Ivan Egorovich (Georgievich) Shevich (Russian: Иван Егорович Шевич; ; 1754–4 October 1813) was a Russian-born Serb nobleman who was one of the leading fighting-generals, and one of the bravest, in the Russian Imperial army under the command of

Mikhail Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky (; – ) was a Field Marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as a military officer and a diplomat under the reign of three Romanov monarchs: Empress Catherine II, and Emperors Paul ...

and Emperor

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

in the war against

Napoleonic France The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

. His grandfather, Lieutenant-General Jovan Šević, led Serb colonists from the Habsburg Monarchy to Imperial Russia during the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Today his portrait hangs with other generals in the Military Gallery of the 1812 State Hermitage at

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Biography

Ivan Shevich was born into a noble Serbian family in

Slavo-Serbia Slavo-Serbia or Slaveno-Serbia was a territory of Imperial Russia from 1753 to 1764. It was located to the south of the Donets River, between the Bakhmutka River and Luhan River. This area today is located within present-day Luhansk Oblast a ...

in 1754. His father Georgije was the son of Jovan Šević who led the migration of Serbs from the Habsburg Monarchy

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...

to Russia. There Ivan spent most of his childhood in

Novorossiya Novorossiya rus, Новороссия, Novorossiya, p=nəvɐˈrosʲːɪjə, a=Ru-Новороссия.ogg; , ; ; ; "New Russia". is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later becom ...

, the new name given by

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

to the territories gained from the Tartars and Turks and settled by Serbs and other co-religionists,

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

and

Vlachs Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...

. After completing his training, he entered the Russian military service at the age of 16, becoming a sergeant of the Moscow Legion. Two years later he received the first officer's rank of

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

while serving already in the Illyric Hussars. In 1773, he participated in a campaign in the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, and the following year, in the suppression of a peasant uprising led by Yemelyan Pugachev, where he stood up to this

baptism of fire The phrase baptism by fire, baptism of fire or baptism with fire is a Christian theological concept originating from the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11. It also has related meanings in military history and popular culture. Christiani ...

. As a cavalry officer, he fought the Mountaineers in the

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

, then against the Ottoman Turks in 1788 at Ochakov, Căuşeni, and Bender (during the "Second Catherine's Turkish War"). In 1794, his cavalry was sent against the Polish Confederates. He became a colonel in 1798 at the age of 44. In October 1799, he was appointed the commander of the Glukhovsky Cuirassier Regiment, but after four months Emperor Paul I asked for his resignation. Emperor Alexander I, returned Shevich to service in December 1806. The following year Shevich fought the Turks on the Danube, in

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

. In actions against the garrison of the

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

fortress, he commanded a separate detachment. In December of the same 1807, Major General Shevich was appointed a member of the Ministry of War for the Commissariat Expedition. On 28 November 1808, he received the command of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment, which in 1812 was part of the army of Barclay de Tolly. In the Campaign of 1813, he participated in the battles of Lutzen,

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

, and Kulm. For valor shown at Kulm, he was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

on 30 August 1813. He was killed in the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

on 4 October 1813.

Awards and decorations

* Silver Medal Commemorating the

Patriotic War of 1812 The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

for participating in the defense of the Fatherland; *

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 ...

, III class (25 February 1813, for courage in the battles of the Krasnoe); *

Order of Saint Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine the Great, Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev, Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of ...

, III degree, *

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

, I degree; and * Golden Weapon "For Bravery" with diamonds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shevich, Ivan Imperial Russian Army generals People from the Russian Empire of Serbian descent Russian people of Serbian descent 1754 births 1813 deaths Russian military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars

Biography

Awards and decorations

See also

References