Maximilian, Count von Merveldt (29 June 1764 – 5 July 1815), among the most famous of an illustrious old Westphalian family, entered Habsburg military service, rose to the rank of General of Cavalry, served as Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador to Russia, and became special envoy extraordinaire to the Court of St. James's (Great Britain).

In the wars between Austria and the Ottoman Empire, (1787–1791), he was a Rittmeister, or captain of cavalry and wing adjutant to Field Marshal Franz Moritz, Count von Lacy.

In 1790, Merveldt commanded the Volunteers Grün-Loudon and later that year, after his promotion to major, he served on the staff of Field Marshal Ernst Gideon, Baron von Laudon in Moravia.

[2] Following the defeat of the insurrection in the Austrian Netherlands, he received permission from Field Marshal Laudon, shortly before the latter's death, to take a one year novitiate in the Teutonic Order, at Bonn where he remained until April 1792.

[3] The outbreak of the War of the First Coalition against France required his military talents and Mervelt rejoined the Habsburg army at as adjutant to Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

For his role at the head of his battalions of grenadiers, which his commander considered greater than duty required, in this victory, Merveldt received the honor of carrying the message to the Emperor Francis in Vienna.

[2] In 1796 he transferred to the 18th Chevau-légers Regiment Karaczay and fought at the Battle of Kircheib,[6] in the Westerwald, where, despite the French superiority of numbers, the Habsburgs eked out a victory.

[7] The Tagebericht (daily dispatch) of the Army of the Rhine referred to his keen sense of duty, and his ability to seize the moment, which, in this case, proved a vital element in the extraordinary success of the small Habsburg force against the considerably larger French one.

He was assigned as proprietor of the First Lancer's Regiment, and given command of a cavalry brigade in Franz von Werneck's Reserve of the Army of the Lower Rhine.

[3] At the outbreak of the War of the Second Coalition in March 1799, and the dissolution of Congress on 7 April 1799, Merveldt returned to his regiment, which by this time had crossed the Lech and Iller rivers, and was advancing into Swabia.

During the campaigns of 1800, he commanded the left wing by Eckartsweiler at the Battle of Alt-Breisach on 25 April, and on 10 May conducted a rear-guard action to protect the Imperial army's withdrawal.

With 6,000 soldiers in six line and ten Grenz infantry battalions plus 14 squadrons of cavalry, Merveldt made for Styria, hoping to join the army of Archduke Charles.

[10] At Gross-Ramig, also called Mariazell, in the Austrian Steiermark, on 8 November 1805, his exhausted troops were routed by General of Brigade Etienne Heudelet de Bierre's advanced guard of Louis-Nicolas Davout's III Corps; half, about 2,000, were taken prisoner, and they lost four colors and 16 guns.

[11] Promotions After the War of the Third Coalition, he acted as ambassador to St. Petersburg for over two years, with the assignment of improving military relations between the armies of the respective countries.

Subsequent to his release, Merveldt was appointed commanding general of Moravia, and lived in Brno, where he received in January 1814 the instructions to proceed to London as an envoy extraordinaire to the Court of St. James's, replacing Baron Wessembourg.

[18] His comings and goings were widely reported in the society columns: For example, on 4 July 1814, he attended a lecture by the Abbé Secard, and was listed among the distinguished persons present.