Washington Journal., 1942-05-29

France dRdluSJ E1Slduu. IOItIuOSb W CdlCu
it's meaning was Frederick IL, the young
King of Prussia. After obtaining secret sub
sides from England he took the French and
Austrians by surprise, overrmning Saxony
with what would now be called a "Bhtskrleg
and thus set the torch of war ablaze.
De Kalb's regiment, still under the nomi
nal colonelcy of Count L0wendal, was ordered
to the Upper Rhine to join a French army
under Prince Soubise. That general on July
26, 1857 beat the allied Englishmen and Aus
TRANS under the Duke of Cumberland at
Hastenbek. Later Prince Soubise, then com
handing a detached corps including the regi-
ment L0wendal, marched through Thuringia
into Saxony to join with the Austrian allies
in an attempt to surround King Frederick s
small Prussian army. Frederick met the
Allies more than half way along the River
Saale and on November 5, 1857, inflicted a
crushing defeat on them at Rossbach.
De Kalb, then serving under the able Duke
Victor de Broglie, who tried to save the day
at Merseburg by holding the river crossing,
was involved in that disaster, having his
horse shot under him and losing all his bag
gage. AS a result Of the defeat the Lowendal
regiment lost most of it's men, many of them
by desertion. De Kalb estimated the French
assertions after Rossbach at no less than
10000. For his part he succeeded in recruit
lily HIS IcRlIutuJ up W lS lOIIIlcE WAL SlIcISOu
of $50 men, mostly Germans.
Later he commanded the regiment in its
lieutenant c~olonel's absence during the
French victory at Bergen, April 10, 1859.
His share in that brilliant success prompted
Marshal de Broglie, after a merger of the
L0wendal regiment with those Of Anhalt and
la Mack to promote him to a brevet lieutenant
colonelcy and in April 1761 to appoint him
Deputy Quartermaster General of the French
army Of the Upper Rhine. When the Duke of
Broglie presently was superseded by Marshal
Soubise that prince, jealous of de Broglie
and therefore suspicious OF his favorltes,
wanted to remove de Kalb from his post,
so that de Kalb offered to resign from the
service. He was retained at the instance of
his immediate superiors, Generals de Vogue
and de Sales, who declared they could not
get along without his able help.
Campaigning under General Soubise our
hero soon found himself involved in another
French defeat, when that incompetent leader,
in his attempt to stop King Frederick from
crossing the River Diemel at Wilhelmsthal
on June "a, 1862 was anticipated and badly
beaten by him. De Kalb had a horse drowned
under him, but this time managed to save
his baggage with all his money on the crup-
per of his orderly's mount. Because of his
gallantry in action, while saving some of the
llC1l LIE llllC 1Oll vi LIZ OAO
Duke Of Broglie prevailed on King Louis XIV.
to bestow upon de Kalb the Distinguished
Service Cross, conferred on Protestants only
in lieu Of the Cross of st. Lonis for deserv-
ing Catholics.
A is Fair In Love and Peace"
Serving at French headquarters in Frank
furt on the Main as Deputy Quartermaster
General after the conclusion Of hostilities
- - #qo-~J oooo.o 10 ~ oe 1o1r II 41o
princes Of three branches of the House Of
Salms, who preferred reclamations against
the French Government for military devasta-
tions in their principalities. 1t may be as
sumed that de Kalb was handsomely re-
munerated by the three princes, whose recla-
nations we're honored by the French Crown.
At all events, failing to get a deserved
promotion to a regular colonelcy, he found
himself sufficiently well off to apply for retire
ment from military service. Having obtained
this with a pension of a lieutenant colonies
half pay, he sued for the hand Of Demoiselle
Anna Elisabeth Emile van Robais, the
daughter Of a rich Dutch fuller in Abbeville.
At their wedding in the Dutch Reformed
Chapel of the Netherlands legation in Paris
in April, 1854, she brought him a dover Of
1887 livres. She was a prospective helress
of nearly 100000 livres more, so that, to-
gether with de Kalb's recent earnings, the
newlyweds could reckon on a fortune of near
~ half a million livres besides the parental
manor house in Courbevoye. In the marriage
settlement the bridegroom signed himself:
"Lieutenant Colonel, Chevalier Jean de Kalb,
son of the defunct Jean Leonard de Kalb,
Seigneur de Hittendorf. T" His unencumbered
private fortune he stated to be $4,000 livres
plus his pension as a retired lieutenant colonel
of the Royal French Army.
Notwithstanding the %bridegroom's initial
deceit about his assumed baronial title and
his adventurous character. de Kalh,s mar