Career
Stockhausen came from Thüringen. In 1805 he joined the Feldjägerregiment of the Prussian Army as an officer cadet. In 1808 he became a second lieutenant and changed over to the Garde-Jäger-Bataillon.
In 1813 and 1814 he participated in the War of the Sixth Coalition.
In 1824 he was made a Major and in 1830 was assigned to the General Staff. In 1845 he was made a Major General.
A short while later he was made inspector of the garrisons of the German Confederation"s fortresses. In 1848 he was placed in command of the 9.
Infanteriebrigade in Posen.
By the time Von Stockhausen joined up with the troops, the Danish units had already withdrawn to the islands. In July 1848 he was placed in command of the 1st Division in Königsberg. He aimed to become minister of war, however, and tried to campaign for himself in Berlin.
Since he met with no success, he asked to be retired.
This request was granted when he was made a Lieutenant General, with appropriate pension rights. Partly for this reason, Von Stockhausen successfully stood for election to the second chamber of the Prussian parliament.
After Karl von Strotha"s resignation on 27 February 1850, he was made minister of war. Foreign a time, he also had hopes of becoming Prime Minister.
However, there were personal as well as political differences between Stockhausen and King Frederick William IV. After the appointment of Joseph von Radowitz as Foreign Minister, Stockhausen tried to avert a looming war with Austria.
He was even falsely accused of deliberately dragging his feet in the preparations for such a war. His relationship with the King remained tense and Stockhausen asked to be dismissed more than once. The King delayed doing so however, as there was no suitable replacement.
He then held the post of chairman of the general medals commission (Generalordenskommission) until 1853.