August von Kruse

von Kruse organized the military of the state of Nassau during the Napoleonic Wars, and participated in the lengthy French campaign in the Iberian Peninsula; under secret orders from his Duke, he switched sides in 1814, and fought against the French in northern Europe.

His father, Karl Friedrich von Kruse (1737–1806), a state official in the service of Nassau-Usingen, wrote several books on husbandry and household management, including Lehrbegriffs der Landwirtschaft und Haushaltungskunste for the Naussau schools in 1780, and Wahren Darstellung der grossen französichen Staatsrevolutions in 1790, which entered into several printings.

On 10 December 1813, as Napoleon's empire crumbled in northern Europe, Kruse received secret orders from the Duke and the Prince of Orange to join the British.

[8] von Kruse's decorations included the Grand Cross with Diamonds of the Imperial Russian Order of St. Anne, the Legion of Honour, Nassau's silver Waterloo Medal, and the insignia of a Knight of the Royal Netherlands Military Willems-Order.

[4] As a reward for his service, in 1822 the Duke gave Kruse received a farm by Eisenbach, in the Taunus.