Ludwig von Weltzien

He came from the noble family von Weltzien and was the son of the Oldenburg major Maximilian von Weltzien (* August 2, 1776; † April 21, 1852) and his wife Johanna née von Reiche (* March 31, 1789; † March 16, 1847), who was a sister of General Ludwig von Reiche.

Weltzien attended the Mariengymnasium Jever and joined the infantry regiment of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg as a volunteer on June 21, 1829 . There he was promoted to secondary lieutenant on December 30, 1832, and attended the General War School in Berlin from 1834 to 1837. Since 1836 he was a member of the Corps Vandalia Rostock[1] and since 1837 of the Corps Hanseatia Rostock.[2] In 1840 he was transferred to the brigade staff and in 1841 promoted to prime lieutenant.

In 1839 he joined the recently founded literary and sociable association and took an active part in the then flourishing movement of moderation. In 1844 Weltzien also became a chamberlain and in 1846/48 accompanied Grand Duke Augustus to the University of Leipzig. In 1848 he took part in the First Schleswig War as a brigadjutant and in 1849 as a captain in the general staff of the Reserve Division. Weltzien was used during the outpost battles on the Düppeler Heights and was later awarded the Knight's Cross of the Wilhelmsorden.

In 1853 he was entrusted with the duties of the brigade major and with the management of the Oldenburg military school. In 1855 Weltzien was promoted to company commander and chamberlain. After his promotion to major, he was assigned to the Military Commission of the German Confederation in Frankfurt am Main for two years on February 1, 1859. In this capacity, promoted to lieutenant colonel in mid-March 1860, Weltzien was used as battalion commander after his return to service. On January 1, 1862, he was promoted to colonel and regimental commander. Major general since April 30, 1865, Weltzien was the successor of Wilhelm von Ranzow who was the commander of the Oldenburg troop corps and commander of the Oldenburg-Hanseatic brigade. In the next year, he led this brigade in the Austro-Prussian War as part of the Prussian Main Army against Austria's southern German allies and fought against the Baden Division in the Battle of Werbach. For his achievements Weltzien received the Honorary Commander's Cross of the House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis with the Swords and the Order of the Red Eagle from the Prussian King Wilhelm I, 2nd Class with oak leaves and swords.

When the entire Oldenburg federal contingent subsequently transferred to the Association of the Prussian Army within the framework of the military convention with Prussia, Weltzien was attached to the staff of the 15th Division in Cologne on September 25, 1867. Since March 22, 1868 Lieutenant General Weltzien was entrusted with the management of the division's business on April 8, 1869. With the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, he was appointed commander of this large unit. He fought in the Battle of Gravelotte on August 18 . During the Siege of Metz, Weltzien received the Iron Cross, 2nd Class but he fell ill with typhus. The mourning for the death of his only son Peter, who died as a war volunteer at Gravelotte, worsened the illness from which he died on October 16, 1870, in Wiesbaden.

Since August 4, 1847 Weltzien was married to Marianne née Brockhaus (1829-1919), daughter of the bookseller and publisher Friedrich Brockhaus . The couple had the following children:

• Peter (1852-1870)
• Helene (1849–1897) ⚭ 1872 Arnold Woldemar von Frege-Weltzien (1841–1916)
• Elisabeth (1850–1881) ⚭ 1872 Rudolf Marschall von Bieberstein (1840–1915)

• Kurt von Priesdorff: Soldatisches Führertum. Band 7, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, o. O. [Hamburg], o. J. [1939],  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. Missing or empty |title= (help) , S. 502–503, Nr. 2439.
• Ernst Wilhelm Theodor Zedelius: Personal-Chronik der oldenburgischen Officiere und Mailitairbeamten von 1775 bis 1867. Oldenburg 1876. Digitalisat
• Ernst Theodor von Finckh: Geschichte des Oldenburgischen Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 91. Berlin 1881.
• Bernhard von Poten (1896), "Weltzien, Ludwig von", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 41, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 698–699
• Hans Friedl: Weltzien, Peter Friedrich Ludwig. In: Hans Friedl u. a. (Hrsg.): Biographisches Handbuch zur Geschichte des Landes Oldenburg. Hrsg. im Auftrag der Oldenburgischen Landschaft. Isensee, Oldenburg 1992, ISBN 3-89442-135-5, S. 786–787 (online).
• Wolf Lüdeke von Weltzien: Stammstafeln der uradligen mecklenburgischen Familie von Weltzien. Stuttgart 1960 (Manuskript, Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv Oldenburg).
• Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der adeligen Häuser. 1901. Zweiter Jahrgang, S. 915.