Person

Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

1771–1815 · 18th century · Also known as Black Duke, The Black Duke

Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, known as the Black Duke, lost his lands when Napoleon absorbed them into the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807. In 1809 he raised the Black Brunswickers, a volunteer corps in black uniforms, fought his way across Germany to the North Sea and served with the British in the Peninsular War. Restored in 1813, he was killed at Quatre Bras in 1815.

Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Image: Johann Christian August Schwartz · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Duchy of Brunswick

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/frederick-william-duke-of-brunswick-wolfenbuttel
MLA
“Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/frederick-william-duke-of-brunswick-wolfenbuttel. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/frederick-william-duke-of-brunswick-wolfenbuttel.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/frederick-william-duke-of-brunswick-wolfenbuttel (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