{{Short description|Austrian marshall and nobleman (1775–1829)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox military person | name = Adam Albert von Neipperg | image = Neipperg.jpg | caption = Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg | birth_date = {{birth-date|8 April 1775}} | death_date = {{death-date and age|22 February 1829|8 April 1775}} | birth_place = [[Vienna]], [[Archduchy of Austria]] | death_place = [[Parma]], [[Duchy of Parma]] | allegiance = {{flagicon|Austrian Empire}} [[Austrian Empire]] | branch = Cavalry | service_years = {{flagicon|Austrian Empire}} 1791–1829 | rank = {{flagicon|Austrian Empire}} ''[[Feldmarschall-Leutnant]]'' and 2nd Colonel-Proprietor of the 3rd Hussar Regiment | battles = {{tree list}} * [[French Revolutionary Wars]] ** [[War of the First Coalition]] *** [[Battle of Jemappes]] *** [[Battle of Neerwinden (1793)|Battle of Neerwinden]] *** [[Siege of Valenciennes (1793)|Siege of Valenciennes]] *** [[Battle of Mainz|Siege of Mainz]] *** [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars|Italian campaigns]] **** [[Siege of Mantua (1796–1797)|Relief of Mantua]] ** [[War of the Second Coalition]] *** [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars|Italian campaigns]] **** [[:it:Verderio|Battle of Verderio]] **** [[Battle of Marengo]] **** [[Battle of Pozzolo]] * [[Napoleonic Wars]] ** [[War of the Sixth Coalition]] *** [[German campaign of 1813]] **** [[Battle of Leipzig]] ** [[War of the Seventh Coalition]] *** [[Neapolitan War]] **** [[Battle of Ronco]] **** [[Battle of Scapezzano]] **** [[Battle of Tolentino]] {{tree list/end}} | awards = {{flagicon|Austrian Empire}} Tyrolean Silver Medal of Honor (1798)<br> {{flagicon|Austrian Empire}} [[Military Order of Maria Theresa|Order of Maria Theresa]] (1801)<br> {{flagicon|France}} [[Legion of Honor|Order of the Légion d'Honneur]] (1810)<br> {{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Order of the Sword]] (1812)<br> {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Order of Saint George (Russia)|Order of St. George]] (1813)<br> {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Order of St. Anna]] (1813)<br> {{flagicon|Kingdom of Sardinia}} [[Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus]] (1814)<br> {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816).svg}} [[Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit|Order of St. Ferdinand and of Merit]] (1815)<br> {{flagicon image|Bandiera del ducato di Parma, Piacenza e Guastalla.png}} [[Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George|Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George]] (1816)<br> {{flagicon|Austrian Empire}} [[Order of Leopold (Austria)|Order of Leopold]] (1825) | other_work = {{flagicon image|Bandiera del ducato di Parma, Piacenza e Guastalla.png}} [[Prime Minister]] and Ehren-Kavalier to Duchess [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma|Maria Luigia]] 1821–1829 }} '''Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg''' (8 April 1775 – 22 February 1829) was an [[Austria]]n general and statesman. He was the son of a diplomat famous for inventing a letter-copying machine, and the grandson of Count [[Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg]]. His second wife, Empress [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma|Marie-Louise]], was the widow of [[Napoleon]] and a daughter of [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]], the last [[Holy Roman Emperor]] and founding Emperor of the [[Austrian Empire]].
==Early life==
Adam Neipperg was born in Vienna as a son of Count Leopold von [[County of Neipperg|Neipperg]] (1728–1792) and his third wife, Countess Maria Wilhelmine von [[House of Hatzfeld|Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg]] (1750–1784). In 1766, the [[County of Neipperg]], centred on [[Schwaigern]], had become an [[Imperial State]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], but was [[German mediatisation|mediatised]] to the [[Kingdom of Württemberg]] in 1806.
