Commander of the Vendéan Army of the Centre on the southern front, mortally wounded at Entrammes
Born at Saint-Fulgent in 1726, he served in the Navarre and Armagnac infantry regiments, fought in the American Revolutionary War and retired to his estates in 1780. When the rising broke out in 1793 he reluctantly accepted the local people’s call and became leader of the Army of the Centre guarding the southern front of the Vendée, leaving field command to his second Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie. He attacked Luçon in June and July and was repulsed, and was beaten again at the battle of Luçon on 14 August. On the Virée de Galerne he led the centre with La Rochejaquelein at Entrammes on 26 October, where the Army of the West was routed, but he was mortally wounded and died near Baugé on 5 December. His brother Charles Augustin had been killed leading the rising in March 1793.
General who commanded the French at Valmy, Marshal of the Empire
At Valmy on 20 September 1792 Kellermann joined Dumouriez with the Army of the Centre at Dumouriez's request and placed his artillery on the western slopes. He steadied infantry shaken by an exploding ammunition cart and rallied them with the cry 'Vive la Nation'; the Prussians withdrew.
French soldier born in Strasbourg on 28 May 1735. His family, of Saxon origin, had settled in Strasbourg and was ennobled in his grandfather's generation. He entered the royal army in 1750 (or 1752), fought in the Seven Years' War, and became a brigadier in 1788, making him the only Marshal of the Empire to reach general rank under the old regime. Favourable to the Revolution of 1789, he commanded the Army of the Centre at Valmy on 20 September 1792 and drove back the Prussians, earning the name 'the victor of Valmy'. Arrested in November 1793 on suspicion of disloyalty, he spent 13 months in prison during the Terror and was released and reinstated after Robespierre's fall. Marshal in 1804 and Duke of Valmy in 1808, he voted in the Senate for Napoleon's abdication in 1814 and became a peer under Louis XVIII. He died in Paris in 1820.
Career timeline
1750Entered the French royal army (1750 or 1752)
1788Promoted maréchal de camp (brigadier)
1792Commanded the Army of the Centre at the battle of Valmy
1799Senator
1804Appointed Marshal of the Empire (19 May)
1808Created Duke of Valmy (3 June)
1814Voted for Napoleon's abdication in the Senate; peer of France under the Restoration
Bourbon prince who commanded the émigré Army of Condé
A Bourbon prince du sang who fled Revolutionary France and commanded the émigré Army of Condé against it.
A Bourbon prince of Condé, Louis Joseph left France soon after the Revolution began. He organized and commanded the émigré Army of Condé, which fought Revolutionary France alongside foreign monarchies. He returned to France after Napoleon’s fall.
Career timeline
1736–1740Born a cadet of the House of Bourbon; succeeded as Prince of Condé in 1740 on his father Louis Henri I's death.
1753Married Charlotte de Rohan at Versailles, consolidating his position at court.
1750s–1760sServed as Grand Maître de France under Louis XV and Louis XVI and fought in the Seven Years' War as a general.
1791Based at Coblenz, where he organized and led an émigré counter-revolutionary corps.
1792–1801Commanded the Army of Condé alongside Austria, later in British and Russian service; the corps was disbanded in 1801.
1814–1818Returned to Paris after Napoleon's defeat, resumed his court duties under Louis XVIII, and died in 1818.
French Revolutionary general and statesman who defected to Austria in 1793
He saved the Revolution at Valmy and Jemappes in 1792, but after defeat at Neerwinden on 18 March 1793 he tried to march on Paris and handed the Convention's envoys over to Austria before crossing to the Austrian side. That defection buried the Girondins.
A general and politician of the French Revolutionary Wars. An officer of the royal army in the Seven Years' War, he later commanded the port of Cherbourg. After the Revolution he joined the Jacobin Club, and with Girondin backing he became foreign minister in March 1792, pushed for the declaration of war on Austria and briefly served as war minister. After a conflict with Louis XVI he resigned, then took command of the Army of the North and, with Kellermann, defeated the Prussians at Valmy (20 September 1792) and won at Jemappes (6 November 1792). Beaten at Neerwinden on 18 March 1793, he attempted to march on Paris, dissolve the Convention and restore the 1791 constitution and constitutional monarchy; lacking the army's support he went over to the Austrian side. He died in Britain after years of exile, and his name is inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Career timeline
1739Born at Cambrai; sources disagree, recording 25, 26 or 27 January.
1792Backed by the Girondins, became foreign minister, pushed for the declaration of war on Austria and briefly served as war minister.
1792As commander of the Army of the North, won at Valmy (20 September) and Jemappes (6 November).
1793Defeated at Neerwinden on 18 March and defected to the Austrian side in April.
