Count Peter Essen (, tr. Pyotr Kirillovich Essen; 11 August 1772 – 23 September 1844) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

General of the Infantrymuseum.ru
/ref> in 1819 and a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(1833). He belongs to the

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

Essen family from

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

(not to be confused with the Baltic German noble

Essen family The Essen family or von Essen is the name of a Baltic nobility, Baltic German noble family which later became part of the Swedish nobility, Swedish and Russian nobility. History The first known ancestor was Thomas von Essen (d. 1615–1627) who w ...

, which had the ''von'' prefix in the name). Essen's only daughter, Alexandrine Essen (1816–1868), married count Pontus von Stenbock-Fermor (1806–1866) in 1835, at which point they began using the joint name Essen-Stenbock-Fermor.

Career

Essen enlisted as a sergeant in the Life Cuirassier Regiment in 1787, and transferred to the Pavlovsky heir battalion in 1790. He received promotions through the ranks, and in 1796 was promoted to lieutenant and transferred to the Life Guards Izmailovskiy Regiment. In 1796 he was promoted to colonel and in 1798 was promoted to major-general, and became head of the Vyborg

musketeer A musketeer ( ) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare, particularly in Europe, as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a precursor to the rifl ...

regiment. He was promoted to lieutenant general in 1800. In August 1800, Essen was appointed military governor of

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

, and chief of the garrison of the Gorchakov yborgregiment. In 1802 he was appointed head of the Vyborg and Shlisselbourg musketeer regiments. In 1807 he was awarded the Order of St. George, third class, for his actions in the

Battle of Eylau The Battle of Eylau (also known as the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau) was a bloody and strategically inconclusive battle on 7 and 8 February 1807 between Napoleon's and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of General Levin August von Be ...

. Essen headed the 8th, 27th, and 4th Infantry Divisions of the army during 1816 and 1817, and was appointed military governor of

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

in 1817, and was appointed manager of the civil part of the province. In 1819, he was made a general of infantry. From 1830 to 1842 he served as military governor-general of St. Petersburg and a member of the State Council. In 1834 he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew for his service.

Awards

* Russia's Order of St. Andrew (22 April 1834), diamonds (16 April 1841); St. Vladimir 1st century bol. kr. (12 February 1812), 2nd century (18 February 1808); St. Alexander Nevsky (19 December 1809), diamonds (23 August 1811), White Eagle (22 April 1834); St. George 3rd Class (8 April 1807); Sant'Anna 1st century diamonds (3 October 1799), 2nd century (15 May 1798), 3rd st. (28 January 1798); St. John of Jerusalem. * Foreign orders: Prussian

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

(29 June 1842) and the Red Eagle 1st century (1807). * Other: gold sword "for bravery" with diamonds (18 October 1809), silver medal in memory of 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 ...

(1814), a bronze medal in memory of the Patriotic War of 1812 (1814), Medal of Honor "for XLV years of faultless service" (22 August 1837; XL years – 22 August 1831; XXXV years – 22 August 1830).

References

* Patriotic War of 1812. Encyclopedia. – M.: Rosspen, 2004, s.819–820. * Dictionary of the Russian generals, members fighting against the army of Napoleon Bonaparte in the years 1812–1815. / / Russia archive. T. VII. – M.: studio TRITE N. Mikhalkov, 1996, s.631–632. {{DEFAULTSORT:Essen, Peter Kirillovich 1772 births 1844 deaths Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Imperial Russian Army generals Governors-general of Saint Petersburg