Background
Johann Kalb, general known as "Baron de Kalb", was born on June 29, 1721 in Hüttendorf, Germany, the son of Johann Leonhard and Margarethe (Putz, née Seitz) Kalb, peasants.
(Comparatively few people of the present generation are aw...)
Comparatively few people of the present generation are aware of the inestimable benefits which the French nation conferred upon our forefathers during the American Revolution, at a time when America was without credit abroad and when our cause aroused no other national sympathy in the world... -Charlemagne Tower, Jr., in the Preface In this 1895 biography of one of the key figures of the American Revolution, writer and diplomat Tower traces the career of the Marquis de La Fayette from his arrival in America in 1777 until his return to France after the surrender of Cornwallis in 1781. Using private letters as well as official documents from both private and governmental collections, Tower presents in detail the military operations of the Virginia campaign and delves into La Fayette's time at the Court of Versailles in 1779, when, on leave in France, he was a vocal proponent of the American fight for independence from England. These two vital volumes are an insightful look at a period of American history during which the fledgling nation looked abroad for sustenance and succor. CHARLEMAGNE TOWER, JR. (1848-1923), son of American financier Charlemagne Tower, was trustee of the University of Pennsylvania and president of its department of archaeology and paleontology. He served as U.S. minister to Austria-Hungary from 1897 to 1899, and as U.S. ambassador to Russia from 1899 to 1902 and to Germany from 1902 to 1908.
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Johann Kalb, general known as "Baron de Kalb", was born on June 29, 1721 in Hüttendorf, Germany, the son of Johann Leonhard and Margarethe (Putz, née Seitz) Kalb, peasants.
Kalb received his early schooling at Kriegenbronn.
At the age of sixteen Kalb left home. After six years, of which the records are silent, he is found serving under the name of Jean de Kalb as a lieutenant in Count Loewendal's regiment of French infantry. This assumption of a title to which he had no legal right made possible and facilitated his military career. He shared, though somewhat humbly, in the brilliant victories of Marshal Saxe and served throughout the War of the Austrian Succession. He was assiduous in the study of modern languages, mathematics, and troop organization.
In 1747 he became captain and adjutant and was made "officer of detail, " a post which combined the offices of general manager and judge of the regiment. He submitted in 1754 elaborate plans for the organization of a marine infantry for sudden attacks upon the English coast and colonies. He went to Paris to prosecute his venture, but since he was unschooled in court intrigue and lacked necessary influence his plans failed.
In 1756 he became a major and served with distinction in the Seven Years' War. At the end of the war he expected promotion, but his office was abolished and he was given the position of captain with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. About 1764 he retired from the army and settled near Paris, but his insatiable thirst for glory and his longing for activity urged him to resume his military career; and in 1765 he unsuccessfully attempted to enter the Portuguese service, hoping, after a few successful campaigns, to return to France a general. In April 1767 the Duc de Choiseul requested him to undertake a secret mission to America to report on the affairs of the British colonies. Arriving in Philadelphia in January 1768, he traveled in the colonies about four months. His numerous and detailed reports were the observations of a shrewd and impartial investigator. The interception of his reports caused him to return to France, where toward the close of the year Choiseul's interest in the colonies languished and Kalb was unceremoniously dismissed.
After two years of rural retirement he received two invitations to serve in Poland, which he declined. With the accession of Louis XVI and the return to influence of the brothers Broglie, who had earlier been Kalb's patrons, the paths to promotion were again opened: he was made brigadier-general for the islands on November 6, 1776. Having determined to serve in America, he was engaged as a major-general by Silas Deane. It was through Kalb that his protégé Lafayette met Deane and engaged to serve in America with Kalb and his companions.
After numerous delays they sailed in April 1777, Kalb bringing with him the extraordinary offer of De Broglie to become the benevolent dictator of the revolting colonies. They landed on the coast of South Carolina June 13, and at the end of July arrived in Philadelphia, where they discovered that Congress had refused to ratify the contracts and appointments made by Deane. Having repudiated Deane's arrangements, Congress received Lafayette as a major-general. Kalb was indignant and wrote bitterly to the president of Congress, threatening civil suit to enforce his contract with Deane. Having despaired of favorable action, he was about to embark for France, when he was notified that Congress had elected him to a newly created major-generalship, a post which he accepted after much consideration.
He joined the army early in November and commanded a division of New England regiments. He took part in the last operations before Philadelphia and spent the winter in the bleak encampment at Valley Forge. At times he wished to return to the French army, to become the French envoy to America, or to represent France in Geneva, but these were idle hopes. In 1778 he was Lafayette's second in command in the Canadian expedition that arose from the Conway cabal, but at Albany the expedition was abandoned and they returned in time to celebrate the announcement of the French alliance, an event which Kalb thought would quickly terminate the war. Until the spring of 1780 he was constantly with the army, though without the conspicuous distinction for which he hoped.
On April 3, 1780, he was ordered to the relief of Charleston, South Carolina, then besieged by the British. Lack of men and supplies retarded his advance. At Deep River, North Carolina, he was joined by General Gates, recently appointed to command in the South, who, despite Kalb's advice, rashly determined to march to Camden to attack the British. Near Saunders' Creek they suddenly encountered the army of Lord Cornwallis. The first attack of the British scattered the Virginia and North Carolina militia, who, with Gates, fled. Kalb, in command of the right wing, three times charged the enemy. In the hand-to-hand fighting the issue of the battle was long in doubt. When the American position became hopeless, Kalb, sword in hand, again led his few men to the attack. Mortally wounded and bleeding from eleven wounds, he fell and his surviving soldiers retreated. Three days later he died at Camden.
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On April 10, 1764, Kalb married Anna Elizabeth Emilie Van Robais, the daughter of a wealthy and retired cloth manufacturer.