Pierre Barrois

Pierre Barrois

Pierre Barrois (born October 30, 1774 in Ligny-en-Barrois , Département Meuse , † October 19, 1860 in Villiers-sur-Orge , Département Essonne ) was a French Général de division .

Life

Barrois was a son of Jacques Barrois and his wife Marguerite Gérard.

Enthusiastic about the ideas of the revolution , Barrois joined the army on August 12, 1793. He soon distinguished himself and four weeks later he was promoted to lieutenant . As such he fought u. a. at the Battle of Wattignies (October 15-16, 1793).

He took part in the siege of Mainz (April / July 1793) and fought under General Lazare Hoche a . a. at Fleurus (June 26, 1794) and at La Roër .

After Napoleon's coup d'état (November 9, 1799), Barrois became an unconditional supporter of Napoleon. He fought u. a. in the Battle of Marengo (June 14, 1800) and under the command of General Hoches , he helped put down the Vendée uprising.

On June 16, 1803, Barrois married Adélaïde Jeanne Lévéque de Vilmorin in Paris and had two daughters with her: Adélaïde Blanche and Ermance Victoire.

After a brief interlude with the Armée d'Italie , Barrois joined General Michel Ney's staff . Shortly after the Battle of Austerlitz (December 2, 1805) he was promoted to Général de brigade .

After the Peace of Tilsit (July 7/9, 1807), Barrois was commanded to Spain and Portugal . He fought u. a. near Espinosa (November 10/11, 1808), Somosierra (November 30, 1808), Medellín (March 28, 1809), Talavera (July 27/28, 1809) and Barrosa (March 5, 1811). In addition to an official commendation by Napoleon, Barrois was promoted to Général de division on June 27, 1811.

He was commanded back to France and tasked with reorganizing some units. Two years later, Barrois took part in the battles near Bautzen (March 20/21, 1813), Reichenbach (May 22, 1813), Dresden (August 26/27, 1813) and Leipzig (October 16/19, 1813) .

During the summer campaign of 1815 , Barrois was a member of Marshal Nicolas-Joseph Maison's staff and fought a. a. at Quatre-Bras (June 16, 1815) and Waterloo (June 18, 1815).

Shortly before his 86th birthday, General Pierre Barrois died on October 19, 1860 in Ligny-sur-Orge, where he found his final resting place.

Honors

• 1800 Knight of the Legion of Honor
• 1805 Officer of the Legion of Honor
• July 11, 1807 Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor
• March 19, 1808 baron de l'Émpire
• November 28, 1813 comte de l'Émpire
• September 1, 1819 Ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis
• April 30, 1836 Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor
• His name can be found on the western pillar (37th column) of the triumphal arch on Place Charles de Gaulle (Paris)
• The sculptor Jean Magrou (1869–1945) created a monument for General Barrois; unveiled on November 15, 1903 in his native Ligny-en-Barrois.

literature

• Eugène André: Le général de division, comte Barrois . Édition Comte-Jacquet, Bar-le-Duc 1901.
• David G. Chandler : The campaigns of Napoleon . Weidenfeld, London 1993, ISBN 0-297-81367-6 (reprint from London 1966)
• Charles Mullié: Biography of the célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850, vol. 1 . Poignavant, Paris 1851.
• Georges Six: Dictionnaire biographique des généraux et 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)

Web links

• Pierre Barrois, général comte (1774–1860) (French)
• Pierre Barrois at ardetriomphe.info