Karl Joseph Franz von Auersperg (1750-1822)

Karl Joseph Franz von Auersperg, later known in connection with a Major inheritance as Auersperg-Trautson, was an officer of the Habsburg Monarchy who rose to the general-officer rank of Feldmarschalleutnant and held several court and guard appointments in Vienna. He was born and died in Vienna.

He entered the Austrian army as a cadet and advanced through regimental grades to Major (19 July 1778), Oberstleutnant (2 February 1788), and Oberst (10 November 1788). During the Austro–Ottoman conflict of 1788–1791 he served in field command and, in 1789, was associated with operations on the Danube frontier, including actions at Neu-Orsova. He was promoted to Generalmajor on 25 April 1790 (with seniority from 26 April 1790) and received the Knight’s Cross of the Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden (1790).

Auersperg was promoted to Feldmarschalleutnant on 24 April 1796 (with seniority from 24 August 1795). In the same period he held appointments in the imperial guard establishment, serving as captain of the Trabanten-Leibgarde and the Hofburgwache (1796–1802), and thereafter as captain of the First Arcièren-Leibgarde (1802–1805). He was named Inhaber (colonel-proprietor) of Infantry Regiment No. 24 (1801–1806) and was admitted to the Order of the Golden Fleece (Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) in 1796.

In the War of the Third Coalition he received a field command as commander of an army reserve corps in November 1805. During the French advance on Vienna, he was connected with the security of the Danube crossings and the measures prepared for demolishing bridges if required. On 13 November 1805 the French vanguard under Joachim Murat and Jean Lannes obtained control of the Tabor Bridge, and the crossing was secured without the bridge being destroyed. The subsequent proceedings against Auersperg resulted in a court-martial and his removal from service; he was deprived of rank and decorations for several years, and an imperial pardon in September 1812 ended this deprivation. He remained in retirement thereafter.

He married Maria Josepha, princess of the Lobkowitz family; the marriage was childless. In later life he adopted a great-nephew, Vincenz Karl von Auersperg (1812–1867), as heir.

Sources

• Österreichisches Staatsarchiv: Kaiserliche und k.k. Generale (1618–1815) – Liste (Schmidt-Brentano, PDF)
• Napoleon Series: Austrian Generals 1792–1815 (Auersperg, Karl Joseph Franz)
• British Museum: Auersperg, Fürst Karl Joseph Franz von (biographical entry)
• Wikipedia (Czech): Karel z Auerspergu
• Wikisource (German): BLKÖ: Auersperg, Karl Fürst