Prince of Nassau-Siegen. The Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 and the last years of the adventurer's life
Charles of Nassau-Siegen in a portrait by an unknown artist
In this article, we will continue and conclude the story of the European adventurer Karl (Charles) of Nassau-Siegen, who, before arriving in Russia, managed to circumnavigate the globe as part of Bougainville's expedition, and, on the side of Spain and France, fought unsuccessfully against the British for Gibraltar. After meeting Potemkin, he took part in Catherine the Great's Tauride voyage, and then commanded the rowing flotilla of the Liman squadron of the Black Sea Fleet. fleet, but was forced to resign this post. Now he once again found himself at the head of a squadron of rowboats—this time in the Baltic Sea. Admiral P.V. Chichagov, repeatedly quoted in previous articles, writes ironically on this matter:
Now he (the Prince of Nassau) was preparing to become famous on the Baltic Sea, hoping that misfortune would not haunt him forever.
Prince of Nassau-Siegen during the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790.
Sweden's new war against Russia was started by Catherine II's cousin, King Gustav III. "Our" Catherine was a first cousin of Frederick the Great, who had once arranged a marriage between the impoverished daughter of his general and the heir to the Russian throne, Peter Feodorovich. Gustav III, however, was married to the younger sister of this Prussian king. The Russian empress frequently referred to her cousin in her letters. "fat man Gu", and considered Sweden a frankly weak opponent and therefore was completely unprepared for war in the Baltic. Gustav III demanded that his sister return the Finnish lands ceded to Russia under the treaties of 1721 and 1743, conclude peace with the Ottoman Empire and restore Turkish sovereignty over Crimea, as well as disarm the Baltic Fleet.
The Swedes struck just as all of Russia's forces were being thrown into the war with Turkey. Russian soldiers and officers were once again forced to atone for the miscalculations of the country's rulers with their blood. As usual, they demonstrated great heroism, and right from the start, the Swedes failed in their attempt to capture the fortress of Nyslott, defended by just over two hundred Russian soldiers led by the one-armed Major Kuzmin. Catherine the Great even wrote the libretto for the satirical opera "The Woeful Bogatyr Kosometovich" (composed by Vicente Martín y Solera), whose hero is unable to enter a hut defended by a one-armed old man with a poker. The ambassadors of England and Prussia—powers allied with Sweden—were invited to the premiere.
But there were no military leaders equal to Suvorov and Ushakov in this theater of war. Moreover, the Russian forces there initially numbered no more than 14 men, mostly recruits (their command was entrusted to General-in-Chief V.P. Musin-Pushkin). And this "unknown" war, during which Swedish troops genuinely threatened St. Petersburg, was narrowly drawn to a draw.
Fortunately, not all the ships had left for the Mediterranean Sea yet, and the squadron "to protect the Baltic Sea" Admiral V. Chichagov was entrusted with the task of leading the force—the same man who, during a conversation with Catherine II, once became so carried away that he resorted to using obscene language. To avoid embarrassing him, the Empress said:
Never mind, Vasily Yakovlevich, go ahead; I don't understand your nautical terms.
True, command of the fleet was soon transferred to Admiral Greig.
Samuel Greig in a portrait by D. Levitsky, after 1788
Scotsman Samuel Greig, on whose ship the much-esteemed Alexei Orlov once flew his flag, was a skilled sailor. The 19th-century Russian naval historian F. Veselago wrote of him:
In terms of the importance and diversity of his achievements, first among them is... Samuil Karlovich Greig, who, as an excellent specialist and a highly educated, energetic figure, held a leading position in our fleet and enjoyed the well-deserved trust of all. In addition to glorious victories over the Turks and Swedes, the Russian fleet owes him the introduction of highly beneficial improvements in naval and combat armament and ship handling, the improvement of port and admiralty operations, and the training of many excellent officers. According to his subordinate officers and enlisted men, he was more of a father figure than a superior.
