Isaac de Forcade de Biaix, aka Isaak de Forcade de Biaix, aka Isaac von Forcade de Biaix,Dufau de Maluquer, Tome 2, Page 474 (in French) aka Isaac von Forcade,Heinsius, Issue 162, Page 418, Nr. 5 (in German)Brüggermann (1784), Part 2, Band 1, p. 264, Nr. 16 (in German) aka Peter Isaac von Forcade,Brüggermann (1784), Part 2, Band 1, p. 258, Nr. 2 (in German) aka Isaak von ForcadeKlempin & Kratz (1863), Chapter 5, Table A, Section 16, p. 426, Nr. 7 (in German) (c. 1703, in Pau, Béarn – 21 January 1775, in Potsdam, Prussia), was a Kingdom of Prussia colonel, Hofmarschall to the Prince of Prussia and recipient of Prussia's highest military order of merit for heroism, Knight of the Order of Pour le Mérite. He was a descendant of the noble family of Forcade in Béarn, born as a Catholic, but emigrated to Brandenburg-Prussia at a young age, where he joined the Huguenot community in Berlin.
He is referred to in some historical sources as Isaac Quirin von Forcade, Marquis de Biaix,Priesdorff: Soldatisches Führertum, Tome 1, p. 115, Nr. 188Gerlach (2007), Band 1, p. 591, Nr. 19 (in German) As with his uncle and first cousin, there is no evidence that he was ever a Marquis. Biaix was never, at any time in its history, a marquisate, but instead a noble manor in Pau (see also Manorialism).
Military career Historical sources related to the research of noble families in France erroneously state that he was a major general, as does the 25 July 1748 Catholic baptismal recordSaint-Martin de Pau, Baptêmes 1743-1752, Page 220 (in French) for a niece, Elizabeth-Christine de Casamajor, at Saint-Martin's church in Pau, France. In reality, his first cousin, Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix was the Prussian major general in 1748.
Early Military Career in Prussia 1722, entered into Prussian military service, in the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment, at the time commanded by his uncle Jean de Forcade de Biaix, presumably immediately after his arrival from Béarn. May 1735, received the command of a newly created Grenadier Company in the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment in which he had served since his earliest days in Prussia. May 1738, received command of an Alexander von Friedeborn Musketeer Company in Cüstrin. 17 June 1738, a captain, transferred to the 18th Prussian Infantry Regiment (aka the Prince of Prussia Regiment after 1742) under the command of Major General Christian Reinhold von Derschau. Between 1738 and 1742, the different units of the regiment were garrisoned in Berlin-Spandau, Bernau, Strausberg, Altlandsberg and Oranienburg.
First Silesian War (1740–42) He fought near Glogau Fortress (29 December 1740 – 2 January 1741), near Breslau (30 December 1740 – 3 January 1741), Ohlau (9 January 1741), the Siege of Neisse (15 – 22 January 1741), in skirmishes between Nossen and Lindenau (‘’2 March 1741’’), at Göding (‘’10 March 1742’’), and at the Siege of Brno (‘’31 March – 3 April 1742’’) in Moravia.
11 June 1742, as a captain, awarded Prussia's highest military order of merit for heroism, Knight of the Order of Pour le Mérite.
Second Silesian War (1744–45) 28 June 1744, the 18th Prussian Infantry Regiment, under the command of Prince Augustus William of PrussiaHempel, Band 8, Page 506 (in German) since 10 November 1742, is renamed as The Prince of Prussia Regiment.Gieraths, Band 8, Page 64 (in German)
He fought with his unit at the Siege of Prague (2–18 September 1744), Beraun (6 September 1744), Selmitz (19 November 1744), Prague (25 November 1744), and the Battle of Hohenfriedberg (4 June 1745).
28 August 1745, promoted to major and :de:Obristwachtmeister, in the 18th Prussian Infantry Regiment, since 10 November 1742 under the command of Prince Augustus William of Prussia.
He fought at the Battle of Soor (30 September 1745), Schönefeld near Leipzig (29 November 1745), Meißen (9 December 1745), and at the Battle of Kesselsdorf (15 December 1745).
Between 1746 and 1755, the different units of the regiment were garrisoned in Berlin-Spandau, Strausberg, Altlandsberg and Oranienburg. 29 May 1756, promoted to lieutenant colonel, in the Prince of Prussia Infantry Regiment.
Seven Years' War (1754–63) Fought at the Siege of Pirna (11 September – 14 October 1756).
March 1757, promoted to colonel.
He fought at the Battle of Reichenberg near Kratzau (21 April 1757), the Battle of Prague (6 May – 20 June 1757), Witkow Mountain (, ) near Wittgendorf (9 May 1757), Angelka (3 June 1757), White Mountain (, ) near Prague (20 June 1757), Wellemin () (3 July 1757), on Löbau (8 August 1757), near Reinsberg (17 August 1757), Burkersdorf (20 August 1757), Dittersbach auf dem Eigen and Kiesdorf auf dem Eigen (25 August 1757), the Battle of Moys (7 September 1757), Barschdorf (26 September 1757), the Battle of Breslau (22 November 1757), the Battle of Leuthen (5 December 1757), and at the Siege of Breslau (7–20 December 1757).
Retirement In the Winter of 1757, due to his ailing condition his request for retirement was granted. By 1764, the entire regiment was garrisoned in Potsdam, where it remained until 1794. 1765, appointed by the King as Hofmarschall to the Prince of Prussia, Crown Prince Frederick William II of Prussia. 1770, Provisor of the Berlin Freemason's African Owner-Builder Lodge (), Tricopherius and liaison to the Protector of the Prince of Prussia.
