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 normall ...

Joachim Melchior Holten von Castenschiold (29 November 1743 – 6 April 1817) was a Danish army officer and landowner who served during the

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (sometimes called the Great French War or the Wars of the Revolution and the Empire) were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompas ...

. Castenschiold purchased Borreby Castle in 1783, the estate of which has been owned by the family ever since.

Biography

He was son of slaveholding planter

Johan Lorentz Castenschiold Johan Lorentz Castenschiold (13 May 1705 – 19 June 1745) was a Danish nobleman, landowner and planter. Early life Johan Lorentz Carstens was born on 13 May 1705 on the island of Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies. His parents were a Dani ...

and his wife Jacoba von Holten. In 1760, Castenschiold enlisted in the

Danish army The Royal Danish Army (; ; ) is the land-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training method ...

as an officer at the Schleswig

Cuirassier A cuirassier ( ; ; ) was a cavalryman equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as man-at-arms, men-at-arms and demi-lancers discarding their ...

Regiment, and was eventually promoted to the rank of

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 ...

in 1776. He became commander of the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, also known as the Blues, or abbreviated as RHG, was one of the cavalry regiments of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry. In 1969, it was amalgamated with the 1st The Royal Dragoons to form the ...

in 1784 (the regiment was eventually discontinued in 1866). He was promoted further, becoming major general in 1788, and finally

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 ...

in 1802. In 1772, Castenschiold became involved in the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

against Count Struensee. Because of Queen Caroline Matilda's dislike of Castenschiold, he was chosen to escort her to

Kronborg Kronborg is a castle and historical stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalised as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. It was inscribed ...

together with 30

dragoons 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 ...

after she was arrested. In 1807, Castenschiold led the East Danish (mainly Zealandic) territorial force, which was established to defend Denmark 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 ...

. His efforts culminated in the

Battle of Køge The Battle of Køge was fought on 29 August 1807 between British troops besieging Copenhagen and Danish militia raised on Sjælland as part of the Gunboat War. It ended in British victory and is also known as 'Træskoslaget' or 'the Clogs Batt ...

on 29 August 1807, where Castenschiold's force of around 7,000 militiamen was defeated by well-equipped British forces under General Arthur Wellesley (later 1st Duke of Wellington). Castenschiold was later prosecuted together with the other military leaders in Copenhagen, but was acquitted.

Personal life

He was part of the landed gentry. In 1781, when he was in his late thirties, he married Elisabeth Behagen. His holdings included the manor Borreby Castle which has been owned by his descendants ever since. He died on 6 April 1817 at Borreby and is buried at Magleby Church.

In popular culture

Castenschiold appears as a character in

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his long-running series of novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also writ ...

's 2001 novel '' Sharpe's Prey''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castenschiold 1743 births 1817 deaths Danish military personnel of the Gunboat War Danish army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Danish Calvinist and Reformed Christians Danish generals Castenschiold family