Samuel Waldeck (1751-1823)

Samuel Waldeck (born 1751 in Hesse; died 4 January 1823 in Altona) entered military service after initially studying law. His father served as a regimental surgeon, and Waldeck’s early years were spent in the environment of German military communities that supplied officers and specialists to several armies. In 1772 he left the academic track for the profession of arms and joined the Hessian forces that were hired out for overseas service. He embarked with the Hessian auxiliary troops sent to North America and served there through the later phases of the American War of Independence. In that war he distinguished himself in field service and returned to Europe in 1782 with the rank of stabskapitajn.

After his return he became part of the stream of German-trained light-infantry officers who influenced Danish infantry practice in the late eighteenth century, particularly in the training and employment of skirmishers and dispersed order. Denmark developed light troops that were instructed by Hessian officers, and within this circle Waldeck worked alongside Johann Ewald, who was regarded as the most prominent of the instructors. Waldeck’s own standing within Danish service was consolidated when in 1788 he became kaptajn in the Slesvigske Jægerkorps, a formation associated with light service and reconnaissance duties.

His advancement continued through the first decade of the nineteenth century. He was promoted to major in 1804 and to oberstløjtnant in 1808. Around 1810 he received command of the Holstenske Skarpskyttekorps, and in 1811 he was promoted to oberst. During the years 1803 to 1807 he served in the protection and observation duties along the southern frontier, a period marked by sustained readiness and border security tasks rather than single named battles. After this assignment he was transferred to Sjælland.

In 1809 he carried out an expedition across the ice to Hven, an operation conducted in winter conditions and treated in contemporary Danish military literature as an example of mobility and initiative in the coastal theatre. Later in the same year he returned to Holsten, where his corps was incorporated into the mobile division that in 1813 was attached to the corps of maréchal Louis-Nicolas Davout. In the operations of 1813 Waldeck commanded Danish troops serving within general Charles Lallemand’s light brigade. In that role he took part in the engagement at Wismar and in the battle at Sehested on 10 December 1813, where he had the opportunity to exercise field command in combat against coalition forces. For his conduct he received the Kommandørkors (Kommandør af 1. grad) of the Dannebrog order.

In 1815 he went as a brigadekommandør with the Danish occupation corps to France during the postwar occupation duties. In 1817 he was appointed commandant at Frederiksfort and in the same year was placed à la suite. He ended his service life in Altona, where he died on 4 January 1823.

Sources

• Wikipedia (Danish): Samuel Waldeck
• Project Runeberg: Dansk Biografisk Lexikon (1st ed., Bricka) — Waldeck, Samuel, 1751–1823, Officer (pp. 174–175 in vol. XVIII)
• Project Runeberg: Dansk Biografisk Lexikon (1st ed., Bricka) — continuation of Waldeck, Samuel entry (p. 175 in vol. XVIII)
• Wikipedia (English): Dano-Swedish War (1813–1814) order of battle