on which they were mounted, were tout, but ftill more remarkable for fwiftnefs and patience of fatigue, than for draughthorfe ftrength. The men chofen in preference, for this fervice, were mufcular, well-knit forms, of middle fize, bold, active, of good addrefs, cunning, and full of ftratagem as the most alert and funtle beafts of prey. The ready and neat equipment of their perfons; equal quicknefs and address in regard to their horfes; fkill to keep the faddle, and ufe the fabre and piftols, in every difficulty of riding, and at every degree of velocity; the utmost addrefs in making their way through marshes, woods, and over almost any ground however rugged and uneven; great promptitude in joining and in difperfing, with kill to act precifely in concert, even when fcattered; power to make a fudden, unforeseen onfet, with terrible rapidity and force; conftant vigilance to feize advantages, and difcretion to do nothing but feize advantages, and guard against lofing them; remarkable acutenels and fagacity of all the fenfes; admirable skill in deception; confummate addrefs in the difcovery and the conveyance of forage and provifions; with art and vigour, in hovering round

the march of a main army of heavier troops, to hinder any annoyance that may be lightly difperfed, from approaching, to disturb them: these are fome of the principal movements and duties in the Huffar-difcipline. And, it is eafy to perceive, that the officer who had the most eminent share in giving to the great Frederick in the very beginning of his wars, the command of a well-disciplined body of light cavalry of this character, must have been, ever after, regarded, as having the ftrongest claim upon the gratitude and esteem of his fovereign and his country. The Huffars were confidered, even in this infancy of their fervice, as having contributed to Frederick's victories, perhaps more effentially than any of his other troops. Von Zieten was esteemed, as the hero of the Pruffian Huffars: and, as fuch, his name was, from this time, famous and terrible over all Germany.

Von Zieten obtained yet other and higher honours, by his fervice in these two campaigns. He endeared himself to the officers and men under his command, without any relaxation of difcipline: and, he ufed the moft anxious care to prevent any avoidable cruelty or rapine from being inflicted by his toldiers on the people of thofe territories which he was fent to lay wafte or put under contribution. The nature of the Huffar-fervice, being fuch as to engage him almost perpetually in fpoiling an enemy's country; he might have acquired a large fortune, even in a fingle campaign, if he had been a hardhearted, avaricious man, willing to ufe the advantages of command to his own private emolument, to the utmost degree to which he could have done fo, without danger of reproach from his master. But, he was diftinguished above all the officers whether of the Pruffian or the Auftrian fervice, by tenderness to thofe unhappy people who, without having arms in their hands, were made, accidentally, the victims of war.

He never exacted for himfelf nor fuffered his officers and foldiers to exact, a fingle dollar more from the inhabitants of an enemy's country laid under contribution, than he had the King's precife command for. At the clofe of the war, he was not at all richer, except by the new emoluments of his advanced rank than at its beginning. But, he had conquered many difficulties, he had prevailed by manly arts, over various rivals, his ambition was duly gratified and encouraged, the exceffes of his paffions, were, in general, fubdued,

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and he must now have felt himfelf in the enjoyment of one of the happiett parts of his profeflional life.

In the fhort interval between the firft and the fecond Silefian wars, Colonel Von Zieten was employed, in completing the numbers of his regiment, in perfect ing their dicipl ne by improvements adopted from that of the Austrian Huffars, and by frequent exercite, in prefenting to the King, upon his Majelty's order, written plans for the difpofition of an army in the field of battle, upon certain given pofitions of the enemy, and in the enjoyment of domestic happiness with an excellent wife whom he tenderly loved, and with an income which, though not large, was more than equal to his wants. He fuffered a flight difcouragement in his fovereign's refufal to raife him to the rank of Major-General, at the fame time with fome other officers whom he thought not more deferving of this promotion than himself.

Scarce two years had paffed, when, to reftore the integrity of the dominions of the house of Auftria, and to fix the imperial crown on the head of Maria Therefa or her husband, the war was renewed.

