Kaliningrad in 1758
In the last year [1758] of building Fort Loudoun in Winchester VA, we look across the globe in this world wide war.
Our Virginia Regiment did.
In their letters there are references to the battles of Frederick the Great.
In particular there is mention of the battle of Prague in a letter from Colonel George Washington's aid de camp, Captain George Mercer.
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And this brings us to Kaliningrad.
A quick Summary:
"In the context of the Seven Year War, all of East Prussia was conquered and annexed by the Russian Empire (1758–1762).
Immanuel Kant is famous for having sworn allegiance to Empress Elizabeth of Russia." See source and this source.
Immanuel Kant, the great Philosopher, is living during the time of George Washington.
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"In the context of the Seven Year War, Russia allied with Austria and France against Prussia and the Kingdom of Great Britain.
After crushing victories against Prussia, Russia occupied all of East Prussia and officially annexed it in 1758.
Russia keeps it until 1762.
But after her death [in 1762 just when Frederick the Great thought all was lost and was ready to surrender] , the new Russian Tsar, Peter III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, decided to return it to Prussia in 1762 to establish an alliance with the latter [Prussia] as Peter III aimed at regaining his duchy, then occupied by Denmark."
So in 1762 Russia switches sides after its Empress Elizabeth dies.
Russia decides to side with Prussia and therefore with Prussia's ally, Great Britain.
See Source here.
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Specific Dates of
Russian Occupation
"During the Seven Years' War of 1756 to 1763 Imperial Russian troops occupied eastern Prussia at the beginning of 1758.
On 31 December 1757, Empress Elizabeth I of Russia issued an ukase about the incorporation of Königsberg into Russia.
On 24 January 1758, the leading burghers of Königsberg submitted to Elizabeth [Empress of Russia].
Five Imperial Russian general-governors administered the city during the war from 1758 to 1762; they included William Fermor and Nikolaus Friedrich von Korff.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (signed 5 May 1762) Russia exited the Seven Years' War, the Russian army abandoned eastern Prussia, and the city reverted to Prussian control."
See Source here.
You see that 24 January 1758 date above?
While London turned on all its lights that night to celebrate a previous victory by Frederick the Great with his smaller army -- a victory Napoleon later said would have alone earned Frederick the Great immortality --- his Russian opponent was taking over Konigsburg (Kaliningrad), receiving from the locals professions of loyalty to its new master.
Source:
Pages 244-245
A history of modern Germany, 1648-1840
Note: We have mostly used Wikipedia here as an expedient to give you a quick sketch of events and also because the link doesn't break (their footnotes do, though).
Russia retakes this area officially in 1945.
This annexation is settled in the Potsdam Conference held in Potsdam Germany where Frederick the Great is buried.
Kaliningrad was Königsberg.
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Compiled by Jim Moyer 3/6/2022
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By the way, that Battle of Prague mentioned in the blog above?
Here's some more on that.
but George Mercer does not know about this until August 1757.
Letter from Colonel George Washington's aide de camp, Captain George Mercer, now stationed temporarily on loan to Charleston SC, whose company helped build Fort Loudoun :
We have Advice here and it seems to be well attested that the Austrian Army met with ⟨a⟩ total Defeat. They had upwards of 7000 taken Prisoners about 9000 killed in the Field above 200 Pieces of Cannon and all their Field Equipage fell into the Hands of the Prussians, wh⟨illegible⟩ immediately entered Prague Sword & Hand, where they made Prisoners & killed the greatest Part of the Austrian Army who had taken Refuge there—You will I hope hear it confirmed e’er you see this—No one doubts it here.4
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Many decades later another writer looks at that Battle of Prague and comes up with a horror story.
This story is of a ballad written of a woman, Lenore who waits and waits for her Prussian soldier, William to return from that battle to her.
This story is the parent source of much Horror literature to follow, heavily influencing Edgar Allen Poe.
Sources:
A history of modern Germany, 1648-1840
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This article highlights the point that there are many Russians who support their empire history, their history of glory - - or was it paid political instigators protesting Kant?
