Hi,
I am researching about the general Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Wilhelm_von_Buxhoeveden)
Firstly, I wonder what was his main motivation for participating in a war with the Swedish Empire in 1808, it seems strange why he would fight on the Russian side since the same empire had just few decades back annexed by force the land himself was brought up in. What did he think about the future Russification attempts of Finland? Did he support it or did he just join the war as he saw he was best fit to limit the causalities in an inevitable war? Please give some input and thoughts.
Secondly, I wonder if anyone know of any book/text/article that talks about him more in detail? All I can find are encyclopedias with facts and timelines about his positions.
Best regards
Artur
From these sources and other sources I found some leads. Nothing extensive yet but few more data. However, some of the text/data I found is unsurprisingly in German. Is there any kind soul here that could help me translate few old texts to English? (Or recommend an appropriate translation service). If you can help me dont hesitate to drop me a PM as well. Thank you
Thank you for the tips. I am going forward with those leads. Let me know if you find anything more. Thanks!
If you don't speak Russian you will have to right-click to use Google translate but you might try https://impereur.blogspot.com/ as it contains a wealth of information on Russian generals. As well as many other nations.
maybe this is a good starting point
https://www.napoleon-series.org/military/battles/c_finnish.html
As he was Estonian (Kullamaa I believe) have you tried the Estonian Genealogy Society?
http://www.ra.ee/vau/index.php/en/page/article/index?menuId=16
or perhaps the history museum in Tallin?
https://www.ajaloomuuseum.ee/
I'm occasionally in Tallin on business, but tends to be a fly in/fly out event. The only museum I've had time to visit was the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedoms. However, I find Estonians generally very polite and helpful to foreigners showing an interest in their history.
I think you might find that, Russian material aside, it might be a case of looking at biographies of others etc. that mention him and construct your own biographical notes that way. Have a look at archive.org as their scans don’t always show on Google.
Anyone?
Thank you for the reply David. I have however already read the section about him in this book. Hoping that there is more information somewhere.
Best regards
I would certainly commend Alex's work (he is too modest himself!) if you go anywhere near Rusians https://www.amazon.com/Russian-Officer-Revolutionary-Napoleonic-1792-1815/dp/1932714022