Friedrich von der Decken

The von der Deckens are an old noble family in Lower Saxony which produced several officers for the forces of the Electorate of Hanover.

In 1784 Johann Friedrich joined the Hanoverian Army, fighting in the French Revolutionary Wars from 1793 to 1795.

In 1803 he joined the diplomatic service on Napoleon's occupation of Hanover and left for the United Kingdom.

On 28 July 1803 he began together with Sir Colin Halkett recruiting expatriate Hanoverian soldiers to fight for the United Kingdom in the War of the Third Coalition and subsequent Napoleonic conflicts, with his recruits forming the King's German Legion, with which he fought from 1805 to 1807.

[1] In 1808 he was sent to Spain and Portugal during the Peninsular War as a diplomat and military advisor and to recruit troops to fight against France, before returning to England, where in 1815 he organised another Hanoverian regiment to fight against the French during the Hundred Days.