Vasily Dmitrievich Ilovaisky

Descended from an old Cossack family. The son of the chieftain of the Don Cossack army, general from the cavalry Dmitry Ivanovich Ilovaisky, at the age of five, was enrolled in the Ataman Cossack regiment. In 1797, with the rank of esaul, he entered the 2nd cadet corps.

From October 1806 he took part in the war with Napoleon, distinguished himself in battles at Yankov, at Preussisch-Eylau, Heilsberg and Friedland.

In 1808-1809 he participated in battles near Silistria and at Brailov. He distinguished himself in battles with the Turks in 1811, when, commanding a regiment, he was a member of the Moldavian army of M.I.Kutuzov.

In March 1812, at the head of the regiment, he was included in the 2nd Western Army and, being in the rearguard, covered the army's retreat from Volkovysk to Smolensk. He showed himself brightly during the liberation of Velizh, Surazh, Porechye. After the retreat of the Russian troops from Moscow, he fought a partisan war. Then he was the first to enter Moscow abandoned by the French, defeated the lagging detachments and for this he was promoted to major general. In pursuit of the retreating army of Napoleon, he acted in the vanguard. The war of 1812 ended for Ilovaisky in Paris with his participation in the solemn ceremony of the entry of Russian troops into the capital of France. In 1813 he successfully fought at Naumburg, Weissenfels, Lutzen, Bautzen, Leipzig, Kulm.

Since 1823, Ilovaisky was the marching chieftain of the Don Cossack regiments of the Separate Caucasian Corps.

In 1826, Ilovaisky was promoted to lieutenant general and, as part of the Separate Caucasian Corps of I.F. Paskevich, participated in hostilities in the Caucasus. After a successful battle for the Araks, Ilovaisky returned to the Don. He retired for health reasons in 1840.

Ilovaisky became famous not only as a talented military leader, but also as a horse breeder, the creator of the largest factory in the whole of the Don region.

The portrait of Ilovaisky by D. Doe is now in the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.