The historical memory of the Germans regarding the Wars of Liberation is today dominated by figures such as Blücher, Wellington, and Theodor Körner. However, it was a duke from Brunswick who set everything in motion, and without his actions, the joint uprising of the Germans against France in 1813 would not have been conceivable. The life of Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Brunswick-Oels was entirely shaped by the struggle against revolutionary France. His story spans from the War of the First Coalition through the battles of Jena and Auerstedt to Waterloo. Driven from his land by Napoleon in 1806 and consumed by the thought of avenging himself on the Emperor of the French, he formed a volunteer corps in 1809. To outwardly express his feelings and intentions, he dressed his corps entirely in deep black uniforms, which earned him the title of the Black Duke.