Andrey Ivanovich Gorchakov II

Prince Andrey Ivanovich Gorchakov (Андрей Иванович Горчаков), often distinguished in Russian reference works as “Gorchakov II” to separate him from namesakes, was a Russian imperial officer who rose to the rank of генерал от инфантерии and held senior field and corps commands during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Born in Moscow into the princely Gorchakov family, he was a nephew (through his mother) of A. V. Suvorov and the brother of Prince Aleksey I. Gorchakov.

He was enrolled in the лейб-гвардии at a young age (recorded in the Life Guards Horse Regiment in 1787) and was transferred to the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment in 1793. From 1793 he held court rank as камер-юнкер, and in 1797 he became флигель-адъютант to Emperor Paul I. In February 1797 Paul sent him to Suvorov at Konchanskoye with orders to come to St Petersburg, a mission that formed part of the process by which Suvorov was restored to favor. After a brief dismissal and return to service in 1798, Gorchakov became a member of the Military Collegium in 1799.

In 1799 he joined Suvorov’s Italian and Swiss campaigns against France, distinguishing himself at Trebbia and Novi and continuing with the army during the Alpine passage. In the early 1800s he was appointed шеф of the Nevsky Musketeer Regiment (1800–1803) and then the Tambov Musketeer Regiment (1803–1809), and served as inspector of the Moscow inspection district (1805–1806). From September 1806 he commanded the 18th Infantry Division in the war of 1806–1807, taking part in the fighting against Napoleon’s forces; he was present at Heilsberg and at Friedland, where he was associated with the defense of the army’s right.

In 1809, when Russia operated in support of France against Austria, Gorchakov served with the corps of General of Infantry S. F. Golitsyn. During that campaign he became the subject of a public scandal: he sent a letter to Archduke Ferdinand (then commanding Austrian forces) expressing the wish that Russian and Austrian troops might be united “on the field of honor”; the letter was intercepted by the French. By order of Alexander I he was brought before a military court and was removed from service with a prohibition on entering either capital.

With the French invasion of 1812, Gorchakov was recalled to active duty and attached to the 2nd Western Army, commanding an advanced detachment commonly described as an “advance-guard corps.” On 24 August (5 September) 1812 he commanded the force defending the Shevardino redoubt in the preliminary fighting around Borodino, and he fought again in the battle of Borodino itself, where he was wounded during the defense of the Semenovskie fleches. He received high decorations during and after the campaign, including the Order of St George (3rd class) and later the Order of St Vladimir (1st class) and the Order of St George (2nd class).

After returning to field service, he held corps commands in the foreign campaigns of 1813–1814, commanding first the 8th and then the 1st Infantry Corps in 1813. He was noted in the Leipzig campaign and was among senior commanders present in the operations culminating in the capture of Paris in 1814. In the postwar army he continued in high command appointments, successively commanding the 3rd, 7th, and 2nd Infantry Corps (1814–1826). From 1816 he served as a member of the State Council, and in 1819 he was promoted to генерал от инфантерии. From 1826 he was placed on leave “for the cure of illness.” He remained in imperial service for many years thereafter, ultimately retiring to Moscow, where he died in 1855; he was buried at the Donskoy Monastery.

Sources

• Great Russian Encyclopedia (BRE): «Горчаков Андрей Иванович»
• Wikisource: «Военная энциклопедия» (Новицкий и др.), «Горчаков 2-й, Андрей Иванович, князь»
• Runivers: «Российский Архив», «Горчаков Андрей Иванович»
• Wikipedia (English): Andrei Ivanovich Gorchakov