Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm von Romberg

Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm Freiherr von Romberg was a Prussian officer who rose to Generalleutnant. Born at Schloss Brünninghausen near Dortmund, he entered Prussian service in 1746, initially serving in Infantry Regiment Graf Wied (No. 41), and advanced through company- and field-grade appointments during the mid-eighteenth century. During the Seven Years’ War he was wounded at the Battle of Kolín (1757). In 1773 he received command of a grenadier battalion, and in 1774 he was awarded the Pour le Mérite. In 1780 he was appointed to command Infantry Regiment von Wolffersdorff (No. 9), and was promoted to Oberst the same year. He became Generalmajor in 1787, and in 1788 took command of Infantry Regiment No. 10. In 1792 he received the Roter Adlerorden.

In the opening campaign against Revolutionary France in 1792, Romberg served under the Duke of Brunswick and commanded the 1st Brigade of Brunswick’s 1st Division at the Battle of Valmy (20 September 1792). He was promoted to Generalleutnant in 1794. In 1799 he was appointed governor of Stettin (now Szczecin), a Major fortress and administrative center in Prussian Pomerania.

After the Prussian defeat at Jena–Auerstedt (14 October 1806), French forces advanced rapidly into Prussian territory. In the Capitulation of Stettin (29–30 October 1806), Romberg surrendered the fortress and garrison to a French light cavalry force under général de brigade Antoine Lasalle. A Prussian military tribunal later sentenced him to life imprisonment for the surrender; owing to ill health, the sentence was not carried out in full before his death in Berlin in 1809.

Sources

• Deutsche Biographie: Romberg, Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm von
• German National Library (GND): Romberg, Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm von (GND 139227598)
• Napoleon Series (Nafziger Collection): Prussian Forces, Battle of Valmy, 20 September 1792 (PDF)
• Wikipedia (English): Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm von Romberg
• Wikipedia (English): Capitulation of Stettin
• Napoleon Series: Prussian Infantry Regimental Colonels-in-Chief 1792–1806