On July 6 (17), 1788, in the Battle of Gogland, Greig's squadron defeated a Swedish force with almost twice the firepower, led by Gustav III's brother, Charles of Südermanland (the future Charles XIII). The Swedes lost their flagship, the King Gustav, on which Vice-Admiral Gustav Wachtmeister and 539 of her crew surrendered. During the pursuit, the Swedish squadron managed to sink the battleship Kronprinz Gustav Adolf. However, the ship Vladislav was also lost, having lost control and been driven into the Swedish line of ships. This battle disrupted the Swedish naval plan, and the enemy fleet abandoned further operations that year.
Chichagov was so offended by Greig's appointment that he began openly sabotaging the orders of not only the admiral but also the empress herself. Enraged, Catherine once demanded:
So that the behavior of Admiral Chichagov would be compared with the instructions given to him and I would be reported whether the above-mentioned admiral had carried out the instructions given to him under my signature or not, so that I could take appropriate measures.
And what do you think? Chichagov not only failed to bear any responsibility, but didn't even deign to provide any explanation to the empress. Such was the discipline exercised by the dissolute and corrupt nobles under "Mother Catherine."
But Samuel Greig died on board his ship from typhoid fever on October 27 (October 15, old style) 1788. Catherine II wrote to Potemkin:
I am so deeply touched by the death of the Admiral that I cannot express it, and this loss for the Empire in this case is a misfortune, for we do not have in the fleet anyone who could take his place with the same skill and reputation.
V. Chichagov, who returned to command the Russian fleet after Greig's death, acted indecisively, and Count Saltykov, who replaced Musin-Pushkin, wrote to Vice-Chancellor A. A. Bezborodko:
The fleets stand motionless facing each other, while ships arrive at the royal flotilla every minute, and the enemy is gaining ground on land. We can't stop him from doing anything from land, but everything must be done from the water. My concern now is how to hold him back from the capital from land. The circumstances are grave, Your Excellency. By God, everyone's strength is dwindling. My regiments have marched 130 miles in three days, and then immediately they're either in combat or at work, and it's as if we have no naval forces at all.
Chichagov's strange indecision in the naval Battle of Vyborg, which ended in victory for the Russian fleet, astonished even the Swedes. K. Gyllengranath, for example, wrote:
There's no doubt that the Swedish fleet's survival was due solely to the strange hesitation with which the Russian admiral (Chichagov) acted and set sail. Many were convinced that we had bribed him not to attack. However, this opinion is unfounded and unprovable, and it's difficult to explain the reasons for such slowness and indecision on the part of the Russian admiral.
The Russian Nikolaev Naval Academy later came to a similar conclusion:
This was not a victory, as most people think, but on the contrary, it was a great defeat for us, because we let go of a huge Swedish fleet, which, if Chichagov had acted properly, would have fallen into our hands entirely.
However, we are interested in the actions of the Baltic rowing squadron, whose command was entrusted to Prince Nassau-Siegen, who had conveniently returned to St. Petersburg and been promoted. Catherine II wrote:
Following the victories achieved by our naval militia in the Liman last year over the enemy's numerous ships and rowboat fleet, We have permitted Prince Nassau-Siegen, commander of our rowboat squadron, to raise the vice-admiral's flag in recognition of his zeal for our service and his distinguished courage. For military operations, he is to be under the command of General Count Musin-Pushkin, commander of our army in Finland. From the first of this month, for as long as he remains in this command, he is to receive 300 rubles per month from the sum designated for extraordinary expenses for the rowboat fleet, and We have granted him 5000 rubles from his personal account to equip himself with what is needed for the campaign.
But the hero of the article himself later admitted that he always wanted to serve under the command of Gustav III, who, in his opinion, was a monarch worthy of "to stand at the head of all sovereigns".
The article's subject's assistant was Giulio Renato Litta-Visconti-Arese, a descendant of a noble Milanese family and former captain of one of the galleys of the Order of Malta. In Russia, he would take the name Julius Pompeevich Litta and become a vice-admiral, chief chamberlain (from 1728, a second-class rank in the Table of Ranks), commander of the highly privileged Cavalry Regiment, and chairman of the Commission for the Construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
Count Julius Pompeevich Litta in a portrait by Lampi, 1790s.
