François Joseph Kirgener
François Joseph Kirgener (born October 8, 1766 in Paris ; † May 22, 1813 Markersdorf ) was a French Général de division .
Life
Until the revolution , Kirgener earned his living as a math teacher. Unemployed and a supporter of Napoleon , he joined the Revolutionary Army in 1793 with the rank of Sous-lieutenant . As an engineer, he was the first to serve in the Armée du Nord.
After proving himself in several battles, Kirgener was given command of an engineer corps in Marshal Jean Lannes ' army in 1805 . His successes in the Battle of Austerlitz on December 2nd of the same year led to promotion to the Général de brigade on December 25th .
On September 30, 1809 he married Louise de Guéhéneuc (1782-1856) and thus became the brother-in-law of Jean Lannes' († 1809) widow and of General Charles-Louis Guéhéneuc .
In the battle of Reichenbach and Markersdorf on May 21, 1813, Kirgener was on horseback with Napoleon Bonaparte and the generals Armand de Caulaincourt and Géraud Christophe Michel Duroc . They were shot at, Kirgener was hit by a falling tree and died on the battlefield. General Duroc succumbed to his injuries a day later. Napoleon ordered a memorial stone to be erected for the two generals on the battlefield.
Honors
- Commander of the Legion of Honor
- Baron de l'Empire
- His name can be found on the eastern pillar (15th column) of the triumphal arch on Place Charles-de-Gaulle (Paris).
literature
- Nathan Jensen: General François Joseph Kirgener .
- Kevin F. Kiley: Once There Were Titans. Napoleon's Generals and Their Battles, 1800-1815 . Greenhill Press, London 2007, ISBN 978-1-85367-710-6 .
- Charles Mullié: Biography of the célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850 . Poignavant, Paris 1852 (2 vols.).
- Danielle Quintin, Bernard Quintin: Dictionnaire des chefs de brigade, colonels et capitaines de vaisseau de Bonaparte, premier consul (Kronos; vol. 64). SPM, Paris 29012, ISBN 978-2-901952-91-6 .
- Georges Six: Dictionnaire biographique des généraux & amiraux français de la revolution et de l'empire. 1792-1814 . Saffroy, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-901541-06-2 (reprint of the Paris 1934 edition)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kirgener, François Joseph |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French division general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 8, 1766 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 22, 1813 |