His father was a captain and battalion manager of the Telemark Infantry Regiment (Telemarkens Infanteriregiment).

[2][3] In 1804, he started his military career as a cadet with the Norwegian Cadastre Corps in Kristiania (now Oslo).

He left Norway in 1815 and enlisted in the service of the Prussian General Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher.

In 1849, he served as a major-general and played a decisive role in the Battle of Fredericia which broke the Schleswig-Holstein siege of the town.

In November 1808, he reportedly launched himself 9.5 metres in the air in front of an audience of other soldiers at a location near the Eidsberg Church.