Jacques Nicolas Bellavène

Jacques Nicolas Bellavène (born October 20, 1770 in Verdun , † February 8, 1826 in Milly-la-Forêt ) was a French Général de division .

Life

On March 24, 1791, Belavène joined the army as a cadet and was promoted to Sous-lieutenant a year later . As such, he acted as an orderly officer in the staff of the Rhine Army . With effect from May 19, 1793 he was called to the Aide-de-camp .

Bellavène took part in the siege of Mainz (April 14 to July 23, 1793); u. a. he and his troops were instrumental in the capture of 600 "redcoats". When he tried to help General Jean-Chrysostôme Bruneteau de Sainte-Suzanne in the Battle of Rastatt (July 5, 1796) , he was shot from his horse and lost a leg from this injury.

After the Treaty of Lunéville (February 9, 1801), Napoleon commissioned him to reorganize the École speciale militaire de Saint-Cyr and to lead it.

During the Restoration , Bellavène was deposed from his post (August 2, 1814) and more or less dismissed on January 1, 1815 with half pay. When Napoleon left the island of Elba and the rule of the Hundred Days began, Bellavène was reassigned his previous offices. In gratitude, he donated 4,000 francs to equip the National Guard .

When Napoleon was forced to abdicate after the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815) (June 22, 1815), Bellavène voluntarily gave up all offices and posts and settled in his hometown on September 27 of the same year. He died on February 8, 1826 at the age of 55 and was also buried there.

Honors

• 1802 Chevalier of the Legion of Honor
• 1804 Commander of the Legion of Honor
• 1808 Baron de l'émpire
• 1814 Ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis
• His name can be found on the eastern pillar (17th column) of the triumphal arch on Place Charles-de-Gaulle (Paris).

literature

• Karl Bleibtreu : Marshals, Generals, soldiers, Napoleons I. VRZ Verlag, Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-931482-63-4 (reprint of the Berlin 1899 edition).
• David Chandler: The campaigns of Napoleon . Weidenfeld, London 1993, ISBN 0-297-81367-6 (reprint of the London 1966 edition).
• Kevin F. Kiley: Once there were titans. Napoleon's generals and their battles, 1800-1815 . Greenhill, 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.).
• Georges Six: Dictionnaire biographique des généraux & amiraux français de la révolution et de l'émpire. 1792-1814 . Saffroy, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-901541-06-2 (reprint of the Paris 1934 edition).
• Digby Smith : The Napoleonic Wars data book . Greenhill, London 1998, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 .