Row over 'traitor' philosopher Kant hits Russian hometown
Issued on: 04/12/2018 - 12:21
France 24
Moscow (AFP) – German philosopher Immanuel Kant has sparked surprising tensions in his Russian hometown over the prospect of naming the airport after him, with officials branding him a "traitor" and vandals throwing paint at his tomb.
Kant was born and spent most of his life in Prussian Koenigsberg, which was renamed Kaliningrad after coming under the control of the Soviet Union in the wake of World War II. Now it is Russia's westernmost city and hosted World Cup matches this year.
Until recently the philosopher was leading an online poll to choose a name for the city's airport, currently called Khrabrovo after the nearby village.
This sparked a furious row with officials blasting Kant as a "Russophobe", even though there is no historical evidence that the philosopher harboured strong feelings toward the Russian Empire.
In a video on regional media, a senior Russian naval officer urges servicemen to vote against Kant in the poll, saying he "betrayed his motherland."
The philosopher, a central figure in Western thought, has now sharply dropped in the rankings below Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, whose army captured the city in 1758 but abandoned it five years later.
Kant, during the brief period of Russian rule, asked the empress to let him teach at the local university, but his letter was never delivered. "He demeaned himself to get a department in the university, so that he could teach and write some strange books that none of those present here today have read," says the naval officer in the video, identified by local media as Vice-Admiral Igor Mukhametshin, head of the Baltic Fleet staff.
The viral video follows other attacks on Kant in Kaliningrad, which was heavily bombarded during World War II and almost entirely rebuilt in Soviet style while the German population was expelled.
Last week, three Kant-related locations were vandalised with paint: his tomb, a monument to the philosopher and a memorial plaque commemorating the place where his house once stood.
Flyers strewn around the monument expressed satisfaction that "the name of the German Kant will not tarnish our airport." The spokesman for Kaliningrad's Gothic-style basilica, which houses Kant's tomb, said he couldn't understand the motive behind the anti-Kant protests.
"For Kaliningrad residents, for thinking people, Kant is not a citizen of any certain country, he is an individual of a planetary scope," spokesman Vladimir Silinevich told AFP.
A student at the local state university Mikhail Shipilov was questioned by police after proposing a rally in support of the philosopher on his social networking page, local news website New Kaliningrad said.
A small pro-Kant picket was eventually held near the philosopher's tomb on Sunday.
A discussion of Kant and those who build upon Kant's philosophy
Notes:
Facebook posting 11am 6 March 2022
Sunday Word 1
In the last year [1758] of building Fort Loudoun in Winchester VA, we look across the globe in this world wide war.
.
Our Virginia Regiment did.
.
In their letters there are references to the battles of Frederick the Great.
.
"In the context of the Seven Year War, all of East Prussia was conquered and annexed by the Russian Empire (1758–1762). Immanuel Kant is famous for having sworn allegiance to Empress Elizabeth of Russia." See source and this source.
.
Immanuel Kant, the great Philosopher, is living during the time of George Washington.
.
In the middle of this world wide war Russia switches sides after Elizabeth dies. Russia decides to side with Prussia and therefore with Prussia's ally, Great Britain.
.
"In the context of the Seven Year War, Russia allied with Austria and France against Prussia and the Kingdom of Great Britain. After crushing victories against Prussia, Russia occupied all of East Prussia and officially annexed it in 1758.
.
Russia keeps it until 1762.
.
The inhabitants, including Kant, swore an oath to Empress Elizabeth.
.
But after her death [in 1762 just when Frederick the Great thought all was lost and was ready to surrender] , the new Russian Tsar, Peter III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, decided to return it to Prussia in 1762 to establish an alliance with the latter [Prussia] as Peter III aimed at regaining his duchy, then occupied by Denmark." See Source here.
.
Note: We use Wikipedia here as an expedient to give you a quick sketch of events and also because the link doesn't break (their footnotes do, though).
.
Russia retakes this area in 1945.
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Kaliningrad was Königsberg.
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