Frederick, Baron de Weissenfels
| Frederick, Baron de Weissenfels | |
|---|---|
| Born | Elbing, Samland, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | May 14, 1806 (aged 97–98) New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Prussia United Kingdom United States of America |
| Service/ |
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| Battles/wars | |
Frederick, von Weissenfels [also Friedrich Heinrich von Weissenfels] [also Frederick, Baron de Weissenfels] (1738 Elbing, Prussia - 14 May 1806 New Orleans) was a leading soldier in the service of the Continental Army and the State of New York during the American Revolutionary War.
He was born in about 1728 in the Kingdom of Prussia near the town of Elbing in Samland. Frederick received his military training under Frederick II of Prussia at the Military Academy at Königsberg. He served in a Regiment of Dragoons in the Prussian Army during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). He served six years in a cavalry unit in the army of the United Provinces of the Netherland garrisoned at Zutphen.
He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal American Regiment of Foot also known as the 62nd (Royal American) Regiment and the Kings Royal Rifle Corps, on Feb. 23, 1756. The creation of the regiment by Parliament was unique in that it allowed for "a certain number of foreign Protestants, who have served abroad as officers or engineers, to act and rank as officers or engineers in America only..." About fifty officers' commissions were given to Germans and Swiss. Weissenfels was one of these. In 1757, the unit was renumbered as the 60th (Royal American) Foot. Weissenfels served in this regiment for four years. He fought in the French and Indian War during the battles of the Plains of Abraham, Ticonderoga and Havana.
His first marriage, on December 16, 1756, was to Mary Shurmur, born about 1735 in New York, the daughter of Samuel Shurmur, a New York City merchant, and Catherine Cazalet, the daughter of French Huguenot refugees, in the Dutch Reform Church of New York City. She died in about 1775 in New York City. The marriage produced eight children: Ann (1757–1847), Charles Frederick (1760–1795), Catherine Maria (1761–1830), George Peter (1764–1798), John Henry (1767–1787), William Henry (born 1770), Mary Charlotte (born 1772), and Elizabeth Anna (born 1775).
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