Jacques-Philippe Bonnaud

Northern pillar of the triumphal arch, columns 5 & 6

Jacques-Philippe Bonnaud (also Bonneau; born September 11, 1757 in Bras , † March 30, 1797 in Bonn ) was a French Général de division of the Revolutionary Army. He served during the first coalition wars against Austria and Prussia .

biography

Bonnaud initially enjoyed training as a surgeon . In 1776 he joined the Dauphiné Legion and served as a dragoon . In the following years he went through the NCO career . On February 1, 1792 he was adjutant , at that time the highest rank of non-commissioned officer in the French army.

With the beginning of the revolution , his career also accelerated. On March 10, 1792 he was promoted to Sous-lieutenant and on July 17 to Caspitaine . He distinguished himself in the campaigns with the Armée du Nord of 1792 and '93 and was promoted to Général de brigade on January 28, 1794 . A few weeks later, on April 30, the National Convention decided to promote him to Général de division .

He served in the First Coalition War , initially in the Austrian Netherlands . Here he took part in the battles of Willems (May 10, 1794), Courtrai (May 11, 1794), Tourcoing (May 17/18, 1794) and Tournay (May 22, 1794). In June 1795 he was sent to Cherbourg to support General Hoche in the suppression of the Vendée uprising from September onwards .

In February 1796 he was transferred to the Sambre and Maas Army and fought under the leadership of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Altenkirchen (June 4, 1796) and Wetzlar (June 15/16, 1796). At the beginning of July he crossed the Rhine again accompanied by Jourdan and fought at Wolfring (August 20, 1796), Amberg (August 24, 1796) and finally at the Battle of Würzburg (September 1 to 3, 1796). After the Battle of Limburg (September 16, 1796), during the retreat near Gießen , a battle broke out in which he was hit in the thigh by a bullet. As a result of this injury, he died on March 30, 1797 in Bonn, where he found his final resting place.

Honors

• His name can be found on the north pillar (6th column) of the triumphal arch on Place Charles-de-Gaulle ( Paris ).
• The Place du Général Bonnaud in Bras (Var) was named after him.

literature

• Philip J. Haythornthwaite: Who was who in the Napoleonic Wars . Arms & Armor, London 1998, ISBN 1-85409-391-6 .
• Molhuysen, Blok, Kossmann: Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek , Vol. 8 . 1930, pp. 170-171.
• Charles Mullié: Biography of the célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850 . Poignavant, Paris 1851 (2 vols.).

Web links

• John Rickard: Jacques-Philippe Bonnaud (1757-1797) . In: Military History Encyclopedia on the web of February 23, 2009.