Charles Antoine Morand

Charles Antoine Morand

Charles Antoine Louis Alexis Morand (born June 4, 1771 in Pontarlier , † September 2, 1835 in Paris ) was a French general during the Revolutionary Wars .

Life

Morand came from a family of manly parliamentarians: his father Alexis François Morand (1746–1829) was a lawyer and citizen of Besançon , his mother was Jeanne Claudine Marie nee. Roussel (1745-1809). He was born in Pontarlier in 1771 and, according to other sources, in Largillat - Montbenoît . The young Morand studied law in Besançon and graduated in 1791.

Early military career

Conquered by the ideas of the French Revolution , he joined the 7th Battalion of the Doubs Volunteers in 1792 and was elected captain on August 9th. He became first lieutenant on September 5, 1792 and served in the Rhine Army. Under Vandamme he fought in numerous battles, including the Battle of Hondschoote (September 8, 1793) and the Battle of Wattignies (October 16, 1793). 1794–1796 he moved to the Sambre and Maas Army, where he took part as battalion commander of the 88th Half-Brigade in the operations under Jean-Baptiste Jourdan and Moreau against Archduke Charles . Under the command of Bernadotte and in the 10th Division, he fought in the Battle of the Ourthe (September 18, 1794), the Battle of Aldenhoven (October 2, 1794), and the conquest of Kreuznach (December 1, 1795) , on the heights of Königstein (July 26, 1796), in the battle of Deining (August 22, 1796) and near Neumarkt .

Egypt expedition

In January 1797 Morand joined the Italian army, took part in the capture of Rome under Berthier (February 11, 1798) before these troops were designated as core troops for the Egypt expedition . On May 27, 1798, he accompanied the Desaix division embarking in Civitavecchia . After the occupation of Malta , he landed in Egypt on July 2nd. After the occupation of Alexandria, the advance of Desaix's division took place in Cairo, where he was appointed colonel on July 21, 1798 (rank on September 7, 1799). Morand took part in the Battle of the Pyramids (July 21, 1798). On the battlefield, General Bonaparte appointed him provisional chief of the 88th Half Brigade, which he led at Sediman (October 7, 1798). Morand followed General Desaix in the advance to Aswan , which was reached on February 1, 1799. Morand was appointed governor of Girgeh Province (north of Luxor ). For six months he administered the land while he pursued the Mamelukes . He gained recognition for the battles at Girgeh (April 6, 1799), El Ganaim and especially at Samanhoud (August 12, 1799). During the last stand he surprised the Smalah and their guide, Murad Bey, who escaped half-naked. For this act, Morand was recalled to Cairo and appointed adjutant general to Kléber . Morand was promoted to Général de brigade on September 6, 1800 and was given command of the defense of Damiette . After the battle at Rhamanié, he commanded in Giza , while Belliard began negotiations with the English to evacuate French troops from Cairo. Morand left Egypt on August 9, 1801 and landed in Marseille on September 14 .

return

After his return he fought in the Netherlands in 1801 as part of the Sambre and Moselle Army under General Jourdan and was seriously injured in the thigh near Sprimont . After leaving the hospital, he replaced Friant, who was promoted to division commander. In France he was appointed military commander of Morbihan and on August 30, 1803 received instructions to strengthen Soult's troop camp at Saint-Omer , from which the Grande Armée was to emerge. In the 1805 campaign on the Danube, Morand led the vanguard of the IV Corps. When General Saint-Hilaire was sidelined during the Battle of Austerlitz (December 2, 1805), Morand led a successful attack out of the thick fog against the heights of Pratzen. After the victory, Morand was appointed Général de division and Governor of Vienna on December 24, 1805 . On February 14, 1806 he took command of the first division of the legendary III. Corps under Marshal Davout . He participated on October 14, 1806 at the battle of Auerstedt , where the III. Corps with a Prussian army twice as strong. Morand's troops occupied Czarnowo and Golymin (December 1806) and was wounded in the arm at the Battle of Eylau (February 8, 1807). In Tilsit the III. Corps under Davout the opportunity to maneuver in the presence of the Tsar and the King of Prussia in the parade. On July 7, 1807, Morand was appointed Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor .

Marriage bond with Emilie Parys

In December 1807 the III. Corps in Warsaw in garrison, there Morand met his future wife on December 23rd during a ball. He described her in the following words: "She is sixteen and blond, with a Venetian complexion, has green or dark blue eyes, long black eyelashes, a nose with almost swinging wings, a sensual, well-curved mouth. She is tall, well-built and has one full neck ". Morand was blinded and asked to be introduced to her: her name was Emilie Lucile Parys and she was the daughter of Count Parys, colonel in the service of the King of Saxony. At the following dance he congratulated her on her good French. She replied with a smile that she had grown up with the nuns in Krakow and that she had been introduced to Molière and La Fontaine there. She agreed to Morand's proposal a few days later. The civil wedding in Warsaw followed on January 10, 1808, with Generals Davout and Savary acting as witnesses, and the religious wedding in the Church of the Holy Cross on January 14, where Prince Joseph Poniatowski was present. Emperor Napoleon contributed jewels and 30,000 francs in gold coins to the marriage covenant. In Warsaw, Morand learned that Napoleon had also appointed him Imperial Count (patent dated June 22, 1808), as well as foundations in Westphalia, Hanover and Swedish Pomerania.

Fifth coalition war

The campaign of 1809 led Morand back to the Danube against Austria. Morand's troops fought under Marshal Davoust near Abensberg , Landshut , Eggmühl , Regensburg and in the Battle of Wagram (July 6, 1809). At the end of 1809 he received permission from his superior Davout for a short stay in France, where he visited his beloved wife in the purchased hermitage of Noisy-le-Grand. During this time, Morand introduced his wife to the Empress Josephine in the Tuileries.

In 1810 disciplinary difficulties followed with Marshal Davout. Its abrupt, proverbial harshness against soldiers and officers also hit Morand. For reports that Morand sent directly to Secretary of War Clarke, Davout demanded an explanation of his evasion and threatened demotion. On November 18, 1810, Morand asked Clarke to mediate his case with the emperor and requested "to be released from the command of Prince Eckmühl", his retirement or his early resignation. Eventually the relationship improved again, and Morand learned that Napoleon was very satisfied with his administration in Hamburg . Finally he was invited to dinner by Davout on February 9, 1811, the compensation was followed by a promise of a three-month vacation. In April 1811, during his vacation in Grosbois , the Emperor remarked in a personal conversation: "She is beautiful, your Polish woman!" Nevertheless, the Morands had to go back to Hamburg; they live in a house on Knismark-Platz, where the countess gave birth to her eldest son. The son, born on September 12, 1811, was named Napoleon and became the emperor's godson.

Russian campaign and end of war

Under Marshal Davout, Morand also took part in the Russian campaign in 1812 . Not until the evening of June 23 did his troops cross the Nyemen , his division forming the second squadron of the 1st Corps. After the Battle of Smolensk , his division was subordinated to the IV Corps of the Viceroy of Italy and the Battle of Borodino (September 7th) was set up to assault the "Great Redoubt". Morand was seriously injured in the jaw and had to organize his troops in part through gestures. Finally, the Great Redoubt was captured by reinforcements from Gérard's division . After retreating from Moscow, his division crossed the Berezina fighting (November 27-28, 1812). On December 29, 1812, the remnants of his troops reached Thorn .

In the spring of 1813 he was at the head of the 12th Division of the IV Corps under General Bertrand . He received the Grand Cross 2nd Class (April 3, 1813) and took part in the Battle of Lützen and Bautzen (May 1813). He prevented Ney's complete defeat at Dennewitz and covered the retreat after the Battle of Hanau (October 30–31, 1813 reported). On January 12, 1814, he was appointed Governor General of Mainz until May 4 , during which time the epidemic, later called Typhus de Mayence , was already raging in the city due to the many wounded . The siege of Mainz (1814) ended this episode.