In all, he served the Royal house for 52 years, during which time he fought in the First Silesian War, the Second Silesian War and the Seven Years' War.
Family
Coat of arms
The family motto of the Prussian branch is "In Virtute Pertinax".Champeaux, Page 105 (in French)
Coat of arms: An escutcheon with the field divided into four parts. Left half: argent tincture, a gules lion holding a sinople eradicated oak tree between its paws; azure tincture charged with three or mullets; Right half: a gules castle with three towers on an argent tincture; sinople tincture charged with three argent roses below it. A Grafenkrone (Count's coronet) as helmut on top of the escutcheon, crested with a or fleur-de-lis. Two or lions supporting the escutcheon. Motto: "In Virtute Pertinax".
Heraldic symbolism: The lion symbolizes courage; the eradicated oak tree symbolizes strength and endurance; the towers are symbols of defense and of individual fortitude; the mullets (5-star) symbolizes divine quality bestowed by god; the rose is a symbol of hope and joy; the fleur-de-lis is the floral emblem of France; the coronet is a symbol of victory, sovereignty and empire. A count's coronet to demonstrate rank and because the family originally served the counts of Foix and Béarn during the English Wars in the Middle Ages.
Parents
Isaac de Forcade,Chaix d'Est-Ange, Tome 18, Page 316 (in French) Seigneur de Biaix,O'Gilvy, Tome 3, Page 173 (in French) (* September 1659, Biaix in Pau, Béarn; bap. 13 September 1659, Morlaàs, Béarn; † 27 October 1737, Biaix in Pau, Béarn), attorney, Jurat in Pau, Legislator at the Parliament of Navarre in Pau, and his third wife Claire de Lalanne (oo 7 June 1694 Rontignon; † 22 March 1734, Biaix in Pau, Béarn.)
The French-language entry in a Stettin parish register for his 1738 marriage is one of only two known documents that establish his parental lineage. In this document, he states that he is a native of Pau, in Béarn, and that his parents were Jean de Forcade and Therèse de Lalande.
Although few documents exist to prove his parental line, his obituary notice published on the occasion of his death in 1775, which includes a curriculum vitae, begins by explaining that he was the nephew () of Lieutenant General Jean de Forcade de Biaix. According to detailed genealogical records, his uncle, Jean de Forcade de Biaix, had nine brothers, but did not have another brother by the same name who could have married a Therèse de Lalande. Instead, and because of the later use of de Biaix name as part of his surname in some historical sources in Prussia and France, he is thought to be the youngest son of Jean de Forcade de Biaix's eldest brother, Isaac de Forcade, Seigneur de Biaix and his third wife Claire de Lalanne, where his 1703-1704 birth fits neatly into a gap between the recorded baptisms for two other children, baptized 19 July 1703 and 13 April 1708.
The Roman Catholic parish register for Pau for time period around his birth may have originally recorded his birth and baptism, but records for 1704, with the exception of a handful of entries for the month of January, have been lost from the original register. The years surrounding 1704 are very chaotically recorded. What the parish register does clearly show, however, is that there was no married couple named Jean de Forcade and Therèse de Lalande, as named in his marriage record in Stettin, bearing children in Pau during the ten years before or after 1704.
This parish register, however, does record the baptism of an Isaac de Biaix, baptized 24 December 1707, son of, Jacques de Biaix and his wife Jeanne de Harpère.Pau Saint-Martin's Catholic Church, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials Vol. 1692-1711, p. 263 (in French manuscript)
Kurt von Priesdorff, in his ten volume work :de:Soldatisches Führertum, claims without citing evidence or sources, that Isaac Quirin de Forcade, Marquis de Biaix was the son of Lieutenant General Jean de Forcade de Biaix and his wife Juliane, Freiin von Honstedt. Other scholarly works make the same claim, citing Priesdorff as their source. In the absence of proof to the contrary, and considering Priesdorff's privileged access to sources for his scholarly work, this possibility should not be completely ruled out, despite Isaac de Forcade de Biaix's 1738 marriage record citing his birthplace in Pau, Béarn as proof to the contrary.
Marriages Isaac de Forcade de Biaix married on 16 July 1738 at the French Reformed Church in Stettin, with Anna Elisabeth de Cantenius, the daughter of Martin de Cantenius and his wife Sophie Dorothea Friedeborn.
He married a second time on 21 February 1763 with the widow Katharina von Eickstedt, née Catherine von Vieregg (baptized 26 April 1726, Rothenklempenow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; † 29 April 1795, Rothenklempenow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), the daughter of Georg IX. von Vieregg (1688-1753) and Margarethe Dorothee von Vieregg (1696-1766).
The Fiefs of Barsekwitz and Gollin Anna Elisabeth de Cantenius acquired the fiefs of Barskewitz and Gollin, both mesne-fiefsFahrenkrüger (1801), 2nd Part, p. 26 (in German-English) () of the Order of Saint John from the von Borck family in 1731 for 28,000 Reichsthaler and was ennobled on 3 September 1737Hellbach (1825), 1. Band A-K, p. 219 (in German)Hefner (1860), p. 217 (in German)Ledebur (1854), p. 133 (in German) by King Frederick William I of Prussia with them. Gollin was a farming village, a dependency of Barskewitz (present day Barzkowice), now both suburbs of Gmina Stargard Szczeciński in Stargard County.
The Vassal Table of 1756 for the district lists him as the head of the household at his wife's properties.
A detailed inventory of the fiefs in 1784 states that, in addition to its many features and assets, Barskewitz also included a church belonging to the Jacobshagen Synod, itself a branch of the church in Pansin.
Following her death, the court in Sonnenburg ruled on 24 January 1765, that as her heir, the Lordship of her two fiefs passed to him.