Ivan Fersen
Baron, Graf Hans Heinrich von Fersen or Ivan Yevstafyevich Fersen (Russian: Иван Евстафьевич Ферзен, romanized: Ivan Yevstaf'yevič Ferzen) was a Russian military commander and general of the infantry from the nobility of what was then Russia's Livonia. As a lieutenant colonel, he fought in the 1769–74 Russo-Turkish War. In 1790 he acted in Finland against the Swedes, where he assisted Vasily Chichagov's ships in the Bay of Vyborg with the fire of coastal artillery batteries, increasing the confusion of the Swedish warships in the bay. He also fought in the Polish–Russian War of 1792 and the Kościuszko Uprising.
Ivan Yevstafyevich Fersen | |
|---|---|
Fersen by Andrey Zhdanov (1775–1811), 1795 | |
| Native name | Иванъ Евстафьевичъ Ферзенъ |
| Other name(s) | Hans Heinrich von Fersen |
| Born | 1747 |
| Died | Early 1799 |
| Allegiance | Russia |
| Service/ | Imperial Russian Army |
| Years of service | 1760–1798 |
| Rank | General of the Infantry |
| Battles/wars | Siege of Khotin (1769) Battle of Larga Siege of Silistria (June 1773) Battle of Vyborg Bay (1790) Battle of Brest (1792) Battle of Gołków Battle of Maciejowice Battle of Kobyłka Battle of Praga |
| Awards | Order of Saint George Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky |
| Relations | Fersen family |
In 1792, in the aftermath of the adoption of the constitution of 3 May 1791 he formed in Lithuania a general confederation (after the example of Targowica), which was enacted under the patronage of Empress Catherine II, and thus quickly pacified the whole region. Fersen gained notoriety with the defeat and capture of Kościuszko in the battle of Maciejowice. Then he took part in the capture of Praga by Suvorov. In 1797 he was appointed director of the First Cadet Corps; he soon retired and died in his Livonian estate.