Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck

Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Bismarck (28 July 1783 – 18 June 1860) was a German lieutenant general, diplomat and military writer.

On 7 September 1807 he married Augusta Amalia (1778–1846), a daughter of Frederick Augustus, Duke of Nassau – she had been in love with him before her unhappy marriage to Louis William, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg in 1804, which had ended in divorce.

[1][2] When Württemberg fought as an ally of Napoleon in 1809, von Bismarck distinguished himself under André Masséna, especially at the battle near Riedau on 1 May 1809.

When Württemberg switched sides to fight against Napoleon, he was put on the general staff and in 1815 was made commander in chief of the Crown Provinces.

The future writer Joseph Stoeckle (1844–1893) was at school in Konstanz around this time at the Großherzoglichen Lyceum, where he was joined between 1859 and 1860 by Friedrich's son August[4] – he remained close to the House of Bismarck and later wrote in his memoirs about Friedrich, using records and writings that are now lost.