Lieutenant General
20.12.1795 Hauho, Kingdom of Sweden
29.5.1861 Porvoo, Grand Duchy of Finland
Son of former Swedish officer, Otto Detlof Ammondt, and Ulrika Albertina Borgenström. He joined the Finnish Jaeger Regiment in 1812, moving between companies throughout the years. In 1816 he was made an Ensign in the Käkisalmi Company of the regiment. In 1819, von Ammondt transferred to a Russian infantry regiment based at Savonlinna, he was promoted to Staff Captain in 1821 and Captain the following year.
In 1825 he requested a transfer to the Finnish Life Guards Regiment, taking a ‘demotion’ to Lieutenant, he would take part in the Regiment’s campaign in Poland as a Captain. As a company commander, von Ammondt took part in several engagements, including the skirmishes on the 20th May near Tykocin. Here he was wounded in his right leg, luckily though it was a relatively minor wound and was able to recover quickly. For his conduct during the campaign, he was awarded the Order of Vladimir 4th class and the Order of St. Anne 2nd class.
After the Polish uprising, von Ammondt was promoted to Colonel and assigned to the Life-Guards Lithuanian Regiment. In 1834 he was put in charge of the Regiment’s 2nd Battalion. In recognition of his services to the Russian Empire and Grand Duchy of Finland, von Ammondt was ennobled in 1837, becoming a Baron in the Finnish House of Nobility (noble family No. 204). Von Ammondt was promoted to Major General and appointed commander of the Regiment in 1841.
The following year he was also made commander of the 5th Guards Brigade, as well as continuing his duties as commander of the Life-Guards Lithuanian Regiment. He earned a reputation for being strict and demanding of his men, but also as a diligent and honest commander, thus earning him the respect and admiration of both officers and men under his purview. The brigade was deployed to protect the borders of the Empire during the Hungarian Uprising in 1848-49 but they didn’t see any engagements.
In mid-1849 von Ammondt was promoted to Lieutenant General and by the end of the year took up command of the 6th Infantry Division. The following year he took a year absence due to illness but unfortunately never returned. Retiring officially from the military in January 1852.
He spent the rest of his life between his estates at Porvoo and Lohja. He passed away at his Kallola Estate in Porvoo in May 1861.
Honours and Awards
1831 – Order of St. Vladimir 4th class with a bow
1831 – Order of St. Anne 2nd class
1831 – Order Virtuti Militari 4th class
1835 – Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd class
1842 – Order of St. George 4th class
1842 – Order of the Red Eagle 2nd Class
1844 – Order of St. Vladimir 3rd class
1846 – Order of St. Stanislaus 1st class
1848 – Order of St. Anne 1st class
Ranks
1812 – Cadet
1816 – Junior Lieutenant
1818 – Lieutenant
1821 – Staff Captain
1822 – Captain
1825 – Lieutenant (of the Guards)
1825 – Staff Captain
1829 – Captain
1832 – Colonel
1841 – Major General
Family
Wife – Anna Carolina Sofia (née Cygnaeus ; 27.2.1802 – 25.3.1875 ), married 1822
Daughter – Alexandra Karolina (20.4.1823 – 22.4.1895)
Son – Fredrik Akates (14.9.1824 – 25.2.1825)
Son – August Wilhelm (29.8.1826- 16.2.1858)
Son – Adolf Nikolai (14.8.1828- 14.3.1834)
Son – Alexander (29.9.1830 – 26.5.1831)
Son – Edvard Reinhold (12.12.1832 – 28.10.1887)
Son – Nikolai (24.2.1835 – 2.8.1836)
Daughter – Emilia Natalia (4.12.1836 – 18.1.1838)
Daughter – Olga (1.7.1839 – 28.12.1922)
Daughter – Maria Augusta (4.6.1844 – 23.8.1906)
Sources
Otto Wilhelm von Ammondt, Biography Center, Finnish Literature Society
Volkov S.V. Generals of the Russian Empire: Encyclopedic Dictionary of Generals and Admirals from Peter I to Nicholas II, in 2 volumes. Centerpolygraph: Moscow, 2009.
On Behalf of the Emperor, On Behalf of the Fatherland. Finnish Officers and Soldiers of the Russian Imperial Life-Guard on the Battlefields of Poland, 1831, väitöskirja, 2014, ISBN 978-952-93-3751-4.