Frédéric Henri Walther
Encyclopedia
Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther (20 June 1761 – 24 November 1813), was an Alsatian
-born general of division and a supporter of Napoleon Bonaparte
. He fought for France in the Revolutionary
and Napoleonic
wars.
He enlisted in 1781 and, in his 30-year career, he saw action at the major French defeats and victories in Europe. He fought in André Masséna
's Army of Switzerland, where he participated in the Winterthur
and First
and Second
Battles of Zürich, the campaigns of 1806 against Prussia, and Napoleon's invasion of Russia. After the Russian and Saxon campaign, while suffering from exhaustion, he contracted typhus
and died in Kusel
, in the Saarland
. He was buried at the Panthéon
, and his name is listed on the Arc de Triomphe
in Paris.
, and Marie Elisabeth Chatel of Montbéliard
. He was born in Obenheim
, in the Alsace region of the Bas-Rhin
. His cousins, Frederik Cuvier and George Cuvier, were naturalists and zoologists. He married 20-year-old Salome-Louise Coulman on 12 April 1802. They had two daughters, born 1803 and 1807; in 1810, a third child was still-born.
Initially he enlisted as a simple soldier in the Berchény Hussars. This unit was included in the 1791 reorganization, and became the 1st Regiment of Hussars. On 10 May 1792, he received a commission as a lieutenant.
and the campaign on the Piave River
in northern Italy. During these campaigns, he proved equally adept at leading heavy or light cavalry, although some military analysts consider he was a better heavy cavalry leader. In 1793, he was promoted to general of brigade.
In the War of the Second Coalition
, he participated in the French defeats at Ostrach
and Stockach
in March 1799, and served under the newly-promoted Michel Ney
on the forward line of defense of the Swiss city of Zürich
. At the Battle of Winterthur
, he directed the rear guard action covering Ney's retreat through Winterthur, holding a key bridge cross of the Tōss River for 90 minutes against a larger Austrian force under command of Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze
.
A few days later, he was present for the defeat at the First Battle of Zürich
when André Masséna
withdrew the entire French force across the Limmat
river. In September 1799, he was present at the Second Battle of Zürich
when Masséna's Army of Helvetia
and Army of the Danube
crushed Alexander Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian force; he actively harried the fleeing Russians. He later fought at the Battle of Messkirch
in 1800.
, in which cavalry played an essential part. He participated in French victories at Hohenlinden and later at Austerlitz
, where he commanded the 2nd Dragoon Division in Marshal Joachim Murat
's Cavalry Reserve. His division was a key to Soult's successful attack on the Russian center. He suffered wounds at both these battles and after the latter, he received le Grand Aigle de la Légion d'honneur
(Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honor), and appointed Chamberlain
to the Emperor. Subsequently, he was decorated as a Commander of the Order of the Iron Crown
, and appointed as Colonel
of the Grenadiers à Cheval
(mounted grenadiers), of the Imperial Guard, in 1806, a position he held until his death 1813.
At the Battle of Eylau
in February 1807, he led his dragoons in Murat's famous 10,000-man cavalry charged depicted by Jean Antoine Siméon Fort, the 19th century history painter
. At the Battle of Wagram
(July 1809) Walther commanded four squadrons of Grenadiers à Cheval of Jean-Baptiste Bessières
' s Imperial Guard Cavalry. As the battle was turning to the Austrians' favour, Bessières launched a massive cavalry charge with the combined elements of the Cavalry Reserve Corps and the cavalry of the Imperial Guard. After a first, precipitated charge, Bessières was wounded and incapacitated, and the whole cavalry attack was suspended. Napoleon then launched a major infantry attack with Jacques MacDonald's infantry and considerable cavalry support, including the Guard cavalry under Walther. After the battle, MacDonald accused Walther of failure to mobilize his cavalrymen quickly enough and not charging when the time was right. Walther accompanied Napoleon to Russia as a commander of the light cavalry of the Imperial Guard, part of which rotated duties as Napoleon's honor guard.
During the Saxon campaign of 1813, Walther continued command of the Guard Cavalry, and was present at the Battle of Lützen
and Battle of Dresden
, as commander of the Guard cavalry. At the Battle of Teplitz (17 September 1813), he commanded the Imperial Guard Cavalry including the dragoons, Grenadiers à Cheval, and 1st (Polish) and 2nd (Dutch) Lancers. At the Battle of Leipzig
, he commanded the 3rd Division of the cavalry of the Imperial Guard: The total cavalry of the Guard included 7,903 men and 18 guns. After refitting and resupply at Erfurt
, where Napoleon had stashed a large depot of arms and ammunition, the French army continued to withdraw through western Germany, toward the Rhine.