Neipperg was educated at the [[Karlsschule Stuttgart|Karlsschule]] military academy in [[Stuttgart]]. At the age of sixteen, Neipperg attempted to enlist in the French army at Strasbourg but, in 1791, he joined the ranks of the Austrians.
==Career== He participated in the [[Battle of Jemappes]], [[Battle of Neerwinden (1793)|Battle of Neerwinden]], and [[Siege of Valenciennes (1793)|Siege of Valenciennes]]. On 14 September 1794, at the village of [[Doel]], on returning from one of many missions to deliver secret instructions to forts in the [[Dutch Republic]], he became trapped behind enemy lines and received such serious bayonet wounds that he was left for dead; he lost his right eye in this skirmish. The following day, while burying the dead, the French found him still breathing and hospitalised him. Speaking French rather too well for a common soldier, he was assumed to be a traitor and sentenced to be shot once his health had returned. However, his convalescence was lengthy due to the seriousness of his injuries. By the time he recovered, the command having changed, he became part of a prisoner exchange. In a different account, he lost his eye not to a saber wound sustained in battle, but as a result of his maltreatment while being held prisoner by the French.<ref name=Wurzbach>Wurzbach, Constantin (1869), ''[[Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich]]'', Universitätsbibliothek Graz, Vol. 20, pp. 146-152.</ref> He was unable to return to active duty for over a year. Neipperg rejoined the Austrian army and took part in the [[Battle of Mainz]] in 1795, and led Austrian troops in Italy, culminating at the disastrous [[Battle of Marengo]] in 1800 that drove the Austrians out of Italy. Following Marengo, Major Neipperg went to Paris in July 1800 as secretary to Feldmarschallleutnant Graf St. Julien, who was conducting peace negotiations with the French. When these failed in the autumn, he was appointed to 5th Ott Hussars on 1 December, distinguishing himself at the [[Battle of Pozzolo]] on 25 December. As the Oberstleutnant (Lt-colonel) of the same regiment, he fought in NE Italy again in the 1805 campaign, notably in the rearguard action on the Tagliamento. In 1806 he was appointed Oberst (colonel) of the regiment and directed the Neutrality and Frontier Cordon force, which observed the 1806-7 war.<ref>Jaromir Hirtenfeld: Der Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden und seine Mitglieder (1857) Vol 2 pp.1124-5</ref>
===Diplomatic career=== In 1809, after the Austrian campaign, he was appointed ambassador to Sweden and encouraged [[Charles XIV John of Sweden|Bernadotte]] to enter in the coalition which was formed in 1813. In reward for this service, he was decorated by the Swedish king. Neipperg rejoined the Austrian army and fought at Leipzig where he distinguished himself sufficiently to be appointed as [[Feldmarschallleutnant|lieutenant field marshal]].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
In 1814, [[Klemens von Metternich]] sent him to negotiate with the King of [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples]], [[Joachim Murat]], who signed a secret peace treaty with Austria in order to keep his throne. Metternich's other intrigue was to try to distance [[Eugène de Beauharnais|Prince Eugene]] (stepson of [[Napoleon]] and son-in-law of King [[Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria]]) from the French. When Napoleon returned from exile, Murat once again allied with his brother-in-law the Emperor, triggering the [[Neapolitan War]].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
===Later military career=== Neipperg commanded a corps in the Austrian army (called the Army of Naples) under [[Frederick Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza|Field Marshal Frederick Bianchi]]. Murat dispatched [[Michele Carrascosa|General Carrascosa]] with a division of Neapolitan troops to prevent Neipperg's corps linking up with Bianchi and the Austrian main body. Neipperg defeated Carrascosa at [[Battle of Scapezzano|Scapezzano]] on 1 May 1815. The main Neapolitan force under Murat's command attacked Bianchi's smaller force, which was in a strong defensive position, at [[Battle of Tolentino|Tolentino]] on 2 May 1815. The attack was renewed on 3 May and the Neapolitan force was gaining an advantage over the Austrians, when Murat received news of Carrascosa's defeat. With the threat of Neipperg's large force approaching his flank, Murat had to order the Neapolitan army to withdraw, turning Tolentino from a potential Napoleonic victory into a defeat.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
