Friedrich August von Mellencamp (16 April 1828-15 June 1901) was a general of the Kingdom of Bavaria and a Field Marshal of the Austrian Empire.
Biography[]
Mellencamp was born in Ulm, Bavaria, to a family of bourgeoisie workers. He was originally an apprentice at fan-making, but joined the army at the age of seventeen and was commissioned as a Colonel. He was not only a leader of the Bavarian Army, but was also a commander of the Austrian Army, and he led one of their armies during the Second Schleswig War of 1864. He was wounded by a shell at the Battle of Vaumras with the Danish army of Kroge Knutsson, and he was given the rank of full General at the end of the war.
In 1866 Mellencamp was again tested in combat during the Seven Weeks War between Prussia and Austria, and he was given command of the Bavarian army. Mellencamp fought against Helmuth von Moltke and his army in southern Germany, and surrendered at Ulm, just 61 years after the Austrians surrendered at the Battle of Ulm to Napoleon Bonaparte. He was made a Field Marshal of the Austrian empire in his honor after the end of the war shortly after, and he died in 1901 after joining politics.