Jacques François Dugommier
Encyclopedia
Trois-Rivières, Guadeloupe
Trois-Rivières is a commune in the overseas department of Guadeloupe, and the chef-lieu of the Canton of Trois-Rivières. It is on the south coast of the island of Basse-Terre.-External links:* ....
– 17 November 1794, at the Battle of the Black Mountain
Battle of the Black Mountain
The Battle of the Black Mountain was fought from 17 to 20 November 1794 between the army of the First French Republic and the allied armies of the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Portugal...
) was a French general.
He entered service in 1759 in the defense of Guadeloupe against the English and fought in Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. He took the name Dugommier in 1785. He joined the Revolutionaries
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Commander in the Italian Army
In September 1793, Dugommier drove the troops of Habsburg Austria and the Kingdom of SardiniaKingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
from Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
. He defeated Joseph De Vins' Austrians at city of Gilette
Gilette
Gilette is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.-Population:The inhabitants are called Gilettois.-References:*...
. While a Deputy of the French Convention, Dugommier succeeded General Jean François Carteaux
Jean François Carteaux
Jean Baptiste François Carteaux was a French painter who became a General in the French Revolutionary Army...
as commander of the army besieging Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. Recognizing that the attack plan of a young artillery captain named Napoleon Bonaparte was the correct one, Dugommier carried it out. In December 1793, he brought the Siege of Toulon to a successful conclusion.
Campaign in the Pyrenees
In January 1794, Dugommier was named head of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. His assignment was to retake the territory of Rousillon from the Spanish army of Antonio Ricardos Carrillo. He reorganized the army, weakened as it was by the hard combat of the preceding year spent incessantly and fruitlessly storming the Spanish positions. The Spanish became paralyzed by a leadership crisis following the successive deaths of two Commanders-in-Chief to disease, making Dugommier's task easier.On 28 April he was victorious at the battle of the Battle of Tech, followed by a success at the Battle of Albere on 30 April. After the decisive victory at the Battle of Boulou
Battle of Boulou (1794)
The Battle of Boulou, 29 April to 1 May 1794, saw the French Army of the eastern Pyrenees led by Jacques François Dugommier attacking the joint Spanish-Portuguese Army of Catalonia under Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union. The decisive French victory resulted in the French regaining nearly...
(or Montesquieu) on 1 May. After this defeat, Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union
Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union
Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union became a general officer in the army of the Kingdom of Spain. In 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars, he commanded the Spanish Army in a mostly unsuccessful effort to hold back the army of the First French Republic...
withdrew. Port-Vendres
Port-Vendres
Port-Vendres is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.A typical Mediterranean fishing port, situated near the Spanish border on the cote Vermeille in south west France, Port-Vendres is renowned for its numerous fish and sea food restaurants. You can watch the fishing...
was evacuated by La Union (who had under his command 400 French noblemen of the Légion Panetier) in May. Collioure
Collioure
Collioure is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.It lies on the Mediterranean and was a part of the ancient Roussillon province....
fell after a four week siege on the 26 May. He repelled a Spanish assault on 13 August in the Battle of San-Lorenzo de la Muga
Battle of San-Lorenzo de la Muga
The Battle of San Lorenzo de la Muga was fought on 13 August 1794 between an attacking Spanish–Portuguese army led by the Conde de la Unión and a French army commanded by Jacques François Dugommier. The local French defenders headed by Pierre Augereau and Dominique Pérignon repulsed the allies...
. He retook the Fort de Bellegarde on 17 September 1794 (the siege had lasted since 7 May). On 22 September, an audacious attack gave him the redoubt and camp of Costouge, putting the enemy to flight and capturing most of his equipment.
Dugommier fell to Spanish shells on 18 November in the Battle of the Black Mountain
Battle of the Black Mountain
The Battle of the Black Mountain was fought from 17 to 20 November 1794 between the army of the First French Republic and the allied armies of the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Portugal...
, in the course of which the physician Larrey
Dominique Jean Larrey
Dominique Jean Larrey was a French surgeon in Napoleon's army and an important innovator in battlefield medicine.-Biography:...
distinguished himself with 700 amputations in four days of battle. After this battle, Figueras was taken by Dominique Pérignon on 28 November.
Memory
Dugommier is buried in Perpignan, and his name is inscribed in the PanthéonPanthéon, 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...
. Napoleon kept his souvenir, bestowing 100,000 Francs to his son for the memory of the battle of Toulon. He now rests at Perpignan
Perpignan
-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
in a pyramidal monument.