Prince Christian of Hesse-Kassel (1776-1814)
Command Ratings
Prince Christian of Hesse-Kassel was born on 14 August 1776 at Gottorp Castle in Schleswig. He belonged to the House of Hesse-Kassel and to the extended Danish royal family through his mother, Princess Louise of Denmark, a daughter of King Frederik V. His father was Prince Carl of Hesse-Kassel, Danish feldmarskal and royal governor in Schleswig and Holstein. From early childhood Christian was directed toward a Danish military career.
On 1783 he received a commission patent as Oberst of cavalry. In 1789 he was promoted to generalmajor. In 1790 he was appointed chef of Livregiment Ryttere, with the proviso that his father would exercise the command for him until he came of age. During his formative years he spent two years at Kiel under instruction by Einzer in military sciences, and afterward in Copenhagen he passed through an exercerskole with the infantry. These stages formed the formal preparation for service in the Danish army establishment rather than field command.
In 1803 Christian was made ridder of the Elefantenordenen. In August 1803 he is attested as kommanderende general in southern Norway and as commandant of the Danish fortress at Frederikshavn, posts which placed him within the defensive organization of the Danish-Norwegian monarchy during the early years of the coalition wars. His duties in this period, as far as they can be verified, were administrative and command responsibilities attached to his district and garrison appointments.
During the troop concentration in Holstein in 1805 he was given command of a cavalry brigade. No named combat action in connection with this concentration is verified for him in the available sources; the appointment is, however, recorded as a specific operational command during a period of heightened readiness. In 1808 he was promoted to generallieutenant.
In 1808 he is recorded as having assisted in suppressing unrest among Spanish auxiliary troops at Roskilde. This constitutes the only specific engagement-like incident for him that can be verified by name and place within his active service, and it was an internal security action rather than a battle between field armies. Following this period, in 1809 he became chef for the Fynske lette Dragoner and simultaneously served as kommanderende general on the island of Fyn and as cavalry inspector. As commanding general on Fyn he was a senior territorial commander; no named battle, siege, or landing action on Fyn is specifically attributed to him in the consulted references.
By 1812 Christian had advanced to general af kavalleriet. In September 1812 the betrothal between him and his niece, Princess Caroline of Denmark, the eldest daughter of King Frederik VI and Queen Marie Sophie (Christian’s sister), was formally declared. His health deteriorated thereafter. The marriage did not take place.
In May 1813 Christian was appointed in Christiania as governor in Norway as successor to his brother, Prince Frederik of Hesse-Kassel. This Norwegian appointment was short-lived in practice. He later resided at Odense Slot, where he suffered a breakdown and was described as mentally ill with recurrent fits. He died on 14 November 1814 at Odense Palace.
After his death he was initially buried at Odense in the structure between the palace and St. Hans Church. In 1862 his remains were transferred to Schleswig Cathedral, where they were reinterred in the family burial chapel.
Sources
XX (Gd. Cav.) 08
Military Career
- 1783 Oberst
- 1789 General-Major
- 1809 generalløjtnant
- 1812 General