Otto Freiherr von Scholley
Otto Karl Lehmann was born on the 8th of September 1823 (other
sources gave 1822) in Kassel the capital of the German electorate of Hessen-Kassel. When his mother Gertrude, born Falkenstein,
the divorced wife of a Prussian Leutnant named Lehmann, Gräfin von Schaumburg (since
1831) and Fürstin von Hanau (since 1833) married the Kurfürst Friedrich
Wilhelm I. von Hessen, her two sons from her first marriage - Otto Karl
(1823-1907) and Eduard Julius (1827-1896) Lehmann - where raised into the Hessian
nobility by transferring the name and the coat-of-arms from the old and noble but
extinct Hessian family "von Scholley" to the brothers and their
descendants by decree of the 30th of October 1837. On the 11th of January 1846
both brothers were raised to the level of Freiherr while their other
half-brothers and half-sisters from the morganatic marriage of their mother with
the Hessian Kurfürst used the titles of Princes and Princesses von Hanau. Otto
started his military career by successfully graduating from the cadet school at
Kassel and entered the Hessian Army as a Portepee-Fähnrich on the 8th of May 1840.
On the 1st of July 1840 he was promoted to Lieutenant followed by his promotion
to Oberlieutnant five years later. Meanwhile the Hessian Kurfürst had many problems,
internal political pressure grew and this was exacerbated by
his morganatic liaison and from abroad by the Prussian desire to occupy his
country. It was therefore prudent to calm the situation down. This was the reason
why
the family left Hessen, the mother remained occasionally at the private estates of
the Kurfürst in Bohemia near Prague, her son Eduard entered Prussian military
service which he finally left as a Rittmeister when the Prussians did indeed occupied
Hessen and Otto entered Austrian military service with the hussar regiment
"Czar Nicolaus I." number 9 on the 12th of February 1846. A few months before, on the 5th of
November 1845, he married Hedwig Freiin von Münchhausen (1822-1889) at Prague.
They had two children a son, Alexander (1847-1901) who became an Austrian Oberst
of the artillery, and a daughter, Gertrude born 1849 who married in 1870 Moritz
Freiherr von Brunicki in Vienna.
When the national mutiny of 1848 broke out, his regiment, the 9th
hussars which was a Hungarian regiment decided for the opposing camp and almost
to a man joined the new Hungarian National Army. Only Oberlieutnant Otto Freiherr von
Scholley and a few others remained true to their oath of loyalty and fled from the
regiment. During the following campaigns of 1848/49 Freiherr von Scholley was
engaged as an orderly officer to Feldmarschall-Leutnant Graf Wrbna, later with
Feldzeugmeister Baron Welden and finally as an aide-de-camp to Feldzeugmeister Baron
Haynau. FZM Baron Haynau rewarded his services as his aide-de-camp with accelerated
promotion to Rittmeister 2nd class by special order Nr.355 at his headquarter
in Kecskemet on the 27th of July 1849. For his excellent conduct on all occasions
and battles he also received the commendations from the Kaiser on the
16th of May 1848 and for a second time on the 18th of October 1849 - this allowed
him to wear the newly introduced military merit cross including the 1860 created
war decoration. He also received foreign decorations : his former regimental
proprietor, Czar Nicolas I, honored his loyalty by awarding him the knight's cross
of the Order of Vladimir with swords and his stepfather awarded him the knight's
cross of the Hessian Order of Wilhelm. When the 9th hussars was newly formed as
hussar regiment "Franz Fürst Liechtenstein" number 9 in
November 1849 Otto Freiherr von Scholley took over command of a squadron with
additional promotion to Rittmeister 1st class.
In 1857 a vacancy arose for a Major in the regiment of
his stepfather and so Otto Freiherr von Scholley was transferred to the hussar
regiment "Kurfürst von Hessen-Kassel" number 8 on promotion to Major on the 23rd of June 1857. When
the 1859 the war against France in
Italy started it soon became obvious that the 8th hussars would not part
in
that war. Many of the young and ambitious officers volunteered for other units in order to prove themselves
under fire and therefore probably leaving the regiment permanently. Of course Otto Freiherr von Scholley also wanted to do the same but
his stepfather asked him not to leave the regiment and to put his own ambitions behind the
continued well-being of his father's regiment. As an obedient son he remained
with the
regiment and was "consoled" by the award of the commander's cross 2nd
class of the Hessian Order of Wilhelm on the 18th of September 1860. On the 17th
of February 1863 he was promoted to Oberstleutnant followed by his transfer to
Ulan regiment "Erzherzog Max" number 8 on the 13th of August of
the same year. Soon Erzherzog Max became Emperor Maximilian of Mexico and
decorated the commanding officers of his regiment with his new orders, while the
regimental commander received the commander's cross with breast star his deputy
commander, Oberstleutnant Otto Freiherr von Scholley, was honored with the
commander's cross of the Order of our beloved Madonna of Guadalupe on the 12th
of May 1864. Some minor illness and several problems inside the family compelled
him to request a years leave of absence on health grounds on the 4th of April 1866 but
immediately thereafter the problems between Austria and Prussia came to a head and he realized that he would again miss the chance of
distinguishing himself under fire. Otto
Freiherr von Scholley immediately volunteered his services, returned to duty and was
transferred to Ulan regiment number 4 on the 17th of May 1866 taking over the command of this
regiment with additional promotion to Oberst on the 25th of June 1866 while the
former regimental commander Johann Freiherr von Appel took over command of a
brigade. Ulan regiment number 4 was engaged in the Northern theatre of
war with 5 squadrons (number 2 - 6) in the brigade of Generalmajor Schindlöcker
of the 1st Reserve-Cavallerie-Division Feldmarschall-Leutnant Prinz Holstein.
With his regiment he served gallantly during the encounters of
Wysokow on the 27th of June and near Skalitz on the 28th of June and also during
the battle of Königgrätz on the 3rd of July 1866. The total losses during the
whole campaign were 6 officers (one of them dead), 196 men and 280 horses - of
which 5
officers (wounded), 184 men and 262 horses occurred during the few hours of the
battle of Königgrätz! For his dashing conduct during the whole campaign Oberst Freiherr von Scholley was honored with the
commendation of the Kaiser on
the 3rd of October 1866.
After the war Otto Freiherr von Scholley remained commander of the
4th Ulan regiment and succeeded in having one of his stepbrothers, Philipp Prinz zu Hanau,
posted into
this unit later appointing him the orderly officer of that regiment. On the 5th of
January 1868 he was honored with the commander's cross 1st class of the Hessian
Order of Wilhelm. At the end of October 1871 he took over command of the cavalry
brigade at Debrecen followed by his promotion to Generalmajor on the
25th of April 1873. In November 1874 he was appointed commander of the cavalry
brigade at Prague. On the 21st of September 1877 he retired at his
own request with the additional honorary promotion to Feldmarschall-Leutnant
(mit Titel und Charakter). Otto Freiherr von Scholley retired to his family
estates at Prague where he died on the 8th of March 1907.
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