The Battle of Hanau
, 30–31 October 1813, was Walther's last major action. He commanded the 3rd Division of the Young Guard, including the four squadrons of mounted grenadiers, the Dragoons, the Chasseurs à Cheval, and the mounted Polish Lancers; he also had charge of Napoleon's honor guard of five squadrons, and two field artillery battalions. By this time, Walther was suffering from exhaustion. He collapsed and died in the night of 24 November 1813, in Kusel. Sources differ on whether he died of exhaustion or typhus
, or a combination of both. His body was transported first to the cathedral in Metz
and from there to Paris, escorted by a detachment of the Imperial Guard. He was buried in the Pantheon. His name appears on the Arc de Triomphe
in Paris
.
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
-born general of division and a supporter of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
. He fought for France in the Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
wars.
He enlisted in 1781 and, in his 30-year career, he saw action at the major French defeats and victories in Europe. He fought in André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
's Army of Switzerland, where he participated in the Winterthur
Battle of Winterthur (1799)
The Battle of Winterthur was an important action between elements of the Army of the Danube and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The small town of Winterthur lies northeast of...
and First
First Battle of Zürich
The Helvetic Republic in 1798 became a battlefield of the French Revolutionary Wars. In the First Battle of Zurich on 4 – 7 June 1799, French general André Masséna was forced to yield the city to the Austrians under Archduke Charles and retreated beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his...
and Second
Second Battle of Zürich
The Second Battle of Zurich was a French victory over an Austrian and Russian force near Zurich. It broke the stalemate that had resulted from the First Battle of Zurich three months earlier and led to the withdrawal of Russia from the Second Coalition.After he had been forced out of the city in...
Battles of Zürich, the campaigns of 1806 against Prussia, and Napoleon's invasion of Russia. After the Russian and Saxon campaign, while suffering from exhaustion, he contracted typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
and died in Kusel
Kusel
Kusel is a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the district of Kusel. It is situated approx. 30 km north-west of Kaiserslautern....
, in the Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
. He was buried at the Panthéon
Panthéon, Paris
The Panthéon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens...
, and his name is listed on the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
in Paris.
Family
Walther was the son of Georges Henri Walther, a Lutheran pastorPastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
, and Marie Elisabeth Chatel of Montbéliard
Montbéliard
Montbéliard is a city in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department.-History:...
. He was born in Obenheim
Obenheim
Obenheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, in the Alsace region of the Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
. His cousins, Frederik Cuvier and George Cuvier, were naturalists and zoologists. He married 20-year-old Salome-Louise Coulman on 12 April 1802. They had two daughters, born 1803 and 1807; in 1810, a third child was still-born.
Initially he enlisted as a simple soldier in the Berchény Hussars. This unit was included in the 1791 reorganization, and became the 1st Regiment of Hussars. On 10 May 1792, he received a commission as a lieutenant.
Military career
During the War of the First Coalition, he was active at the battle of NeerwindenBattle of Neerwinden (1793)
The Battle of Neerwinden took place on near the village of Neerwinden in present-day Belgium between the Austrians under Prince Josias of Coburg and the French under General Dumouriez...
and the campaign on the Piave River
Piave River
Piave is a river in north Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice....
in northern Italy. During these campaigns, he proved equally adept at leading heavy or light cavalry, although some military analysts consider he was a better heavy cavalry leader. In 1793, he was promoted to general of brigade.
In the War of the Second Coalition
War of the Second Coalition
The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...
, he participated in the French defeats at Ostrach
Battle of Ostrach
The Battle of Ostrach, also called the Battle by Ostrach, occurred on 20–21 March 1799. It was the first battle of the War of the Second Coalition. The battle resulted in the victory of the Austrian forces, under the command of Archduke Charles, over the French forces, commanded by Jean...
and Stockach
Battle of Stockach (1799)
On 25 March 1799, French and Austrian armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau region in present day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen...
in March 1799, and served under the newly-promoted Michel Ney
Michel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
on the forward line of defense of the Swiss city of Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. At the Battle of Winterthur
Battle of Winterthur (1799)
The Battle of Winterthur was an important action between elements of the Army of the Danube and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The small town of Winterthur lies northeast of...
, he directed the rear guard action covering Ney's retreat through Winterthur, holding a key bridge cross of the Tōss River for 90 minutes against a larger Austrian force under command of Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze
Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze
Friedrich Hotze, also known as Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze , a Swiss-born field marshal in the Austrian army during the French Revolutionary Wars, campaigned in the Rhineland during the War of the First Coalition and in Switzerland in the War of the Second Coalition, notably at Battle of...
.
A few days later, he was present for the defeat at the First Battle of Zürich
First Battle of Zürich
The Helvetic Republic in 1798 became a battlefield of the French Revolutionary Wars. In the First Battle of Zurich on 4 – 7 June 1799, French general André Masséna was forced to yield the city to the Austrians under Archduke Charles and retreated beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his...
when André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
withdrew the entire French force across the Limmat
Limmat
The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. It is the continuation of the Linth river, known as Limmat from the point of effluence from Lake Zurich, in the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare...
river. In September 1799, he was present at the Second Battle of Zürich
Second Battle of Zürich
The Second Battle of Zurich was a French victory over an Austrian and Russian force near Zurich. It broke the stalemate that had resulted from the First Battle of Zurich three months earlier and led to the withdrawal of Russia from the Second Coalition.After he had been forced out of the city in...
