Many Baltic barons distinguished themselves as outstanding Russian generals. Among them was the hero of the Napoleonic Wars, infantry general and adjutant general Karl Ivanovich Bistrom.

Karl Ivanovich was born on May 12, 1770. His father served as a colonel in the Russian army and was the commandant of Mogilev, while his younger brother Adam Ivanovich also became a general. In 1784, at the age of 14, Karl was enlisted as a corporal in the Life Guards Izmailovsky Regiment, marking the beginning of his military career. At 17, he voluntarily transferred to the Neva Musketeer Infantry Regiment and a year later went to war with Sweden, where he spent over two years.

In 1798, Captain Bistrom left his regiment and joined the 1st Jaeger Regiment, and two years later he was promoted to major and became the commander of this regiment.

In 1805, already a lieutenant colonel, Bistrom took command of the 20th Jaeger Regiment and went to the front as part of Count Ostermann-Tolstoy's forces. Over two years of combat, he was wounded three times, distinguished himself multiple times, and fought in the rear guard during the Russian army's retreat. For his merits, he was awarded the Order of Saint George 4th class, received the highest award from Prussia from King Friedrich Wilhelm III, and Emperor Alexander I presented him with the Order of Saint Anna 2nd class, adorned with diamonds.

After the Treaty of Tilsit, Bistrom initially commanded a battalion in the Life Guards Jaeger Regiment and then, as a colonel, took command of the entire regiment. With the onset of the 1812 war, Karl Ivanovich led a brigade that included his regiment, remaining its commander. During the retreat, his brigade fought in the rear guard, and at the Battle of Borodino, it was the first to meet Napoleon's attack.

For his steadfastness in the Battle of Borodino, Karl Bistrom was promoted to major general, and for his feats in driving the French out of Russia, he was awarded the Order of Saint George 3rd class.