Claude Corbineau

Bust in the Battle Gallery of Versailles Palace

Claude Louis Constant Esprit Juvénal Gabriel Corbineau (born March 7, 1772 in Laval , † February 8, 1807 with Preussisch Eylau ) was a French général de brigade of the cavalry .

Life

Corbineau was the eldest son of the officer Jean-Charles Corbineau, the generals Jean-Baptiste (1776-1848) and Hercule Corbineau (1780-1823) were his brothers. Already at the beginning of their military career, the three brothers were named "Les trois Horaces" after the mythical triplets from the Roman family of the Horatians and this name stayed with them throughout their lives.

At the age of 16, Corbineau joined the army in 1788 and was soon able to prove his skills in the Revolutionary Wars . This was followed by several promotions and in January 1792 he came to the staff of General Louis-Auguste Juvénal des Ursins d'Harville as an aide-de-camp .

Under the leadership of General Charles-François Dumouriez , he fought in the Battle of Wattignies (October 15/16, 1793) and was wounded several times.

After his return to active service, Corbineau led his own command in the Sambre and Maas Army . In the staff of General Lazare Hoche he took on further administrative tasks. In 1796, under the leadership of Hoches, he also took part in Napoleon's Irish expedition . The Society of United Irishmen under Theobald Wolfe Tone should be supported in their struggle for independence against the English, but this campaign failed completely.

Under General Jean-Victor Moreau , Corbineau fought in the Battle of Hohenlinden (December 3, 1800) and returned home after the Treaty of Lunéville (February 9, 1801).

After further promotions, Corbineau was accepted into the staff of Napoleon and fought in the Battle of Prussian Eylau (February 7th / 8th, 1807). He fell at the end of the fighting and found his final resting place on the edge of the battlefield.

Honors

• December 1803 Knight of the Legion of Honor
• June 1805 Officer of the Legion of Honor
• December 1805 Commander of the Legion of Honor
• His name can be found on the eastern pillar (16th column) of the triumphal arch on Place Charles-de-Gaulle ( Paris ).
• The sculptor Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire created a bust of Corbineau for the gallery of battles (prince's wing) in the Palace of Versailles .
• The rue Corbineau in the 18th arrondissement of Paris was named after him.
• The Rue Corbineau in Marchiennes was named after him and his two brothers.

literature

• Charles Mullié: Biography of the célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850 . Poignavant, Paris 1851 (2 vols.).
• Alain Pigeard: Dictionnaire des batailles de Napoléon. 1796-1815 . Tallandier, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-84734-073-4 .
• Jean Tulard (Ed.): Dictionnaire Napoléon . Fayard, Paris 1995, ISBN 2-213-02286-0 .