Wilhelm Schmidt von der Launitz

Georg Wilhelm "William" Eduard Schmidt von^[2] der Launitz (Born Launitz; Russian: Васи́лий Фёдорович Лауниц, tr. Vasíliy Fyodorovich Launits; 1802 – 26 October [O.S. 14] 1864) was a Baltic German general in the service of the Imperial Russian Army. Launitz was noted for being a strict and disciplined commander, and thanks to his effort, many of his troops’ living conditions were improved. Launitz also served as the first commander of the Kharkov Military District from August 1864 before dying from falling of his horse in October of the same year.

Wilhelm Schmidt von der Launitz
General of the Cavalry Wilhelm Schmidt von der Launitz
Commander of the Kharkov Military District
In office 10 August [O.S. 29 July] 1864 – 26 October [O.S. 14] 1864
Monarch	Alexander II
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Sigizmund Merkhilevich
Personal details
Born	Georg Wilhelm Eduard Launitz 9 August [O.S. 28 July] 1802 Grobin, Grobin County, Courland Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Grobiņa, Grobiņa Municipality, Latvia)
Died	26 October [O.S. 14] 1864 (aged 62) Kharkov, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Kharkiv, Ukraine)
Spouse	Mathilde Luise Henriette von Budberg
Children	5 children
Military service
Allegiance	Russian Empire
Branch/service	Imperial Russian Army
Years of service	1819–1864
Rank	General of the Cavalry
Commands	10th Odessa Lancers Regiment Separate Corps of the Internal Guards Kharkov Military District (August–October 1864)
Battles/wars	November Uprising Hungarian Revolution of 1848

Coat of arms of the Launitz family (ru) in the Baltic coat of arms book (et) by Carl Arvid von Klingspor (sv) in 1882.^[1]

Biography

Origin

Georg Wilhelm Eduard von der Launitz was born on 9 August [O.S. 28 July] 1802 into the family of Christian Friedrich Launitz, a pastor in Grobin, and Dorothea Elizabeth Kolb, he was the brother of the sculptor Robert and nephew to another famous sculptor Eduard Schmidt von der Launitz. Little was known about the Launitz family’s (ru) history, the only known history was that first ever known ancestor was Jürgen Launitz, all what was known about him was that he was a landowner in Courland in the 16th Century.^[3] The commoner family was recognized with Holy Roman nobility in 1802, but it was not until 1817 then the family adopted the title Schmidt von der Launitz.^[4]

Family

In 1842, Launitz married Baroness Mathilde Luise Henriette von Budberg [de], they had 5 children including Michael, who was a hussar^[5] like his father. All of his children were baptized in Lutheran churches, although Michael soon came under the influence of his Russian Orthodox wife and converted to Orthodoxy.^[6][7]

Honours and awards

• Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class (1829)
• Order of St. George, 4th class (11.12.1840)
• Golden Weapon with the inscription "For Bravery" (1831)
• Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st class
• Order of St. Anna, 1st class
• Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class
• Order of the White Eagle