when Masséna's Army of Helvetia
Army of Helvetia
The Army of Helvetia, or , was a unit of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 8 March 1798 from the remnants of the first unit to be known as the armée du Rhin...
and Army of the Danube
Army of the Danube
The Army of the Danube was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army of Observation, which had been observing Austrian movements on the border between First...
crushed Alexander Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian force; he actively harried the fleeing Russians. He later fought at the Battle of Messkirch
Battle of Messkirch
The Battle of Meßkirch was fought on 4 and 5 May 1800 and resulted the victory of French army against the Austrians.-Overview:On 25 April 1800 the French Armée d'Allemagne, under Jean Victor Marie Moreau, crossed the Rhine River at Kehl and Schaffhausen. The 1st Demi-Brigade, of the Corps led by...
in 1800.
Napoleonic Wars
During the War of the Third Coalition, he participated in the Ulm CampaignUlm Campaign
The Ulm Campaign consisted of a series of French and Bavarian military maneuvers and battles to outflank and capture an Austrian army in 1805 during the War of the Third Coalition. It took place in the vicinity of and inside the Swabian city of Ulm...
, in which cavalry played an essential part. He participated in French victories at Hohenlinden and later at Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
, where he commanded the 2nd Dragoon Division in Marshal Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
's Cavalry Reserve. His division was a key to Soult's successful attack on the Russian center. He suffered wounds at both these battles and after the latter, he received le Grand Aigle de la Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
(Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honor), and appointed Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
to the Emperor. Subsequently, he was decorated as a Commander of the Order of the Iron Crown
Order of the Iron Crown
The Imperial Order of the Iron Crown was established June 5, 1805 by Napoleon Bonaparte . It took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombardy, a medieval jewel with an iron ring, forged from what was supposed to be a nail from the True Cross as a band on the inside. This crown also gave its...
, and appointed as Colonel
Proprietor (Inhaber)
A Proprietor, or Inhaber, was a term used in the Habsburg military to denote special honors extended to a noble or aristocrat. The Habsburg army was organized on principles developed for the feudal armies in which regiments were raised by a wealthy noble, called the Inhaber who also acted as...
of the Grenadiers à Cheval
Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale
The Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale constituted a heavy cavalry regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate and First French Empire respectively...
(mounted grenadiers), of the Imperial Guard, in 1806, a position he held until his death 1813.
At the Battle of Eylau
Battle of Eylau
The Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody and inconclusive battle between Napoléon's Grande Armée and a Russian Empire army under Levin August, Count von Bennigsen near the town of Preußisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians...
in February 1807, he led his dragoons in Murat's famous 10,000-man cavalry charged depicted by Jean Antoine Siméon Fort, the 19th century history painter
History painting
History painting is a genre in painting defined by subject matter rather than an artistic style, depicting a moment in a narrative story, rather than a static subject such as a portrait...
. At the Battle of Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
(July 1809) Walther commanded four squadrons of Grenadiers à Cheval of Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières, 1st Duc d' Istria was a Marshal of France of the Napoleonic Era. His younger brother, Bertrand, followed in his footsteps and eventually became a Divisional General...
During the Saxon campaign of 1813, Walther continued command of the Guard Cavalry, and was present at the Battle of Lützen
Battle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
and Battle of Dresden
Battle of Dresden
The Battle of Dresden was fought on 26–27 August 1813 around Dresden, Germany, resulting in a French victory under Napoleon I against forces of the Sixth Coalition of Austrians, Russians and Prussians under Field Marshal Schwartzenberg. However, Napoleon's victory was not as complete as it could...
, as commander of the Guard cavalry. At the Battle of Teplitz (17 September 1813), he commanded the Imperial Guard Cavalry including the dragoons, Grenadiers à Cheval, and 1st (Polish) and 2nd (Dutch) Lancers. At the Battle of Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
, he commanded the 3rd Division of the cavalry of the Imperial Guard: The total cavalry of the Guard included 7,903 men and 18 guns. After refitting and resupply at Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
, where Napoleon had stashed a large depot of arms and ammunition, the French army continued to withdraw through western Germany, toward the Rhine.
The Battle of Hanau
Battle of Hanau
The Battle of Hanau was fought on between Karl Philipp von Wrede’s Austro-Bavarian corps and Napoleon's retreating French during the War of the Sixth Coalition....
, 30–31 October 1813, was Walther's last major action. He commanded the 3rd Division of the Young Guard, including the four squadrons of mounted grenadiers, the Dragoons, the Chasseurs à Cheval, and the mounted Polish Lancers; he also had charge of Napoleon's honor guard of five squadrons, and two field artillery battalions. By this time, Walther was suffering from exhaustion. He collapsed and died in the night of 24 November 1813, in Kusel. Sources differ on whether he died of exhaustion or typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
, or a combination of both. His body was transported first to the cathedral in Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
and from there to Paris, escorted by a detachment of the Imperial Guard. He was buried in the Pantheon. His name appears on the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.