Memorial to Kaizerlings, founder and commander of the Latvian Navy
Memorial site

Archibald Peter Theophilus von Keyserling, also known as Archibald Keyserling, was a naval officer, the first commander of the Republic of Latvia's Coastal Defence Squadron, Admiral. He played an important role in the establishment of the Latvian Navy.

A. Keizerling came from an old German noble family, born on 18 November 1882 in Auguste manor, Grobiņa parish.

In 1895 he joined the St Petersburg Sea Cadet Corps of the Russian Tsarist Navy, graduating in 1901 with the rank of midshipman. Keizerling served with the 13th Fleet in the Russian Far East and took part in the Russo-Japanese War. In May 1905 he was taken prisoner by the Japanese, but was promoted to Lieutenant after his release.

In 1906 Keizerling was a senior officer on a mine cruiser. From 1907 to 1908 he attended the Liepaja Submarine Course in Liepaja. After completing the course, he again went to Vladivostok, where he served in the Russian Pacific Fleet and from 1908 to 1912 was captain of the submarine Field Marshal Count Sheremetyev. In 1911 he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant.

After his transfer to the Baltic Fleet he was captain of a squadron minesweeper, took part in the First World War, at the end of which he was already a captain of the 1st rank.

In July 1918 he retired from the service. In early 1919, A. Keizerling joined the Baltic Landeswehr, where he served as a cavalry squadron commander with the rank of staff sergeant.

On 1 April 1920, he was appointed Naval Officer of Special Tasks of the Chief of the Army Staff, when the formation of the Latvian Navy actually began. In 1921, Keizerling was promoted to the rank of sea captain. On 27 June 1924, the Latvian Coastal Defence Squadron was established, of which A. Keizerling was appointed commander and in 1927 was promoted to the rank of Admiral.