Royalist commander of an émigré division on the Quiberon expedition, shot after surrendering to Hoche
Born in 1770 at Bonnac-la-Côte in the Limousin, the third child of the marquis de Sombreuil, governor of the Invalides, he was a captain in the Esterhazy hussars in 1789, emigrated early in the Revolution and served Prussia and Russia, fighting in Prussian ranks at Longwy and Valmy in 1792. In 1794 he commanded the Salm hussars in British service; that year his father and brother were guillotined. In 1795 he was given the “Sombreuil division”, formed from émigré corps that had fought in Holland, and reached Quiberon in July when the battle was all but lost; after Puisaye withdrew to the ships, command passed to him. He surrendered to Hoche on condition that his men’s lives be spared, but the military commission ignored the promise and he was shot at Vannes on 28 July.
Also known as: Charles Eugène Gabriel de Virot de Sombreuil
Activities and affiliations
- 1794–1795 Military command
- 1788–1789 Military command · French monarchy state institutions
- 1790–1793 Military command · Germany state institutions
Career Timeline
- 1789Captain in the Esterhazy hussars
- 1790–1793Emigrated; served in the Prussian army at Longwy and Valmy
- 1794Commanded the Salm hussars in British service
- 1795Commander of the Sombreuil division at Quiberon; shot after surrendering