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Kalb, Johann (Baron De)
Kalb, Johann [Baron De] (1721–1780), Revolutionary War general.Johann Kalb grew up a peasant's son in the Bavarian town of Hüttendorf. Despite humble origins, he became a military officer, a French Army veteran with service under maréchal de Saxe, and a protégé of the militarily influential Broglie family. He first traveled to North America in 1768 to assess the growing Anglo‐American split, and with the outbreak of war returned to seek a command in the Continental army.
Kalb's skill and credentials, coupled with the Marquis de Lafayette's influence and devotion to the Revolution's principles, overcame Congress's suspicion of foreign adventurers and earned a major general's commission. Despite the appointment, Kalb found battle elusive. Congress made him second in command for a proposed invasion of Canada in 1778, then canceled the operation. Washington subsequently ordered him to relieve the Continentals at the siege of Charleston, South Carolina, but the city fell before Kalb's arrival. He reorganized the Southern Department's remaining forces, only to have Congress place Horatio Gates at their head. On 16 August 1780, Kalb led a Continental regiment at the disastrous Battle of Camden, where he received numerous bayonet wounds. He died three days later. [See also Revolutionary War: Military and Diplomatic Course.] Bibliography Adolf E. Zucker , General de Kalb: Lafayette's Mentor, 1966. J. Mark Thompson |
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Cite this article
John Whiteclay Chambers II. "Kalb, Johann (Baron De)." The Oxford Companion to American Military History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. John Whiteclay Chambers II. "Kalb, Johann (Baron De)." The Oxford Companion to American Military History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O126-KalbJohannBaronDe.html John Whiteclay Chambers II. "Kalb, Johann (Baron De)." The Oxford Companion to American Military History. 2000. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O126-KalbJohannBaronDe.html |
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Kalb, Johann
Kalb, Johann (1721–80) Revolutionary war officer and mercenary, born in Hüttendorf, Bavaria. He was with George Washington during the winter encampment at Valley Forge (1777–78), was second in command to the Marquis de Lafayette in the aborted invasion of Canada (1778), and was mortally wounded at the battle of Camden (1780) when he persisted in assaults against superior British forces. Kalb had previously undertaken a secret mission to America on behalf of a French government minister hoping to enlist colonists in a war against the British (1767). Kalb had determined that despite their antipathy toward the British, colonists were too independent-minded to ally themselves with a foreign power. This independent-mindedness attracted him, and a decade later he returned to participate in their struggle.
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Cite this article
"Kalb, Johann." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Kalb, Johann." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-KalbJohann.html "Kalb, Johann." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-KalbJohann.html |
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Johann Kalb
Johann Kalb , 1721–80, American general in the Revolution, known generally as Baron de Kalb, b. Hüttendorf, Germany. He assumed his title for military reasons and as Jean de Kalb served France in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War. He again served France in 1768 as a secret agent in the English colonies in America. Silas Deane offered (1776) commissions to Kalb, Lafayette, and other European soldiers of fortune, which the Continental Congress at first refused to honor. Finally Kalb was made general and was with Washington at Valley Forge. In 1780 he was made second in command to Horatio Gates in the Carolina campaign , and he died (Aug. 19, 1780) from wounds received in the battle of Camden.
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Cite this article
"Johann Kalb." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Johann Kalb." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Kalb-Joh.html "Johann Kalb." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Kalb-Joh.html |
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