Albrecht von Wallenstein in the Thirty Years War

Albrecht von Wallenstein in the Thirty Years War Born at Heà ¸manice, Bohemia on September 24, 1583, Albrecht von Wallenstein was the son of a minor noble family. Initially raised as a Protestant by his parents, he was sent to a Jesuit school in Olmà ¼tz by his uncle after their death. While at Olmà ¼tz he professed to convert to Catholicism, though he subsequently attended the Lutheran University of Altdorf in 1599. Following additional schooling at Bologna and Padua, von Wallenstein joined the army of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. Fighting against the Ottomans and Hungarian rebels, he was commended for his service at the siege of Gran. Rise to Power: Returning home to Bohemia, he married the wealthy widow Lucretia Nikossie von Landeck. Inheriting her fortune and estates in Moravia upon her death in 1614, von Wallenstein used it buy influence. After splendidly fitting out a company of 200 cavalries, he presented it to Archduke Ferdinand of Styria for use in fighting the Venetians. In 1617, von Wallenstein married Isabella Katharina. The couple had two children, though only one, a daughter, survived infancy. With the outbreak of the Thirty Years War in 1618, von Wallenstein declared his support for the Imperial cause. Forced to flee his lands in Moravia, he brought the provinces treasury to Vienna. Equipping a regiment of cuirassiers, von Wallenstein joined the army of Karel Bonaventura Buquoy and saw service against the Protestant armies of Ernst von Mansfeld and Gabriel Bethlen. Winning notice as a brilliant commander, von Wallenstein was able to recover his lands after the Catholic victory at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. He also benefited from the favoritism of Ferdinand who had ascended to post of Holy Roman Emperor in 1619. The Emperors Commander: Through the emperor, von Wallenstein was able to acquire the large estates that had belonged to his mothers family as well as purchased huge tracts of confiscated land. Adding these to his holdings, he reorganized the territory and named it Friedland. In addition, military successes brought titles with the emperor making him an imperial count palatine in 1622, and a prince a year later. With the entry of the Danes into the conflict, Ferdinand found himself without an army under his control to oppose them.  While the army of the Catholic League was in the field, it belonged to Maximilian of Bavaria. Seizing the opportunity, von Wallenstein approached the emperor in 1625 and offered to raise an entire army on his behalf. Elevated to Duke of Friedland, von Wallenstein initially assembled a force of 30,000 men. On April 25, 1626, von Wallenstein and his new army defeated a force under Mansfield at the Battle of Dessau Bridge. Operating in conjunction with the Count of Tillys Catholic League Army, von Wallenstein campaigned against Mansfeld and Bethlan. In 1627, his army swept through Silesia clearing it of Protestant forces. In the wake of this victory, he purchased the Duchy of Sagan from the emperor. The next year, von Wallensteins army moved into Mecklenburg in support of Tillys efforts against the Danes. Named Duke of Mecklenburg for his services, von Wallenstein was frustrated when his siege of Stralsund failed, denying him access to the Baltic and the ability to confront Sweden and the Netherlands at sea. He was further distressed when Ferdinand announced the Edict of Restitution in 1629. This called for the return of several principalities to Imperial control and the conversion of their inhabitants to Catholicism. Though von Wallenstein personally opposed the edict, he began moving his 134,000-man army to enforce it, angering many of the German princes. This was hampered by the intervention of Sweden and the arrival of its army under the gifted leadership of King Gustavus Adolphus. In 1630, Ferdinand called a meeting of the electors at Regensburg with the goal of having his son voted as his successor. Angered by von Wallensteins arrogance and actions, the princes, led by Maximilian, demanded the commanders removal in exchange for their votes. Ferdinand agreed and riders were sent to inform von Wallenstein of his fate. Return to Power: Turning his army over to Tilly, he retired to Jitschin in Friedland. While he lived on his estates, the war went badly for the emperor as the Swedes crushed Tilly at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631. The following April, Tilly was defeated at killed at Rain. With the Swedes in Munich and occupying Bohemia, Ferdinand recalled von Wallenstein. Returning to duty, he swiftly raised a new army and cleared the Saxons from Bohemia. After defeating the Swedes at Alte Veste, he encountered Gustavus Adolphus army at Là ¼tzen in November 1632. In the battle that ensued, von Wallensteins army was defeated but Gustavus Adolphus was killed. Much to the emperors dismay, von Wallenstein did not exploit the kings death but rather retreated into winter quarters. When the campaign season began in 1633, von Wallenstein mystified his superiors by avoiding confrontations with the Protestants. This was largely due to his anger over the Edict of Restitution and his beginning secret negotiations with Saxony, Sweden, Brandenburg, and France to end the war. While little is known regarding the talks, he claimed to be seeking a just peace for a unified Germany. Downfall: While von Wallenstein worked to stay loyal to the emperor, it is clear that he was seeking to aggrandize his own power. As the talks flagged, he sought to reassert his power by finally going on the offensive. Attacking the Swedes and Saxons, he won his final victory at Steinau in October 1633. After von Wallenstein moved to winter quarters around Pilsen, news of the secret talks reached the emperor in Vienna. Moving quickly, Ferdinand had a secret court find him guilty of treason and signed a patent removing from command on January 24, 1634. This was followed by an open patent charging him with treason which was published in Prague on February 23. Realizing the danger, von Wallenstein rode from Pilsen to Eger with the goal of meeting with the Swedes. Two nights after arriving, a plot was put into motion to eliminate the general. Scots and Irish dragoons from von Wallensteins army seized and killed many of his senior officers, while a small force, led by Walter Devereux, killed the general in his bedroom. Selected Sources Albrecht von WallensteinNNDB: Albrecht von WallensteinThirty Years War

