Charles Alten
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Sir Charles (Carl August von) Alten (1764 - 1840), Hanoverian and British soldier, son of Baron Alten, a member of an old Hanoverian family, entered the service of the elector as a page at the age of twelve.
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[edit] Early career
In 1781 he received a commission in the Hanoverian guards, and as a captain took part in the campaigns of 1793-1795 in the Low Countries, distinguishing himself particularly on the Lys in command of light infantry. In 1803 the Hanoverian army was disbanded, and Alten took service with the King's German Legion (KGL) in British pay. In command of the light infantry of this famous corps he took part with Lord Cathcart in the Hanoverian expedition of 1805 and in the Copenhagen in 1807.
[edit] Peninsular War
Alten was with Moore in Sweden and Spain. He commanded the 2nd Flank Brigade in Moore's campaign though he missed the Battle of Corunna. He participated in the disastrous Walcheren expedition in the summer of 1809. He was soon employed once more in the Peninsula, and at the Battle of Albuera he commanded an independent KGL brigade.
In April 1813 Wellington placed him at the head of the famous Light Division (1/43rd and 1/52nd Light, 95th Rifles, and 1st and 3rd Portuguese Caçadores). In this post he worthily continued the records of Moore and Robert Craufurd at the battles of Salamanca, Vitoria, the Pyrenees, the Nivelle, the Nive, Orthez and Toulouse. His officers presented him with a sword of honour as a token of their esteem. Wellington called Alten, "the best of the Hanoverians."
[edit] Waterloo and later career
In 1815 Alten led Wellington's 3rd Division during the Hundred Days. This command included Maj-Gen Colin Halkett's 5th British Brigade, Col Ompteda's 2nd KGL Brigade and Maj-Gen Kielmansegge's 1st Hanoverian Brigade and fought at Battle of Quatre Bras. At the Battle of Waterloo, the 3rd Division was directly in the front line and Alten was severely wounded. His conduct won for him the rank of Count von Alten.
When the King's German Legion ceased to exist, Alten was given the command of the Hanoverians in France, and in 1818 he returned to Hanover, where he became subsequently minister of war and foreign affairs, and rose to be field-marshal, being retained on the British Army list at the same time as Major-General Sir Charles Alten, G. C. B. He died in 1840. A memorial to Alten has been erected at Hanover.
See Gentleman's Magazine, 1840; NL Beamish, Hist. of the King's German Legion, 2 vols. (1832-1837).
[edit] References
- Glover, Michael. The Peninsular War 1807-1814. Penguin Books, 1974.
- North, Rene. Regiments at Waterloo. Almark Publications, 1971.
[edit] External links
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