In 1815, Neipperg participated in the short occupation of France. In July 1815, as the Austrian army crossed the [[Rhone]], he took command of the troops in the French departments of [[Gard]], [[Ardèche]] and [[Hérault]]. He was under the supervision of Bianchi, commanding the Austrian army in the south of France. He lived in [[Nîmes]] and left the city with the rest of the troops on 14 September 1815.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
==Personal life== [[File:Neipperg-Scheibler310ps.jpg|thumb|140px|right|Neipperg family coat of arms]] On 4 February 1806, Neipperg married [[:File:Teresa_Pola_1778_1815.jpg|Therese Josephine Walpurgis]], [[Pola family|Countess Pola]] (1778–1815). Before her death on 23 April 1815, they had four sons:
# Count [[Alfred von Neipperg]] (1807–1865), who married Countess Giuseppina di [[Venetian nobility|Grisoni]] in 1835. After her death, he married [[:File:Marie_Gräfin_Neipperg.JPG|Princess Marie Frederike Charlotte von Württemberg]], daughter of King [[William I of Württemberg]] and Grand Duchess [[Catherine Pavlovna of Russia]] (a daughter of Tsar [[Paul I of Russia]]), in 1840. # Count Ferdinand von Neipperg (1809–1843), who died unmarried. # Count Gustav von Neipperg (1811–1850), who died unmarried. # Count [[Erwin von Neipperg]] (1813–1897), who married Countess Henriette von [[Waldstein family|Waldstein-Wartenberg]] in 1845. After her death, he married Princess Maria Rosa von [[Lobkowicz family|Lobkowicz]], in 1852.
He was succeeded in the headship of the House of Neipperg by his eldest son Alfred who died childless and his brother Erwin followed him. The male heirs of this senior line of counts still live at [[Schwaigern]] in Germany. The present head of the house, Karl-Eugen, Count von Neipperg (born 1951), is the husband of [[Otto von Habsburg#Family|Archduchess Andrea von Habsburg]].
===Second marriage=== In August 1814, he was instructed to escort Napoleon's wife, the Empress [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma|Marie-Louise]], to [[Aix-les-Bains]] to take the waters. However, the true purpose of his mission was to prevent the Empress from joining Napoleon in exile in Elba. Neipperg, who had understood this perfectly, was rumored to have told his mistress in Milan: "Inside of six months I shall be her lover, and soon her husband".<ref>Geer, Walter (1925), ''Napoleon and Marie-Louise; the fall of the empire,'' New York, Brentano's, p.315.</ref> The quote is most likely apocryphal, and at any rate, he did not need that long, as the Empress soon became his lover and talk of Elba never arose again.<ref>von Wertheimer, Edouard (1902), ''The Duke of Reichstadt (Napoleon the Second),'' London, Ballantyne & Co., p.120.</ref>
Four months after the death of Napoleon I in 1821, he married Marie-Louise in a [[morganatic marriage]]. She had become sovereign [[Duchy of Parma|Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla]], styled ''Maria-Luigia di Parma'', in the final act of the [[Congress of Vienna]] on 9 June 1815. From this union, four children were born, the first two before the marriage, whilst Marie-Louise was still legally married to Napoleon:
# Countess Albertine di Montenuovo (Italian translation of ''Neipperg'') (1817–1867), who married Luigi [[:it:Sanvitale|Sanvitale, Count di Fontanellato]], in 1833. # [[William Albert, 1st Prince of Montenuovo|William Albert]], Count, then 1st [[Fürst|Prince]] von Montenuovo (1819–1895), who married Countess Juliana [[Batthyány|Batthyány von Németújvár]], in 1851.<ref name="Handbuch1895">{{citation|chapter-url=http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1895&page=299&size=45|chapter=Ritter-Orden|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie|date=1918|access-date=2 November 2019|pages=62, [http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1895&page=301&size=45 64], [http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1895&page=306&size=45 69]}}</ref> # Countess Mathilde di Montenuovo (1822-1823).{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} # Count Gustav di Montenuovo (1823-?), who died young.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
Neipperg died in Parma on 22 February 1829 of a heart condition. His descendants with the Duchess Maria-Luigia, the Princes von Montenuovo, intermarried with the Austro-Hungarian nobility and served as courtiers and diplomats at the [[Hofburg Palace|Imperial Hofburg]] in Vienna, dying out in the male line in 1951.
