Prince Augustus of Prussia
Prince Frederick William Henry Augustus of Prussia was a Prussian royal and general. Born at Friedrichsfelde Palace, he was the youngest son of Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, the brother of King Frederick the Great, and Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt.
Military career
August joined the Prussian army as a young man, earning the rank of captain by eighteen years old. In 1803, he became a major and was granted an infantry battalion of his own. Three years later, now a lieutenant colonel, he and his battalion took part in the Battle of Auerstedt. His brother, Prince Louis Ferdinand, had been killed by the [First First French Empire|French Empire|French] army under Napoleon I four days earlier. August himself was captured and held by the French until 1807.In March 1808, his cousin, King Frederick William III of Prussia, made him brigadier general. The Prince spent the next five years reorganizing the Prussian artillery together with Gerhard von Scharnhorst. Seven years after the failure of the Prussian army at Auerstedt, the Prince distinguished himself at the Battle of Leipzig. He continued his campaign against Napoleon throughout 1814. In the winter 1814-1815, August attended the Congress of Vienna. He moved to the north of France in June 1818 and then back to Berlin after the war had ended.
He spent his last years inspecting artillery units in various garrison towns. He died suddenly in Bromberg during one such trip, and was buried in Berlin Cathedral in a service accompanied by the Staats- und Dom Choir Berlin.