Silefia was the theatre of the war, in the beginning of the campaign of 1745. Von Zitten was, with his regiment, in the beginning of April, in the King's main army, near Frankenftein. The firft enterprize on which he was difpatched, was, to convey intelligence between the King, and his fecond army under the Margrave Charles, entirely divided from him by the Auftrians; an atchievement not to be accomplished without fealing or forcing a paffage through the midft of the Auftrian encampments. Von Zieten, with incredible addrefs and activity, conducted his Huffars, unobferved, among the pofts of the enemy; and was beyond all danger of difappointment in his enterrize, before they were aware of his paffage. The Margrave Charles, in obedience to the orders thus communicated to him, immediately broke up his encamp. ment, and marched to join the King's main army. General Von Zieten with his. Huffars, were interpofed at the rear, between the rest of the Margrave's troops and the Austrians, to cover the retreat. The Auftrians made a variety of bold and skilful efforts to throw the Pruffian march into general diforder; but were conftantly repulled by the vigilance and bold activity of the Huflars.In the battle of Grofs-Hennersdorff, which was,

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not long after fought, General Vor Zieten, whofe poft was at the head of the referve, by leafonably interpofing to fhew the poffibility of fording a river of which the bridge had been, at a critic.l moment broken down, and by advancing to fupport a division of the left wing that was, from this accident; in danger of being cut to pieces, contributed, in a moft effential manner, to determine the fortune of the day, and had thus an eminent fhare in one of the most glorious victories which have crowned the Pruffian arms. He was difpatched, next day, with his Huffars, to harrals the Auftrians, in their retreat. He purfued them beyond the frontiers of Bohemia, cut off a confiderable number of men from their rearguard, and took a part of their bag gage. The two main armies remained, for the next three months, in poftures of mutual defence and defiance, during which the light troops were inceffantly employed in ftratagems and fkirmishes. Von Zieten, watching over his Huffars. with the vigilance and affection of a guardian-genius, faved parties of then from various perils into which their to daring boldnefs hurried them, and i particular, refcued one of his beft office: from extreme danger into which he had run, by urging too far, a fuccefsful at tack on a party of Auftrian Uhlans near Koniginngratz. His next opportu nity of diftinguishing himself, occurred near Schlazer, as the Pruffian army was after the victory of Soor, upon its retrea out of Silefia. Von Zieten, there, wit only a part of his regiment, repulfed a attack of ten thouland Auftrian Ig troops under General Nadafty, which otherwife, might, by the narrownels an difficulty of the ground, have throw the whole Pruffian army into confufion When, in the winter, Frederick's mard into Lufatia, and his victory at Catholic Hemerfdorff, defeated the defign of th Saxons and Auftrians to enter Brander burgh, and make an attack upon Berlin -Von Zieten led the van of that div fion of the army which the King himse conducted; made the first discovery, th the village of Catholic-Hennerfdorff w full of the enemy's troops; fent infta information to his fovereign of the nece fity there was to prepare for actio made a diftribution of the force he h with him, that was adapted to cut d that part of the Auftrian force whi was in the village, from all power fafe retreat; then, himself, at the he of one his divifions, making a charge

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the enemy, with many efforts, cut in pieces the regiments of Saxe-Gotha and Obyern, and continuing to difperfe the Auftrian and Saxon fquadrons as they attempted to form and advance, prepared an eafy victory for the king when he came up with the artillery and the heavyarmed troops. The kettle-drums of the regiment of Saxe-Gotha were affigned to the future ufe of Von Zieten's Hulars, by whom they had been taken, as perpetual trophies of their victory. Von Zieten by an accidental wound in the leg, was difabled from farther active fervice, till the end of this war. It terminated in the Peace of Drefden, figned on the 25th of December, that

fame year.

