Charles, Count Alten
Sir Charles August von Alten | |
|---|---|
1818 portrait of Alten by Joseph Paelinck | |
| Birth name | Carl August von Alten |
| Born | 21 October 1764 |
| Died | 20 April 1840 (aged 75) |
| Allegiance | Electorate of Hanover United Kingdom Kingdom of Hanover |
| Branch | Hanoverian Army British Army |
| Service years | 1781–1840 |
| Rank | Generalfeldmarschall (Hanoverian Army) |
| Commands | Light Division King's German Legion |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order |
Sir Charles August von Alten GCB, GCH (21 October 1764 – 20 April 1840), better known as Charles, Count Alten, was a Hanoverian army officer and politician who led the Light Division during the last two years of the Peninsular War. At the Battle of Waterloo, he commanded an Anglo-Hanoverian division in the front line, where he was wounded. He later rose to the rank of Field Marshal in the Hanoverian Army.
Alten was the son of August Eberhard von Alten (1722–1789), a member of an old Hanoverian family, and Baroness Henriette Philippine Marie Hedwig von Vincke-Ostenwalde. Alten's older brother, Victor Alten (1755–1820) commanded a cavalry brigade in Wellington's army. Unlike his brother Charles, Victor is described as "unsatisfactory".