Lot 706

Description

A double sheet of handmade paper (measuring 23.5 x 18.7 cm), the edges with narrow underlay in places. Dated "Emden d. 23ten Juni 1795", handwritten dictation, Blücher addresses the "Allerdurchlauchtigsten Großmächtigen König!" (The Most Serene, Mighty King!) and begs that Premier Lieutenant von Pirch, his adjutant, assigned by the "Köthensches Regiement" be advanced to "Capitaine von der Armée" as (tr.) "His military skills, as a result of which I made his acquaintance in the Netherlands and his excellent, decorous conduct during the Battle of Kaiserslautern, for which he received the Pour le Mérite Order on the recommendation of the ruling Duke of Brunswick" qualify him for this rank, moreover requesting (tr.) "he be permitted to continue to serve me as adjutant in this capacity.". A handwritten salutation in the lower, right-hand corner with Blücher's signature in ink (tr.): "Your most submissive, obedient servant GLvBlücher". Parts of the text underlined in sanguine. Folded once. Upon receiving Generalmajor von Blücher's resignation from the Army in 1773, Frederick the Great was reported to say "Rittmeister von Blücher can take himself to the devil". In 1787, he was reinstated by Friedrich Wilhelm II, subsequently promoted to Oberstleutnant in 1789 and awarded the Pour le Mérite the same year. After the campaign against Holland he became Oberst in 1790 and Generalmajor in 1794 after the Battle of Kirweiler. For his decisive victory over Marechal Marmont in the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, the King appointed him Generalfeldmarschall and ennobled him in 1814 with the title of Fürst von Wahlstatt. His adjutant was probably the later Prussian Generalleutnant Georg Dubislav Ludwig von Pirch (1763 - 1838), who served as aide-de-camp to General von Eckartsberg as Seconde Lieutenant in 1787 and fought in the campaign against Holland. In 1795, he was promoted to Capitaine and, in 1813, awarded both Classes of the Iron Cross and the Oak Leaves for the Pour le Merite. In 1814, by then as Generalmajor, he fought under Blücher once again. A rare, early autograph of the legendary "Marschall Vorwärts".

Condition: II - Questions about the lot?