Ilya Ivanovich Alexeyev (, born 18 July 1772; died 3 October 1830) was one of the commanders of the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Biography

Coming from the nobility of the province of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Ilya Ivanovich Alexeyev began his military career at the

Preobrazhensky regiment The Preobrazhensky Lifeguard (military), Life-Guards Regiment (, ''Preobrazhensky leyb-gvardii polk'') was a regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard, Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army from 1683 to 1917. The Preobrazhensky Regiment was ...

. In October 1789, he took part as

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in the

Russo-Swedish War (1788–90) This is a list of wars between Russia, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to th ...

, during which he was wounded twice. After the war, he was transferred to a regiment of horse guards. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792, he participated in the capture of Izmail (22 December 1790). After four years of service in the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, it was incorporated into the regiment Horseman s-Soumskoï operating in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and was raised in 1796 to grade

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, cavalry inspector then aide of

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

military Moscow. On 9 August 1799 Ilya Alekseyev was elevated to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and soon after, he served as head of the Moscow police. After the transformation of Squadrons Moscow Police in

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

Hussars

Mitau Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

, he was appointed the commander and took part in various battles on Prussian soil. He showed great bravery in the battles of Eylau, Guttstadt, the Heilsberg and Friedland. As a reward for his courage in battle on 24 May 1809, he was promoted to Major General. In the Russo-Swedish War of 1808 - 1809, Major General ordered a vanguard detachment and he was decorated in 1809 to his exploits on the battlefield. He received the Order of St. Anna (1st class) - with golden sword and the inscription "For Valour"), and the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

(3rd class). During the 1812 Patriotic War, he took part in the first Polotsk battle on 31 October 1812 and fought at the Battle of Chashniki, and the

Battle of Smoliani At the Battle of Smoliani (November 13–14, 1812), the Russians under General Peter Wittgenstein defeated the French forces of Marshal Claude Victor and Marshal Nicholas Oudinot. This battle was the last effort of the French to reestablish th ...

. Major General Alexeyev was seriously wounded in the leg during the

German Campaign of 1813 The German campaign () was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany against the French Emperor Napoleon, his marshals, and th ...

, the Battle of Lutzen. After his recovery, in August 1814, he was appointed commander of the 3rd division of

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

and 30 August 1815 he distinguished himself at the siege of

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, and was promoted to lieutenant-general, in recognition of the bravery he showed in battle. Ilya Ivanovich Alekseyev died on 3 October 1830 and was buried at the

Simonov Monastery Simonov Monastery () in Moscow was established in 1370 by the monk Feodor, a nephew and disciple of St Sergius of Radonezh. It became one of the richest and most famous monasteries, comprising six major churches (often with multiple side chapels ...

in Moscow.

References

Sources

*http://www.museum.ru/1812/persons/slovar/index.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Alekseiev, Ilia Ivanovitch 1772 births 1830 deaths People from Ruzsky Uyezd Nobility from the Russian Empire Imperial Russian lieutenant generals Russian military personnel of the Finnish War Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Order of Saint Louis recipients