After the return of Louis XVIII. Morand retired to his estate in Noisy-le-Grand and was made Knight of the Order of Saint Louis on July 31, 1814. He sold his property in Noisy and then settled in a rented house in Fontainebleau . On March 20, 1815, he received the returned Napoleon. On March 23rd, he went to Paris, secured the Tuileries and trained the 12th, 13th, 21st and 22nd military divisions, initially to maintain order in the city. By acting quickly, he managed to avoid a new civil war in the western half of the country. On his return to Paris, where he arrived on April 17th, he learned that he had been appointed General of the Imperial Guard . On June 15, he and his troops crossed the Franco-Belgian border. On June 18, under General Antoine Drouot , he led the Chasseur Division of the Old Guard at the Battle of Waterloo and, on the orders of Napoleon, together with the Pelet Brigade, resumed the attacks on Plancenoit . After the attack failed, Morand formed the Old Guard into squares and ordered General Cambronne to make final attacks with heavy losses. As commander of the guard troops (August 2nd), Morand tried to continue the retreat behind the Loire , despite his release on September 30th .

Exile, return and the last phase of life

Morand had to go into exile in Poland with his wife and children. While passing through, he was warmly received in Vienna by Emperor Franz I because of the measures he had taken in 1805 as Governor of Vienna. In Warsaw he politely refused Tsar Alexander I's offer to serve in the Russian army. Just a few kilometers from Krakow, he bought a small estate in Kawęczyn , where he lived as a country gentleman. In his free time he occupied himself with literature; he had been able to take his library with him from France. In the autumn of 1816 he learned from foreign newspapers that he had been sentenced to death in absentia on August 29 in La Rochelle by the Council of War, chaired by General Gabriel Rey, for high treason. He was also awarded the Legion of Honor and the Royal Military Order of St. Louis revoked.

In 1819 he received from the ambassadors Decaze and Count Pozzo di Borgo on behalf of Louis XVIII. permission to return to France. He came to Strasbourg voluntarily and unexpectedly , and appeared on June 5, 1819, before the Council of War of the 5th Military Division. There he read a exonerating letter from Davout, which stated that the proclamations of 1815 that he was accused of had been drafted by the War Ministry at the time and had to be signed by him. In these circumstances, Morand was found not guilty and the previous judgment of the La Rochelle War Council was annulled.

Morand initially retired on January 1, 1825 and retired to Montbenoît, where he began work on the construction of “Morandval”. The building, completed in 1826, became an elegant mansion with a small round tower and surrounded by a planted park. The establishment, however, remained simple and, like his lifestyle, modest. From Paris he wrote to his wife on October 3, 1830: "... I just want the greatest simplicity, no boasting, no sense of vanity and consequently no livery ...", he always haired on an honest, decent and honorable life and Behavior. Morand lived in Montbenoît until 1830, in between there were political stays in Paris and Besançon. He was elected General Council of the Doubs. In the July Monarchy he still carried out public activities: he controlled the 6th Military Division in Besançon, received the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor on October 18, 1830 and was appointed Peer of the Empire in October 1832. In between he published his work: De l'Armée with the experiences of the last war, where he described his ideas about the organization of the army. Morand died on September 2, 1835 in his Paris villa.

family

His marriage to Emilie Lucile Parys on January 14, 1808 (June 22, 1792 in Warsaw - November 11, 1868 in Paris) had the following children:

• Louise (1809-1862)
• Napoléon (1811-1852)
• Emilie (1812–?)
• Louis Charles Alphonse (1813–1905), married to Emilie Geoffroy de Villeblanche († 1869)
• Emile (1817-1828)
• Amédée (1819–1855)
• Euphroisine (1821-1828)
• Jeanne Estelle (1824-1837)
• Louis Charles Auguste (1826–1870), Général de brigade, married on November 20, 1854 to Marie Louise Saulet (1831–1888)
• Paul Louis Marie (1828–1897), married to Eugénie Cauthion (1835–1879) in 1857

literature

• Georges Six: Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux & Amiraux Français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). Librairie G. Saffroy, Paris 1934
• John H. Gill: Thunder on the Danube - NapoleonÍs Defeat of the Habsburg , Vol I, Volume 1, p. 107

Web links

• www.frenchempire
• www.souvenir-davout.
• www.appl-lachaise