Jean-Louis Romeuf

Jean-Louis Romeuf

Jean-Louis Romeuf (* 27. September 1766 in Lavoûte-Chilhac , Haute-Loire , † August 28 ^{. Jul} / 9. September  1812 ^greg. At Borodino , Russian Empire ) was a French brigadier general .

Live and act

Romeuf was enthusiastic about the ideas of the revolution from an early age and came to Paris with his younger brother Jacques-Alexandre in 1789 . There he made the acquaintance of Marquis de La Fayette and became his aide-de-camp . After the Marquis had restructured the Guard National , he offered him a job there. La Fayette's first commission made Romeuf known throughout the country overnight: King Louis XVI. had been arrested with his family in Varennes-en-Argonne ( Département Meuse ) and Romeuf had to be with a command of the National Guardescort them back to Paris (→ escape to Varennes ).

The political situation in France became increasingly unstable and a reign of terror loomed . After the Tuileries storm (August 10, 1792) the Jacobins accused the Marquis de La Fayette and thus Romeuf of treason ; Romeuf escaped arrest by the Directory by fleeing to Flanders. There he was captured by Austrian troops and taken to the fortress of Olomouc as a prisoner of war . Only five years later, when the first coalition war (1792–1797) was ended by the preliminary peace of Leoben (April 18, 1797), Romeuf was released again.

When Napoleon planned his invasion of Egypt in 1798 , he also brought Romeuf to his staff. He stayed on the island after the surrender of Malta (June 11, 1798) and was entrusted with administrative tasks there.

After returning to France, Romeuf was appointed as aide-de-camp to General Matthieu Dumas in 1800 . After a few promotions, Romeuf moved to General Louis-Nicolas Davout as a staff officer in 1809 . The following year Napoleon sent him to Emperor Franz II in Vienna . In secret negotiations, the French who served in the Austrian army should be able to return to France. Romeuf was back in 1811 and was promoted to général de brigade that same year .

When Napoleon was planning his invasion of Russia , Romeuf returned to the staff of Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout. He took u. a. participated in the fighting at Klyastitsy (July 28/29, 1812) and Smolensk (August 17/18, 1812). In the Battle of Borodino (September 7, 1812) Romeuf was seriously wounded and died two days later.

Honors

Coat of arms of J.-L. Romeuf

• July 7, 1807 Commander of the Legion of Honor
• 1808 Military Order of St. Heinrich , awarded by King Friedrich August I.
• May 3, 1810 baron de d'Émpire
• His name can be found on the eastern pillar (20th column) of the Triumphal Arch on Place Charles-de-Gaulle (Paris)

literature

• David G. 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, vol. 2 . Poignavant, Paris 1851.
• Georges Six: Dictionnaire biographique des généraux et amiraux français de la Révolution et de l'Épire. 1792-1814 . Saffroy, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-901541-06-2 (reprint of the Paris 1934 edition)

Web links

• Jean-Louis Romeuf at arcdetriomphe.info