# Adam Albert von Neipperg

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Adam_Albert_von_Neipperg
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Adam_Albert_von_Neipperg.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Albert_von_Neipperg
> Source revision: 1354308439
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Austrian marshall and nobleman (1775–1829)

Adam Albert von Neipperg Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg Born 8 April 1775 (1775-04-08) Vienna, Archduchy of Austria Died 22 February 1829(1829-02-22) (aged 53) Parma, Duchy of Parma Allegiance Austrian Empire Branch Cavalry Service years 1791–1829 Rank Feldmarschall-Leutnant and 2nd Colonel-Proprietor of the 3rd Hussar Regiment Conflicts French Revolutionary Wars War of the First Coalition Battle of Jemappes Battle of Neerwinden Siege of Valenciennes Siege of Mainz Italian campaigns Relief of Mantua War of the Second Coalition Italian campaigns 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 Awards Tyrolean Silver Medal of Honor (1798) Order of Maria Theresa (1801) Order of the Légion d'Honneur (1810) Order of the Sword (1812) Order of St. George (1813) Order of St. Anna (1813) Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus (1814) Order of St. Ferdinand and of Merit (1815) Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George (1816) Order of Leopold (1825) Other work Prime Minister and Ehren-Kavalier to Duchess Maria Luigia 1821–1829

**Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg** (8 April 1775 – 22 February 1829) was an [Austrian](/source/Austria) 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](/source/Wilhelm_Reinhard_von_Neipperg). His second wife, Empress [Marie-Louise](/source/Marie_Louise%2C_Duchess_of_Parma), was the widow of [Napoleon](/source/Napoleon) and a daughter of [Francis II](/source/Francis_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor), the last [Holy Roman Emperor](/source/Holy_Roman_Emperor) and founding Emperor of the [Austrian Empire](/source/Austrian_Empire).

## Early life

Adam Neipperg was born in Vienna as a son of Count Leopold von [Neipperg](/source/County_of_Neipperg) (1728–1792) and his third wife, Countess Maria Wilhelmine von [Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg](/source/House_of_Hatzfeld) (1750–1784). In 1766, the [County of Neipperg](/source/County_of_Neipperg), centred on [Schwaigern](/source/Schwaigern), had become an [Imperial State](/source/Imperial_State) of the [Holy Roman Empire](/source/Holy_Roman_Empire), but was [mediatised](/source/German_mediatisation) to the [Kingdom of Württemberg](/source/Kingdom_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg) in 1806.

Neipperg was educated at the [Karlsschule](/source/Karlsschule_Stuttgart) military academy in [Stuttgart](/source/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](/source/Battle_of_Jemappes), [Battle of Neerwinden](/source/Battle_of_Neerwinden_(1793)), and [Siege of Valenciennes](/source/Siege_of_Valenciennes_(1793)). On 14 September 1794, at the village of [Doel](/source/Doel), on returning from one of many missions to deliver secret instructions to forts in the [Dutch Republic](/source/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.[1] 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](/source/Battle_of_Mainz) in 1795, and led Austrian troops in Italy, culminating at the disastrous [Battle of Marengo](/source/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](/source/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.[2]

### Diplomatic career

In 1809, after the Austrian campaign, he was appointed ambassador to Sweden and encouraged [Bernadotte](/source/Charles_XIV_John_of_Sweden) 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 [lieutenant field marshal](/source/Feldmarschallleutnant).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

In 1814, [Klemens von Metternich](/source/Klemens_von_Metternich) sent him to negotiate with the King of [Naples](/source/Kingdom_of_Naples), [Joachim Murat](/source/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 [Prince Eugene](/source/Eug%C3%A8ne_de_Beauharnais) (stepson of [Napoleon](/source/Napoleon) and son-in-law of King [Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria](/source/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](/source/Neapolitan_War).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

### Later military career

Neipperg commanded a corps in the Austrian army (called the Army of Naples) under [Field Marshal Frederick Bianchi](/source/Frederick_Bianchi%2C_Duke_of_Casalanza). Murat dispatched [General Carrascosa](/source/Michele_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 [Scapezzano](/source/Battle_of_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 [Tolentino](/source/Battle_of_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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

In 1815, Neipperg participated in the short occupation of France. In July 1815, as the Austrian army crossed the [Rhone](/source/Rhone), he took command of the troops in the French departments of [Gard](/source/Gard), [Ardèche](/source/Ard%C3%A8che) and [Hérault](/source/H%C3%A9rault). He was under the supervision of Bianchi, commanding the Austrian army in the south of France. He lived in [Nîmes](/source/N%C3%AEmes) and left the city with the rest of the troops on 14 September 1815.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Personal life

Neipperg family coat of arms

On 4 February 1806, Neipperg married [Therese Josephine Walpurgis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Teresa_Pola_1778_1815.jpg), [Countess Pola](/source/Pola_family) (1778–1815). Before her death on 23 April 1815, they had four sons:

1. Count [Alfred von Neipperg](/source/Alfred_von_Neipperg) (1807–1865), who married Countess Giuseppina di [Grisoni](/source/Venetian_nobility) in 1835. After her death, he married [Princess Marie Frederike Charlotte von Württemberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marie_Gr%C3%A4fin_Neipperg.JPG), daughter of King [William I of Württemberg](/source/William_I_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg) and Grand Duchess [Catherine Pavlovna of Russia](/source/Catherine_Pavlovna_of_Russia) (a daughter of Tsar [Paul I of Russia](/source/Paul_I_of_Russia)), in 1840.