A new rival had begun to intercept Frederick's favour from General. Von Zieten, towards the close of the war; General Von Winterfeldt, who was much a private favourite with the monarch. He envied Von Zieten's merits; and was industrious to detract from them as much as poffible, in his master's estimation. During the war, while Von Zieten was exhibiting, every day, new proofs of the most daring heroifm, and of a genius for ftratagem the most profound and fertile, it would have been difficult to perfuade Frederick to use him abfolutely ill. In peace, this was lefs hard for an artful enemy to accomplish; as Von Zieten was not a man of a fupple, infinuating fpirit, was not, in any degree, an admirer of French wit and philofophifm, was more a merely practical foldier than one endea vouring to render the art of war as much as pofble a matter of literature, erudition, and philofophy. Befides, it was Frederick's paffion to make his army, as it were, one grand machine, of which the component parts fhould be formed by difcipline, to act with the fame mechanical correfpondence of movements, as if they had been without all power of voluntary aberration or difobedience.' It was his favourite amulement in peace, to train his troops to this perfection of discipline. He was, in this, partly to the admira. tion, and in fome part, allo, to the ridicule of all Europe, eminently fuccefsful, But, the effential nature of the Huffarfervice required thefe troops to preferve more than the heavy armed cavalry or the infantry of the line, of individual, independent, voluntary motion, even in the moft confummate regularity of their difcipline. This the King could, not or would not understand. He was tempted te deipife, in time of peace, as nothing

better than diforderly marauders. Hence the fecret principle of his difcontent with Von Zieten. It was enfy, when he was in this mind, for an infidious favourite to perfuade him; that the difcipline of the Auftrian light troops was better than that of his own; and that Von Zieten's chief merits had been in temerity and good fortune. During the whole interval till the commencement of the feven years war, Von Zieten was coldly and unkindly treated by his royal mafter. He endured the flights to which he was expofed, with manly filence, but not without much fecret indignation and difcontent.

His domeftic and private enjoyments were, in this period, of the most pkaling and honourable nature. He built a noble houfe at Wuftrau, for which the King prefented him with the lime and timber. He made great agricultural improvements on his paternal eftate. He employed a por tion of his lefure in the ftudy of military and architectural plans in his clofet. He hved in much domeftic endearment with his wife and children. He often entertained his friends at a hofpitable and plentiful table, fuitabl, in its expence, to his condition and emoluments. His wife was taken from him by death, not long before the breaking out of the feven year's war. His own health was about the fame time fo much in decline, that what with this, what with his refentment of the King's unkindness, he had refolved to ask leave, of his Majelty to refign, and to retire from the fervice. In his diftrefs, his grand refource was in the confolations of piety. "I have loft every thing," faid he, over the cold remains of his wife; 66 beauty, virtue, prudence, piety, all thefe fhe poífeffed; but it is the Almighty who hath taken her from me.”

At the commencement of the seven year's war, Frederick felt himself fud. denly compelled, by fentiments of involuntary confidence and efteem, to do ample juffice at once to Von Zieten for all the wrongs of opinions by which he had tortured the feelings of this gallant and faithful fervant during the peace. No fooner did he fee war to be unavoidable, than he judged it indifpenfibly requifite cordial y to reconcile himself to General Von Zieten. Von Winterfeldt undertook the talk of conciliation: but Von Ziefen was not to be, talked into content by the plausible words of the man whole infidious and malicious arts he believed to have poitoned his Sovereign's mind againit him. Frederick then paid Von Zieten a vifit in perlon,

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and alone. He wished to perfuade his general to acknowledge that he had at leaft by the caprice of his temper deferved the flights which had been put upon him; and he held out his hand in token of forgiveness and reconciliation. But Von Zieten would not confefs misconduct of which he was not confcious. He fhrunk back from the monarch's advances. "No then," faid Frederick, with an earneftness that would not allow him to lofe fo valuable a fervant, "It cannot be poffible, that my faithful Von Zieten fhould, on the approach of a dangerous war, abandon his King and his Country whofe confidence he fo fully poffeffes !" This address was irrififtible. Von Zieten threw himself at the monarch's feet, and vowed to fled the laft drop of his blood in his fervice. He was raised foon after to the rank of lieutenant-general, and prepared to take the field with his royal master.