But this was the manner of command of this Maltese knight: when the captain of the galley "Eagle" Nikolai Muravyov asked him what position to take during the battle, Litta answered:
A man of honor will find his place.
Muravyov sailed straight into the Swedish line, positioned his galley between two enemy ships, and opened fire from both sides. His ship was sunk, Muravyov was wounded, and he was captured.
N. N. Muravyov in a portrait by Argunov, 1817. He rose to the rank of major general, founded the Moscow Society of Mathematicians, the Moscow Society of Agriculture, and the Moscow Educational Institution for Column Leaders, which he maintained at his own expense for eight years. 127 of its graduates were enrolled in His Majesty's quartermaster corps. In 1823, this educational institution became a state-owned institution and was transferred to St. Petersburg. In 1826, it was closed, as 13 Decembrists were among its graduates.
Julius Litta's brother, however, became a senator, a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, a Duke, and Grand Chamberlain of the puppet Kingdom of Italy in Napoleonic France. He was a man of principle and clashed with Napoleon when he learned that his other brother, Cardinal Litta, had been exiled to Nîmes for refusing to attend the wedding ceremony of Napoleon and Marie-Louise. He told Bonaparte's stepson, Eugène de Beauharnais, who tried to dissuade him:
Tell the Emperor that I was the Cardinal's brother before I became his chamberlain.
Let's return to the Baltic in the turbulent year of 1789.
The Nassau-Siegen rowing flotilla was able to set out to sea only on June 8, and only by the beginning of July did it reach Vyborg Bay, where V.P. Musin-Pushkin, commander of the troops in Finland, was eagerly awaiting it.
On August 24, Russian galleys attacked Svensksund (Ruotsinsalmi) from two sides: passing through the Rochensalmi Strait, they destroyed 39 enemy ships, losing two of their own. history This battle became known as the First Battle of Ruotsinsalm.
First Battle of Ruotsinsalm, diagram
An engraving depicting an episode from the First Battle of Ruotsinsalm
And this is how this battle looks in a painting by Johan Tietrich Schulz:
Among the distinguished naval officers was Lieutenant Alexei Kornilov, the father of the famous admiral who would die in Sevastopol on Malakhov Kurgan on October 5 (17), 1854. And for this victory, the Prince of Nassau received from Catherine II the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and a lifelong pension of 3000 rubles (as well as two robes - so that his health "did not suffer from severe weather"). However, Sergei Alekseevich Tuchkov, a participant in this battle, claimed that the main role in this battle was played by the 26-year-old Maltese knight Julius Litta, who nominally commanded the squadron
Nassau-Siegen was at a loss and did not know what to do.
Alas, Prince Nassau's next battle in the Baltic ended in a brutal defeat, which in Sweden is quite seriously considered revenge for Charles XII's defeat at Poltava. This occurred on July 9, 1790, when Nassau-Siegen again sent his ships to attack the Swedish rowboat fleet anchored at Ruotsinsalmi Roads. The Swedish ships arrived there just after the Battle of Vyborg and managed to break through, despite suffering heavy losses.
The Swedish large sailing ships set sail for Sveaborg, while the rowing flotilla (which included King Gustav III) joined the Pomeranian skerry division, which numbered 40 vessels, at Rochensalm (Svensksund). In total, the Swedish king had at his disposal 6 frigates, 16 galleys, 154 war sloops and gunboats, assisted by shore batteries. Prince Nassau-Siegen brought here 20 rowing frigates, 15 medium-sized ships, 23 galleys and xebecs, 77 war sloops, and about 10 auxiliary ships. It was said he was in a hurry—he wanted to "congratulate" Catherine II with a new victory on the anniversary of her accession to the throne.
The attack was poorly prepared and organized. Caught in the crossfire of Swedish ships and shore batteries, the Russian squadron lost five oar-propelled frigates, five xebecs, two half-rams, two floating batteries, seven schooners, six bombards, 16 galleys, five gunboats, three large and four small bomb boats, and captured 22 ships. Casualties exceeded seven thousand men killed (including 269 officers). The Swedes captured 1412 cannons. The enemy lost only five ships and about 300 men. The Russian fleet suffered a more severe defeat only in 1905 at Tsushima. Gustav III never hid the fact that he achieved this victory precisely because of Nassau-Siegen's carelessness.