Commander of the Vendéan Army of the Centre on the southern front, mortally wounded at Entrammes
Born at Saint-Fulgent in 1726, he served in the Navarre and Armagnac infantry regiments, fought in the American Revolutionary War and retired to his estates in 1780. When the rising broke out in 1793 he reluctantly accepted the local people’s call and became leader of the Army of the Centre guarding the southern front of the Vendée, leaving field command to his second Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie. He attacked Luçon in June and July and was repulsed, and was beaten again at the battle of Luçon on 14 August. On the Virée de Galerne he led the centre with La Rochejaquelein at Entrammes on 26 October, where the Army of the West was routed, but he was mortally wounded and died near Baugé on 5 December. His brother Charles Augustin had been killed leading the rising in March 1793.
General who commanded the French at Valmy, Marshal of the Empire
At Valmy on 20 September 1792 Kellermann joined Dumouriez with the Army of the Centre at Dumouriez's request and placed his artillery on the western slopes. He steadied infantry shaken by an exploding ammunition cart and rallied them with the cry 'Vive la Nation'; the Prussians withdrew.
French soldier born in Strasbourg on 28 May 1735. His family, of Saxon origin, had settled in Strasbourg and was ennobled in his grandfather's generation. He entered the royal army in 1750 (or 1752), fought in the Seven Years' War, and became a brigadier in 1788, making him the only Marshal of the Empire to reach general rank under the old regime. Favourable to the Revolution of 1789, he commanded the Army of the Centre at Valmy on 20 September 1792 and drove back the Prussians, earning the name 'the victor of Valmy'. Arrested in November 1793 on suspicion of disloyalty, he spent 13 months in prison during the Terror and was released and reinstated after Robespierre's fall. Marshal in 1804 and Duke of Valmy in 1808, he voted in the Senate for Napoleon's abdication in 1814 and became a peer under Louis XVIII. He died in Paris in 1820.
Career timeline
1750Entered the French royal army (1750 or 1752)
1788Promoted maréchal de camp (brigadier)
1792Commanded the Army of the Centre at the battle of Valmy
1799Senator
1804Appointed Marshal of the Empire (19 May)
1808Created Duke of Valmy (3 June)
1814Voted for Napoleon's abdication in the Senate; peer of France under the Restoration
Bourbon prince who commanded the émigré Army of Condé
A Bourbon prince du sang who fled Revolutionary France and commanded the émigré Army of Condé against it.
A Bourbon prince of Condé, Louis Joseph left France soon after the Revolution began. He organized and commanded the émigré Army of Condé, which fought Revolutionary France alongside foreign monarchies. He returned to France after Napoleon’s fall.
Career timeline
1736–1740Born a cadet of the House of Bourbon; succeeded as Prince of Condé in 1740 on his father Louis Henri I's death.
1753Married Charlotte de Rohan at Versailles, consolidating his position at court.
1750s–1760sServed as Grand Maître de France under Louis XV and Louis XVI and fought in the Seven Years' War as a general.
1791Based at Coblenz, where he organized and led an émigré counter-revolutionary corps.
1792–1801Commanded the Army of Condé alongside Austria, later in British and Russian service; the corps was disbanded in 1801.
1814–1818Returned to Paris after Napoleon's defeat, resumed his court duties under Louis XVIII, and died in 1818.
French Revolutionary general and statesman who defected to Austria in 1793
He saved the Revolution at Valmy and Jemappes in 1792, but after defeat at Neerwinden on 18 March 1793 he tried to march on Paris and handed the Convention's envoys over to Austria before crossing to the Austrian side. That defection buried the Girondins.
A general and politician of the French Revolutionary Wars. An officer of the royal army in the Seven Years' War, he later commanded the port of Cherbourg. After the Revolution he joined the Jacobin Club, and with Girondin backing he became foreign minister in March 1792, pushed for the declaration of war on Austria and briefly served as war minister. After a conflict with Louis XVI he resigned, then took command of the Army of the North and, with Kellermann, defeated the Prussians at Valmy (20 September 1792) and won at Jemappes (6 November 1792). Beaten at Neerwinden on 18 March 1793, he attempted to march on Paris, dissolve the Convention and restore the 1791 constitution and constitutional monarchy; lacking the army's support he went over to the Austrian side. He died in Britain after years of exile, and his name is inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Career timeline
1739Born at Cambrai; sources disagree, recording 25, 26 or 27 January.
1792Backed by the Girondins, became foreign minister, pushed for the declaration of war on Austria and briefly served as war minister.
1792As commander of the Army of the North, won at Valmy (20 September) and Jemappes (6 November).
1793Defeated at Neerwinden on 18 March and defected to the Austrian side in April.
