How and why did Duke William form his forces ?
The patrimony of Gotha - Altenburg was divided between the other three lines stemming from Ernest the Pious and Elisabeth Sophie , causing changes in nomenclature : onwards , they were Saxe - Meiningen - Hildburghausen , Saxe - Altenburg ( the former Hildburghausen line ) and Saxe - Coburg and Gotha - the youngest line ( originally Saalfeld line ) receiving the " maternal " seat of Gotha which had been the seat of Ernest the Pious , progenitor of all these seven lines .