Otto Magnus von Schwerin

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Otto Magnus von Schwerin (21 June 1701 – 14 August 1777) was a Prussian general in Frederick the Great’s army. He was born in Halberstadt to Colonel Johann Georg von Schwerin and Maria Esther von Dockum; his brother Frederick Leopold was also a general.

He joined the Prussian military at age 13 in 1714, serving in the Crown Prince Cuirassier Regiment. By the First Silesian War he had become a lieutenant-colonel and commanded the Margraviate of Bayreuth’s Dragoons. He did not fare well at Mollwitz (1741) and Chotusitz (1742); his regiment was broken by enemy cavalry, and Schwerin was wounded and captured. Frederick the Great declared a royal disgrace for his cavalry.

After returning to Pasewalk, Schwerin focused on training his regiment. Frederick II was impressed and had him teach other East Prussian dragoons. Schwerin’s notable victory came at the Battle of Hohenfriedberg on 4 June 1745, where his Bayreuth Dragoons performed a famous charge. Frederick praised him highly, promoted him to major general, and awarded him the Pour le Mérite. He also served as the administrative governor (Amthauptmann) of Stettin and Fischhausen, earning about 10,000 thalers a year.

In peacetime he was known for heavy drinking, and Frederick tried to restrain him. In 1755, during the autumn maneuvers at Stargard, he was sharply reprimanded and withdrew to his estates, though his leave was not granted. When the Seven Years’ War began, Schwerin returned to command. He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1756 and again distinguished himself at Lobositz, but went on leave in 1757. Ongoing conflicts with Frederick II prevented him from being raised to baron or count, and he remained a simple lord.

In 1761 Schwerin bought the Dargibell estate at Busow and built a pavilion with a wine cellar, the “drinking house,” on a hill where he hunted and drank with former Pasewalk officers. He died on his Busow estate near Anklam on 14 August 1777.