The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Trenck, Franz, Freiherr von der
(fränts fr´hr fn dr trngk) (KEY) , 1711–49, Austrian officer and adventurer, b. Reggio di Calabria, Italy. A daring soldier known for his duels and love affairs, he raised at his own expense (1741) a Croatian regiment for Maria Theresa in the War of the Austrian Succession. Its atrocities led to his court-martial (1747) and to his life imprisonment in the notorious Spielberg fortress at Brno (Brünn), where he died. His memoirs, published several decades later, increased Trenck’s notorious reputation.
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