Karl Heinrich von Nassau-Siegen

Karl Heinrich von Nassau-Siegen (5 January 1743 - 10 April 1808) was a French-born fortune-seeker best known as Catherine II's least successful naval commander.

His father was apparently born by Charlotte de Mailly (the aunt of the five famous de Nesle sisters) out of wedlock, several years after her divorce with Emmanuel von Nassau-Siegen, the morganatic son of the second Prince of Nassau-Siegen. The child was legitimized, however, and later assumed the princely title, to the consternation of the entire House of Nassau.

Charles Henry, in Catherine II's own words, "had everywhere the reputation of a crazy fellow". He sailed around the world with Bougainville, "fought tigers bare-handed" in Central Africa and reportedly seduced the Queen of Tahiti. His tiger hunt is the subject of a vast canvas by Francesco Casanova. As a French officer, Nassau-Siegen failed in his hastily prepared attack on the isle of Jersey (1779). For commanding the fireships at the siege of Gibraltar, Nassau-Siegen received from Spain three millions of francs and the dignity of Grandee of Spain. At Spa he met his future wife, a recently divorced Princess Sanguszko, the owner of a small estate in Podolia.

In 1786 Nassau-Siegen arrived in Russia, seeking to make an impression on the powerful Prince Potemkin. He accompanied the Empress in her journey through the provinces of New Russia and was put in charge of the Dnieper Flotilla. After routing the Turks at Ochakov, he wrote to his wife that the spectacle of the Turkish fleet was "better than a ball in Warsaw".

According to John Paul Jones (who served under Nassau-Siegen's command), the putative prince sought to exaggerate his success to the utmost. He won the Order of St. Andrew after the Battle of Svensksund (1789) but was roundly defeated by the Swedes in the second battle of that name. The first plans of Russia's attack on India through Khiva and Bukhara are ascribed to Nassau-Siegen.

Nassau-Siegen's military incompetence forced him to seek retirement. He was on a prolonged foreign tour until Catherine II's death, then settled with his wife in Podolia, devoting the rest of his life to agricultural pursuits.

This article incorporates material from the public domain 1906 Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.

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