Johan Tietrich Schultz. Battle of Rochensalm 9 July 1790, 1792
Charles of Nassau-Siegen wrote to Catherine:
I lack the strength to report to Your Majesty the details of the destruction of your flotilla. I am in despair. After such a defeat, I have decided to abandon the profession that made me happy when I hoped to serve Your Majesty. But the difficulties I encounter on all sides make me feel that I can only be detrimental to Your Majesty's service.
He asked for his resignation and a military court, sent all his orders to the empress, but she returned them to him, writing:
One failure cannot erase from my memory that you were seven times the conqueror of my enemies in the south and in the north.
On August 3, in honor of the signing of the Treaty of Verela, Catherine II even awarded Nassau-Siegen a gold sword with diamonds and a silver service, and on December 16, 1791, she promoted him to admiral and appointed him chief commander of the rowboat fleet.
Interestingly, the Treaty of Värälä was signed on August 3 (14), 1790, ratified on August 9 (20), and by 1791, Russia and Sweden had entered into a defensive anti-French alliance. On March 16, 1792, King Gustav III was mortally wounded at a ball—the cause was the Swedish nobility's dissatisfaction with the Act of Union and Security adopted in 1789, which significantly limited their rights and privileges.
The last years of the life of Prince Nassau-Siegen
On May 11, 1792, the subject of this article went on leave abroad. Not only was his salary retained for the duration, but he was given 20 rubles for expenses, and he was also provided with a rowboat frigate. At this time, he conceived the idea of reclaiming his possessions in the Principality of Nassau-Siegen (already recognized by Austria). To this end, he decided to use French émigrés: settling in Koblenz, he spent a great deal of money on their upkeep, even borrowing from the Prussian king. He wrote to Catherine II:
I have already had the honor of informing Your Imperial Majesty of the 800,000 livres lent to me by the King of Prussia, with which the French princes were able to mobilize all the émigré nobles. We had barely set out when Trier was already in dire need of provisions and forage. To save the princes and the French nobles, I sold my dinnerware, diamonds, even the golden swords Your Imperial Majesty had once granted me... Having given the princes all my capital and everything that could be converted into cash, I left nothing for myself.
But in the meantime, he invited the French captain Jean-Baptiste de Sansac de Traversay into Russian service – the future Minister of the Navy, after whose title the part of the Gulf of Finland from the mouth of the Neva to Kotlin Island would be ironically called the “Marquis’s Puddle.”
The prince returned to Russia only on November 7, 1793, and again assumed command of the rowboat fleet. He finally resigned on October 30, 1794, much to the displeasure of Catherine II. Afterward, we see him in the retinue of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II—some believe he served as an unofficial agent of the Russian Empress. At least after the outbreak of the Polish uprising led by T. Kościuszko, Catherine instructed him in a letter to be present directly in the Prussian king's camp to coordinate the actions of the allied forces.
For a time, Prince Nassau-Siegen lived in Venice, where, once again, he was surrounded by a group of impoverished French émigrés who again nearly ruined him. He and his wife moved to Vienna, and from there, in 1795, to St. Petersburg, but was greeted very coldly by Catherine II. F. Rostopchin wrote about this:
The Prince of Nassau arrived a few days ago. He came to petition for lands confiscated from his wife's relatives. He was very poorly received. He was given to understand that he was not to attend court dinners; the Empress was displeased with him for leaving the service.
During the war between France, Spain, the Batavian Republic, and England, he enlisted in the Spanish army but achieved no heroic deeds. On March 25, 1802, the war ended with the Treaty of Amiens, and the Prince of Nassau departed for Paris, where he unsuccessfully sought high office. Finally, in 1807, he settled permanently on his wife's estate of Tynna (now a village in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast of Ukraine). He died there on April 10, 1808. According to legend, he left a will stipulating that his grave would be tended by the two most beautiful girls, who would receive a certain sum as a dowry upon marriage. The prince's grave has not survived; a church now stands on the site.
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