 Nonetheless, sources such as military historian Peter Paret and "Encyclopædia Britannica" continue to use Gottlieb instead of Gottfried.Clausewitz was born on 1 June 1780 in Burg bei Magdeburg in the Prussian Duchy of Magdeburg as the fourth and youngest son of a family that made claims to noble status which Carl accepted.Clausewitz's family claimed descent from the Barons of Clausewitz in Upper Silesia, though scholars question the connection.