Biographies : 5
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BiographyDAVOUT, Louis Nicolas (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823)
Arguably the finest corps commander among Napoleon’s marshals, Davout was born in Burgundy to a minor noble family, and followed his father to the royal cavalry in 1788. Though a supporter of the French Revolution, he was dismissed from the regular army in 1791, but immediatelty elected colonel in command of a volunteer battalion. He […]
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BiographyDECAEN, Charles-Mathieu-Isidore
Fact file Born Caen, 13 April, 1769, died of cholera, La Barre (near Montmorency, Seine-et-Oise), 9 September, 1832 Cannonier de 2e classe in the Corps de Cannoniers, Brest, 27 July, 1787 Sergeant-major in the 4e Bataillon du Calvados, 14 September, 1792 Served in the Armée du Nord and then the Armée du Rhin, 1793, notably […]
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BiographyDU PIN, Charles Louis Désiré
Although a marginal figure, particularly amongst other officers of the period, Colonel Du Pin’s importance and reknown was to prove considerable, far exceeding that of many generals who refused to associate with him. Most famously, he was a key but controversial figure in the French intervention in Mexico. Born in Lasgraisses (Tarn) on 28 December, […]
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BiographyDU TAILLIS, Adrien-Jean-Baptiste-Amable Ramond du Bosc (1760-1851), general, Comte
Born into a noble family and a pupil from the engineers' school, Du Taillis joined the Volontaires Nassau-Siegen corps in 1779. On 1st September, 1789, he was capitaine-adjudant-major in the 3rd Battalion of the 6th division of the Garde nationale de Paris. On 3rd August, 1791, he was incorporated into the 14th light infantry battalion […]
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BiographyDUROC, Géraud-Christophe-Michel, général (1772-1813), GRAND MARÉCHAL DU PALAIS
Duroc (Géraud-Christophe-Michel, Duc de Frioul), General from 1772-1813. Duroc embarked on a military career as a cadet at the beginning of 1789. He was driven out of the army and then emigrated in 1792, however he soon returned to France and reassumed his military career. After having been promoted to Lieutenant of Artillery in 1793 […]