Heinrich Adolph von Gablenz (1762-1843)

Heinrich Adolph von Gablenz (from 1836 Freiherr von Gablenz) was a Saxon cavalry officer who rose to Generalleutnant and served as governor of Dresden. Born at Weida, he attended the Dresden cadet institution and entered the Saxon army in October 1778 as a Sousleutnant in the cuirassier regiment “Kurfürst.” He saw early service in the War of the Bavarian Succession, and in 1791 transferred as a Rittmeister into the re-established hussar arm.

During the First Coalition War he campaigned with Saxon troops on the Rhine in 1793–1794 and again in 1796; his service included the operations around Kaiserslautern. In this period he acquired the estate at Klettstedt (in the Amt Langensalza), later disposing of it in 1804 and re-acquiring it in 1806. In the Fourth Coalition War he fought with Saxon forces in 1806, including the action at Saalfeld, and was then detached for duty connected with the Duchy of Warsaw.

Promoted to Oberst in 1809, Gablenz was appointed royal Generaladjutant and took part in the Fifth Coalition War in the theatres of Poland, Saxony, and Bohemia. In 1810 he became commander of the dragoon regiment “Prinz Clemens,” and in 1811 received the Militär-St.-Heinrichs-Orden and the Order of the Westphalian Crown. In 1812 he was promoted to Generalmajor and brigadier, and served in the Franco–Saxon formations under Reynier during the Russian campaign; he fought at Pruszanne and Wolkowice, and—after the death of the Saxon Generalleutnant Christoph Sigismund von Gutschmidt—assumed command of the corps vanguard. In the 1813 campaign he appears in Saxon orders of battle as Generalmajor commanding a light cavalry brigade.

After the Saxon change of sides in 1813, Gablenz served in the subsequent allied operations in France and the Low Countries. In 1817 he was promoted to Generalleutnant. He later returned to Dresden, and in 1830 was appointed governor of the residence. On 24 February 1836 he was raised to the rank of Freiherr in Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, with Saxon confirmation in 1837. He died at Leipzig in May 1843 and was buried in the Hund family crypt at Kittlitz near Löbau.

In 1799 Gablenz married Charlotte von Stieglitz (1772–1842). Their children included Ludwig Karl Wilhelm von Gablenz (1814–1874), who entered Saxon service and later pursued a senior career in the Austrian army.

Sources

• Deutsche Biographie: Gablenz, Heinrich Adolf Freiherr von
• DNB (GND): Gablenz, Heinrich Adolf von (1762–1843)
• Wikipedia (German): Heinrich Adolph von Gablenz
• Napoleon Series: The Saxon Army 1810–13