Johann Nikolaus Fürsen-Bachmann

Johann Nikolaus von Fürsen-Bachmann (31 July 1798 – 21 February 1894) was a Schleswig-Holstein cavalry officer. Trained in Copenhagen and initially serving in the Danish army, he later supported the Schleswig-Holstein provisional government during the First Schleswig War. From 1848 to 1851 he served as a lieutenant colonel and commander of the 1st Dragoon Regiment.

Early life and Danish service

Fürsen-Bachmann was born at Tangsholm on the island of Als in the Duchy of Schleswig. He attended the cadet school in Copenhagen from 1812 to 1816 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1816. From 1831 to 1842 he served as a school officer in Schleswig.

The Schleswig-Holstein movement formed a provisional government on 24 March 1848, leading to the First Schleswig War. During the uprising Fürsen-Bachmann held the rank of lieutenant colonel and led the 1st Dragoon Regiment.

Fürsen-Bachmann died in Schleswig on 21 February 1894. His memoirs were edited by Otto Fürsen and published posthumously in 1917 as Lebenserinnerungen des schleswig-holsteinischen Obersten Johann Nikolaus von Fürsen-Bachmann.

The Landesarchiv Schleswig-Holstein preserves a small collection of Fürsen-Bachmann papers, including letters from family members, officers and politicians dating from 1848 to 1891.