Innumerable were the great acts of Von Zieten in the famous war which then enfued. He had the glory of covering the army in its paffage over the Muldaw, and in the formation of the camp near Czifnitz immediately before the battle of Prague in May, 1757. Having in that battle the command of the referve, he turned the fortune of the day, and enfured the victory to the Pruffians, partly by the reach of his forefight, and the judgment of his precautions, in re gard to the difficulties of the plan of attack for the left-wing-in part by the firm nefs, activity, and promptitude of thought with which he met the critical moment of danger, and executed the plan of fupport, which he had before skilfully conceived. In the movements of the two armies round Prague, from the 6th of May to the 18th of June, the day of the unfortunate defeat of the Pruffians at Collin, Von Zieten difplayed wonderful intrepidity and genius in the vigilance with which he difcovered and fruftrated almost all the ftratagems which the enemy attempted to execute with their light troops. Even in the action at Collin, Von Zieten was fuccessful it that part of the movements which it had been entrusted to him to execute, till in the attack of a battery he was ftruck from his horfe by a grape-fhot, and left for dead; but the ball had only grazed on his head, and he was in good time placed on horfeback, and carried out of the danger. His wound did not long restrain him from fharing in the perils of this difficult campaign. He was prefent and fecond in command under his old and infidious rival Von Winterfeldt, when that general, in spite of Von Zieten's dissuations, ha

zarded an unneceffary and fool-hardy attack upon the Auftrians, on the hill of Holzberg, and perished in it. Von Zieten had a glorious fhare in the fubfequent efforts by which the Duke of Bevern in vain ftrove to fuftain the fortune of the Pruf fian arms in Silefia against the fuperior numbers of the Austrians. It was by the judgment and refolution of Von Zieten that after the Duke of Bevern had been taken prifoner, the remains of his army were faved from entire ruin and diffolution by the pufillanimity and incapacity of the older lieutenant generals, Leftwitz, Katte, and Kiow. The King gave the highest approbation of a piece of fervice fo eminent and feasonable, by fending orders to Von Zieten to put thofe generals under arreft, and himself, as general in chief, to conduct the troops to join the army under his Majefty. In the important battle of Leuthen, which again turned in favour of the Pruffians, the fortune of the whole campaign, Von Zieten bagan the action by attacking and putting to flight the Auftrian cavalry under General Nadafty. He performed fervice ftill more important, by purfuing the enemy in their retreat, with uch activity and fuccefs, as to render it impoffible for them again to make head against the Pruffians, for this campaign. When the Auftrians had been driven entirely out of Silefia; the King confided to Von Zieten the command on the frontiers of Bohemia, during the winter. In Moravia, in the campaign of 1758, the great Auftrian commander fucceeded in taking from Von Zieten a convoy of more than two thousand loaded waggons, by the lofs of which the King was obliged to raife the feige of Oilmutz. He covered the King's retreat through the defiles of Moravia. After checking for a while the movements of Daun and Laudohn; Von Zieten by his precaution of making the cavalry to re-faddle their horfes much fooner than according to the King's order on the night of the furprize at Hochkirchen, fucceeded in fparing to the Pruffians more than half the mifchief of that difafter. In the campaign of 1759, Von Zieten diftinguished chiefly by the retreat of Soraw, one of the fineft atchievements of military genius that were exhibited by the Pruffians in the whole courfe of the war. In that of 1760, this general covered the King's march from the banks of the Elbe to the town of Lignitz against the joint efforts of Daun and Laudohn at the head of ninety thousand Auftrians. Von Zieten after paffing the night with Frederick, befide a watch-fire, had a principal fhare

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