Tuscan Columns From Roman Architecture

Tuscan Columns From Roman Architecture The Tuscan column - plain, without carvings and ornaments - represents one of the five orders of classical architecture and is a defining detail of todays Neoclassical style building. Tuscan is one of the oldest and most simple architectural form practiced in ancient Italy. In the United States, the column named after the Tuscany region of Italy is one of the most popular column types to hold up American front porches. From the bottom up, any column consists of a base, a shaft, and a capital. The Tuscan column has a very simple base upon which sets a very simple shaft. The shaft is usually plain and not fluted or grooved. The shaft is slender, with proportions similar to a Greek Ionic column. At the top of the shaft is a very simple, round capital. The Tuscan column has no carvings or other ornamentation. Fast Facts: Tuscan Column Shaft is slender and smooth, without flutes or groovesBase is simpleCapital is round with unornamented bandsAlso known as Tuscany column, Roman Doric, and Carpenter Doric Tuscan and Doric Columns Compared A Roman Tuscan column resembles a Doric column from ancient Greece. Both column styles are simple, without carvings or ornaments. However, a Tuscan column is traditionally more slender than a Doric column. A Doric column is stocky and usually without a base. Also, the shaft of a Tuscan column is usually smooth, while a Doric column usually has flutes (grooves). Tuscan columns, also known as Tuscany columns, are sometimes called Roman Doric, or Carpenter Doric because of the similarities. Origins of the Tuscan Order Historians debate when the Tuscan Order emerged. Some say that Tuscan was a primitive style that came before the famous Greek Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders. But other historians say that the Classical Greek Orders came first, and that Italian builders adapted Greek ideas to develop a Roman Doric style that evolved into the Tuscan Order. Buildings With Tuscan Columns Boone Hall Plantation, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. John Moore/Getty Images (cropped) Considered strong and masculine, Tuscan columns originally were often used for utilitarian and military buildings. In his Treatise on Architecture, the Italian architect Sebastiano Serlio (1475–1554) called the Tuscan order suitable to fortified places, such as city gates, fortresses, castles, treasuries, or where artillery and ammunition are kept, prisons, seaports and other similar structures used in war. In the United States, many antebellum plantation homes were adorned with Tuscan columns, as the Greek Revival style suited the authority demanded of the masters house. Tuscan columns projected a nos include Boone Hall in South Carolina, the Rosalie Mansion in Natchez, Mississippi, Houmas House plantation near New Orleans, Louisiana, and the 1861 Gaineswood plantation house in Demopolis, Alabama. The Long Branch Estate in Millwood, Virginia was built in the Federal style in 1813, but when porticos and columns were added around 1845, the house style became Classical (or Greek) Revival. Why? The columns, Tuscan in the North and Ionic columns in the South, are features of Classical architecture. Franklin D. Roosevelts Little White House, Warm Springs, Georgia. Bettmann/Getty Images (cropped) In the 20th century, builders in the United States adopted the uncomplicated Tuscan form for wood-framed Gothic Revival, Georgian Colonial Revival, Neoclassical, and Classical Revival homes. With simple, easy-to-construct columns, simple homes could become regal. Residential examples abound throughout the U.S. In 1932, the future president Franklin Delano Roosevelt built a home in Warm Springs, Georgia, hoping to find a cure for his polio by swimming in the warm waters of the south. FDR chose a classical approach to his Little White House, with a pediment being sustained by the strength of the Tuscan columns. Tuscan Columns on Shingled Cottage. Compassionate Eye Foundation/Getty Images Adding a portico with columns, even simple columns, can add grandeur to a home - and affect the entire style. Even the informality of shingle siding can be transformed by a simple white column. The Tuscan column is seen throughout the world in residential architecture. Carpenters could easily shave and shape long wooden pieces to desired heights. Today, manufacturers produce all types of columns from all types of materials. If you live in a historic district, however, the type of column and how its made is very important when repairs are necessary. Although the homeowner can achieve the Tuscan look with a polymer plastic column, historic preservationists encourage replacing rotted wooden columns with new wooden columns. It could be worse - remember that Tuscan columns used to be carved from marble stone, a replacement that no historic commission would enforce. Columned Porches in Salem, Massachusetts. Jackie Craven Slender and unornamented, Tuscan columns are perfect to support the height of multi-story front porches. By painting them the same color as the molding, rails, and trim, the columns become integrated into the design of a New England home. Tuscan columns can be found on many front porches across the U.S. A colonnade, or a series of columns, is often made up of Tuscan columns. The simplicity of its individual design creates a majesty when many columns are evenly spaced in rows. The colonnade at Saint Peters Square in Vatican City is a well-known example of Tuscan columns. Likewise, sections of the colonnade walkways on the Lawn of Thomas Jeffersons University of Virginia also represent the Tuscan Order. Colonnade at the University of Virginia. Jay Paul/Getty Images The Tuscan column may be Italian in origin, but Americans have embraced the architecture as their own - in large part, thanks to Americas gentleman architect, Thomas Jefferson.