Description
Carte view of Prince Felix Constantin Alexander Johann Nepomuk of Salm-Salm, Prussia. The prince was quite a colorful character. Felix grew up training to be a soldier at a cadet-school in Berlin, becoming an officer in the Prussian 11th Hussar Regiment in 1846. Early on he participated in the First Schleswig War between northern Germany and Denmark. Severely wounded in a skirmish near Aarhus on 18 May 1849, he demonstrated bravery in battle. After the war he joined the Austrian army, serving in the Austro-Sardinian War of 1859. However, his erratic way of life alienated his family and substantial gambling debts as well as several scandals and duels finally forced him to emigrate. In 1861, he came to the United States and offered his services to the Union Army during the Civil War. Felix was given a colonel’s commission and assigned to the staff of General Louis Blenker. During the winter of 1862, he would take command of the 8th New York Volunteer Infantry for a brief period. In February, 1864, he was put under arrest for falsely representing himself as colonel of the 68th New York Volunteer Infantry and enriching himself by raising funds from young officers who expected that he could obtain commissions for them in his regiment. He was eventually released and actually appointed colonel of New York’s 68th in June, 1864. He would serve in Tennessee and Georgia, and took part in the Battle of Nashville. Toward the end of the war was assigned to the command of the post at Atlanta. Salm-Salm was mustered out of the volunteers on November 30, 1865 and was later nominated him for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general. Felix would return to Europe and re-entered the Prussian Army where he would serve as major in the 4th Guards Grenadiers. He was killed at Saint-Privat-la-Montagne during the Battle of Gravelotte during he Franco-Prussian War. This one is back marked by Brady.
