Benignus Espiard by Colonge

Family coat of arms

Benignus Espiard von Colonge (born November 22, 1754 in Oberehnheim , Alsace , † February 5, 1837 in Munich ) was a noble Bavarian lieutenant general and councilor of French origin.

Life

He was the son of the noble French general Jean-Alexandre Espiard de Colonge (1713-1788) and his second wife Eugénie du Gail and served up to the rank of major in the French army. In 1791 he emigrated as a result of the revolution, together with his half-brother Franz Alexander Espiard von Colonge (1748-1814) and both joined the emigre corps under Prince von Condé . Here Benignus Espiard von Colonge took part in all campaigns against the Republic of France and joined the Bavarian Army in 1801, when the emigre troops were dissolved , to which the brother had been a member since 1800.

As an experienced artilleryman, he took over the management of the newly founded artillery school. In this capacity and from 1809 as a specialist in the Ministry of War, he made great contributions to the Bavarian artillery system. In the Fourth Coalition War 1806/07 he was artillery commander of the Deroy division and received the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order . In 1813, during the war against France, Benignus Espiard von Colonge was appointed chief of the Bavarian artillery troops in place of his half-brother, who was in Russian captivity, and was promoted to major general on September 4th of that year . After the battle of Hanau, he moved across the Rhine on the left wing of the allied armies and initially led the siege work in front of the Alsatian fortresses. He later followed the main army and fought in 1814 in the battles of Brienne , Bar-sur-Aube and the Arcis sur Aube .

Memorial plaque in the Church of the Assumption of Mary (Oberkammlach)

When the war ended with the Peace of Paris in 1815 , Benignus Espiard von Colonge became Director General in the War Ministry in 1817 and Councilor of State in 1822. In 1825 the bachelor, characterized as “kindhearted” , with the rank of lieutenant general, retired into private life. He belonged u. a. the Munich Society of Frohsinns , a citizens' association that organized cultural events. The officer died in Munich in 1837, his obituary stated: “He earned as much respect for himself through the knowledge and humanity of his behavior as the love of his subordinates.” In his will, he set up a foundation with a capital of 6000 guilders, the proceeds of which were donated to families in need of Bavarian NCOs and soldiers should flow.

To commemorate the deployment of the French Emigrant Corps Condé on August 13, 1796, at the Battle of Oberkammlach , Benignus Espiard von Colonge and several comrades donated an annual Holy Mass and a memorial plaque in the Church of the Assumption there in 1836 . The baron is immortalized on the board as a co-founder and Bavarian lieutenant general.

In the book Conversations of Napoleon the First, it is recorded how Emperor Napoleon asked Sebastien Joseph de Comeau de Charry, the representative of the Bavarian Elector, about the two brothers, Espiard von Colonge, whom he knew. The latter reported to him that they were in command of the Bavarian artillery, to which the Kaiser replied that he guaranteed that they would be “well served” .

Honors

In addition to the Military Max Joseph Order already mentioned, Baron Espiard von Colonge wore the Knight's Cross of the French Order of Louis and the 3rd class of the Russian Order of Vladimir . He was commander of the Austrian Leopold Order and since 1813 a knight, from 1817 commander of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown .

literature

• Carl von Landmann:  Colonge, Fr. Alexander Espiard Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, p. 423 f. There also chapter on Benignus Espiard by Colonge
• Joachim Heinrich Jäck: The most important moments in life of all royal. Bavarian civil and military servants of this century , Volume 4, Augsburg, 1819, p. 52 (digital scan)
• Address book of the royal capital and residence city of Munich , page 49; (Detail scan)

Web links

• French website on the Espiard family (parents under no. 77)
• Genealogical website for parents and siblings
• Website about franz. Emigrants from family surroundings; Benignus Espiard von Colonge in the penultimate section

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rudolf von Xylander: History of the 1st Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment , Volume 1, 1905, Mittler Verlag, Berlin, p. 437, (detail scan)
2. ↑ data page of the German National Library, on the father
3. ↑ Website about the emigre troops of the Prince of Condé ( Memento of the original from June 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ Churfürstlich-Pfalzbaierischer Hof- und Staatskalender for the year 1802 , p. 70; (Digital scan)
5. ^ List of all gentlemen members of the Gesellschaft des Frohsinns in Munich , Munich 1829, page 4; (Digital scan)
6. ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung von und für Bayern , No. 39, Nuremberg, February 8, 1837, (Digitalscan)
7. ^ Bavarian War Ministry: Military Manual of the Kingdom of Bavaria , Munich, 1870, p. 203 and 204; (Digital scan)
8. ^ Friedrich Max Kircheisen : Conversations of Napoleon the First , p. 228 u. 229, BoD - Books on Demand, 2012, ISBN 3-8460-1721-3 ; (Digital scan)