==Ancestry== {{ahnentafel |collapsed=yes |align=center |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. '''Adam Albert, Count of Neipperg''' |2= 2. Leopold Joseph, Count of Neipperg |3= 3. Countess Marie Wilhelmine von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg |4= 4. [[Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg|Wilhelm Reinhard, Count of Neipperg]] |5= 5. Countess Maria Franziska Theresia von Khevenhüller-Frankenburg |6= 6. Count Karl Ferdinand von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg |7= 7. Baroness Marie Sophie von Bettendorff |8= 8. Eberhard Friedrich, Baron of Neipperg |9= 9. Margareta Lucretia von Hornberg |10= 10. Count Franz Ferdinand von Khevenhüller-Frankenburg |11= 11. Baroness Maria Theresia von Lubetich-Chapelot |12= 12. Baron Wilhelm Franz von Hatzfeld |13= 13. Baroness Sophie Therese von Loë |14= 14. Baron Lothar Karl von Bettendorff |15= 15. Countess Marie Sophie von Stadion |16= 16. Eberhard Wilhelm, Baron of [[County of Neipperg|Neipperg]] |17= 17. Margaretha Elisabeth von Sternenfels |18= 18. Reinhard von Hornberg |19= 19. Anna Agnes von Buseck |20= 20. Count Franz Christoph von [[Khevenhüller|Khevenhüller-Frankenburg]] |21= 21. Countess Faustina Barbara von [[Montecuccoli]] |22= 22. Baron Mathias Franz von Lubetich-Chapelot |23= 23. Countess Theresia Isabella von Lodron |24= 24. Baron Melchior Friedrich von [[Hatzfeld family|Hatzfeld]] |25= 25. Baroness Maria Barbara von [[House of Fürstenberg (Westphalia)|Fürstenberg]] |26= 26. Baron Philipp Christoph von Loë |27= 27. Baroness Anna Maria Theresia von Winckelhausen |28= 28. Adolf Karl von Bettendorff |29= 29. Baroness Maria Catharina Kämmerer von [[Dalberg|Worms-Dalberg]] |30= 30. Count Johann Philipp von [[Stadion-Warthausen]] |31= 31. Countess Maria Anna von [[Schönborn family|Schönborn-Buchheim]] }}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Sources== *Translated from: [[:fr:Adam Albert de Neipperg]]
{{Commons category|Adam Albert von Neipperg}}
{{S-start}} {{S-off}} {{S-bef|before=[[Philip Francis Magawly de Calry|Filippo Magawly Cerati]]}} {{S-ttl|title=[[Duchy of Parma|Prime Minister of Duchy of Parma]]|years=1823–1829}} {{S-aft|after=[[Joseph von Werklein]]}} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neipperg, Adam Albert von}} [[Category:1775 births]] [[Category:1829 deaths]] [[Category:Ambassadors of the Austrian Empire]] [[Category:Members of the Württembergian Chamber of Lords]] [[Category:Morganatic spouses]] [[Category:Military personnel from Vienna]] [[Category:Ambassadors of Austria to Sweden]] [[Category:Austrian royalty and nobility with disabilities]] [[Category:Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars]] [[Category:People educated at the Karlsschule Stuttgart]] [[Category:Diplomats from Vienna]] [[Category:Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa]] [[Category:Burials at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata]] [[Category:People of the Neapolitan War]]