Jean-Pierre Gauthier

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Jean-Pierre Gauthier , called Leclerc (born February 23, 1765 in Septmoncel , † June 14, 1821 in Marnes-la-Coquette ), was a French général de brigade in the coalition wars .

He was the cousin of Jean-Joseph Gauthier and therefore called himself “Leclerc” or “Gauthier-Leclerc” for better differentiation.

military service

On April 15, 1783 Gauthier joined the 18th e régiment de dragons . On January 1, 1788 he was promoted to Brigadier and on July 8, 1791 to Maréchal des logis . On January 1, 1793, he was promoted to Maréchal des logis-chef and on April 1 of the same year to Sous-lieutenant . In the years 1793 and 1794 (an II & an III) he served in the Western Pyrenees Army and became a lieutenant on March 21, 1794 (1 er germinal an II) and a "1 er floréal an II" (April 20, 1794 ) promoted to Capitaine . In 1795 (at IV) he fought under Hoche against the rebels in the Vendée and in 1796 (at V) and 1797 (at VI) with the Armée d'Italie .

In May 1798 (floréal on VI) the Capitaine Gauthier embarked with the Orient Army for the Egyptian expedition . His services during the company earned him the rank of Chef d'escadron on August 8, 1799 (22 fructidor at VII) . When the British landed on March 8, 1801 (17 ventôse an IX), he was able to distinguish himself again and on May 8, 1801 (19 floréal an IX) he received a saber of honor with an accompanying letter from the Commandant en chef (Supreme Commander) Menou :

“Saber d'honneur accordé au citoyen Leclerc, chef d'escadron au 18 e régiment de dragons. - Le général en chef voulant donner un témoignage de la satisfaction du gouvernement au citoyen Leclerc, chef d'escadron au 18 e régiment de dragons, pour la conduite distinguée qu'il a tenue à l'Armée d'Orient, accorde au citoyen Leclerc un sabre d'honneur. Il jouira, à dater de ce jour, des doubles appointments attachés aux cent sabres, conformément à l'ordre du jour du 14 pluviôse to VII. "

“Saber of honor, given to Citizen Leclerc, chief d'escadron of the 18th Dragoon Regiment. - The Commander-in-Chief gives Citizen Leclerc, Chief d'escadron in the 18th Dragoon Regiment, a saber of honor as evidence of the government's satisfaction with his unusual behavior in the Army of the Orient. From that day on he will receive double payment, worth a hundred sabers, according to the order of February 2, 1799. "

After the surrender of Alexandria , the last fortress the French had held, Gauthier-Leclerc was forced to return to France. In 1803/1804 he was with the troops on the Atlantic coast.

On June 14, 1804 (25 prairial at XII) he was appointed officer of the Legion of Honor .

He then served in the Grande Armée during the campaigns in Austria and Prussia and was able to distinguish himself, among other things, by his fearlessness in the battle of Austerlitz , in which he was wounded.

On June 19, 1806 he was promoted to major in the 9 e régiment de dragons . On March 31, 1809 he was given command of the 11th e régiment provisoire de dragons as Colonel en second . This troop was set up in Orléans , Gauthier-Leclerc moved with the regiment in the Spanish War of Independence . On March 13, 1810, he took command of the 9 e régiment provisoire de dragons , which was dissolved on May 29, 1810.

On October 15, 1809, Gauthier-Leclerc was appointed Baron d'Empire (Baron of the Empire) by decree (with a patent letter of March 25, 1810).

After serving at the headquarters, he was given command of the 25th e régiment de dragons on August 23, 1811 .

In 1812 he left Spain and returned to France. Here on January 12, 1813, the post of Major des 2 e régiment des lanciers de la Garde impériale was transferred to him.

He served in the campaign in Germany and was promoted to Général de brigade on December 26, 1813 for his services. On February 11, 1814, he was assigned to the Cavalry Division of Général Saint-Germain and on March 28 of the same year of the 6th Cavalry Division in the Corps of Maréchal Mortier .

During the first restoration he stayed in Avignon . After the return of Napoleon Bonaparte from the island of Elba and the rule of the Hundred Days , he took command of a brigade of the Armée du Nord and completed the summer campaign of 1815 .

The general returned home after the Battle of Waterloo and was retired on October 6, 1815.

He died on June 14, 1821 in Marnes-la-Coquette in the country house of Monsieur Johannot, but at that time he was living with his wife Armande Jeanne Cécile Liotté in Paris, Rue Saint-Honoré 349.

His name can be found in the 39th column on the plaques of honor in the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile .

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Extrait de registre de l'Église paroissiale de Septmoncel. Birth certificate in the dossier au Baron Gauthier dit Leclerc on Base Léonore (database of the Legion of Honor )
  2. ↑ "an II" is a term from the French revolutionary calendar
  3. ↑ Major was introduced to the Napoleonic Army in place of the rank of colonel lieutenant, but did not survive the empire.
  4. ↑ Since the regimental commanders in the guard generally had the rank of general (here it was Général de division Pierre David de Colbert-Chabanais ), this was not a downgrade.

literature

  • La Sabretache. Carnet de La Sabretache. In: Revue Militaire Rétrospective. Volume 3. Berger-Levrault, Paris 1895.
  • Georges Six: Dictionnaire Biographique des généraux & amiraux français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). Georges Saffroy, Paris 2003 ( digitized first edition 1934 on Gallica ).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gauthier, Jean-Pierre
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gauthier-Leclerc
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French général de brigade
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1765
PLACE OF BIRTH Septmoncel
DATE OF DEATH June 14, 1821
Place of death Marnes-la-Coquette , France