1. Count Ferdinand von Neipperg (1809–1843), who died unmarried.

1. Count Gustav von Neipperg (1811–1850), who died unmarried.

1. Count [Erwin von Neipperg](/source/Erwin_von_Neipperg) (1813–1897), who married Countess Henriette von [Waldstein-Wartenberg](/source/Waldstein_family) in 1845. After her death, he married Princess Maria Rosa von [Lobkowicz](/source/Lobkowicz_family), 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](/source/Schwaigern) in Germany. The present head of the house, Karl-Eugen, Count von Neipperg (born 1951), is the husband of [Archduchess Andrea von Habsburg](/source/Otto_von_Habsburg#Family).

### Second marriage

In August 1814, he was instructed to escort Napoleon's wife, the Empress [Marie-Louise](/source/Marie_Louise%2C_Duchess_of_Parma), to [Aix-les-Bains](/source/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".[3] 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.[4]

Four months after the death of Napoleon I in 1821, he married Marie-Louise in a [morganatic marriage](/source/Morganatic_marriage). She had become sovereign [Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla](/source/Duchy_of_Parma), styled *Maria-Luigia di Parma*, in the final act of the [Congress of Vienna](/source/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:

1. Countess Albertine di Montenuovo (Italian translation of *Neipperg*) (1817–1867), who married Luigi [Sanvitale, Count di Fontanellato](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanvitale), in 1833.

1. [William Albert](/source/William_Albert%2C_1st_Prince_of_Montenuovo), Count, then 1st [Prince](/source/F%C3%BCrst) von Montenuovo (1819–1895), who married Countess Juliana [Batthyány von Németújvár](/source/Batthy%C3%A1ny), in 1851.[5]

1. Countess Mathilde di Montenuovo (1822-1823).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

1. Count Gustav di Montenuovo (1823-?), who died young.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

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 [Imperial Hofburg](/source/Hofburg_Palace) in Vienna, dying out in the male line in 1951.

## Ancestry

Ancestors of Adam Albert von Neipperg 16. Eberhard Wilhelm, Baron of Neipperg 8. Eberhard Friedrich, Baron of Neipperg 17. Margaretha Elisabeth von Sternenfels 4. Wilhelm Reinhard, Count of Neipperg 18. Reinhard von Hornberg 9. Margareta Lucretia von Hornberg 19. Anna Agnes von Buseck 2. Leopold Joseph, Count of Neipperg 20. Count Franz Christoph von Khevenhüller-Frankenburg 10. Count Franz Ferdinand von Khevenhüller-Frankenburg 21. Countess Faustina Barbara von Montecuccoli 5. Countess Maria Franziska Theresia von Khevenhüller-Frankenburg 22. Baron Mathias Franz von Lubetich-Chapelot 11. Baroness Maria Theresia von Lubetich-Chapelot 23. Countess Theresia Isabella von Lodron 1. Adam Albert, Count of Neipperg 24. Baron Melchior Friedrich von Hatzfeld 12. Baron Wilhelm Franz von Hatzfeld 25. Baroness Maria Barbara von Fürstenberg 6. Count Karl Ferdinand von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg 26. Baron Philipp Christoph von Loë 13. Baroness Sophie Therese von Loë 27. Baroness Anna Maria Theresia von Winckelhausen 3. Countess Marie Wilhelmine von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg 28. Adolf Karl von Bettendorff 14. Baron Lothar Karl von Bettendorff 29. Baroness Maria Catharina Kämmerer von Worms-Dalberg 7. Baroness Marie Sophie von Bettendorff 30. Count Johann Philipp von Stadion-Warthausen 15. Countess Marie Sophie von Stadion 31. Countess Maria Anna von Schönborn-Buchheim

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Wurzbach_1-0)** Wurzbach, Constantin (1869), *[Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich](/source/Biographisches_Lexikon_des_Kaiserthums_Oesterreich)*, Universitätsbibliothek Graz, Vol. 20, pp. 146-152.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Jaromir Hirtenfeld: Der Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden und seine Mitglieder (1857) Vol 2 pp.1124-5

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Geer, Walter (1925), *Napoleon and Marie-Louise; the fall of the empire,* New York, Brentano's, p.315.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** von Wertheimer, Edouard (1902), *The Duke of Reichstadt (Napoleon the Second),* London, Ballantyne & Co., p.120.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Handbuch1895_5-0)** ["Ritter-Orden"](http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1895&page=299&size=45), *Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie*, 1918, pp. 62, [64](http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1895&page=301&size=45), [69](http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1895&page=306&size=45), retrieved 2 November 2019

## Sources

- Translated from: [fr:Adam Albert de Neipperg](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Albert_de_Neipperg)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Adam Albert von Neipperg](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Adam_Albert_von_Neipperg).

Political offices Preceded by Filippo Magawly Cerati Prime Minister of Duchy of Parma 1823–1829 Succeeded by Joseph von Werklein

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National France BnF data Italy Poland Vatican People Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef SNAC RISM

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Adam Albert von Neipperg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Albert_von_Neipperg) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Albert_von_Neipperg?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.