Louis Charles Antoine Desaix
Encyclopedia
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
general and military leader. According to the usage of the time, he took the name Louis Charles Antoine Desaix de Veygoux.
Biography
Born to an impoverished noble family of Ayat-sur-SiouleAyat-sur-Sioule
Ayat-sur-Sioule is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-References:*...
, Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme is a department in the centre of France named after the famous dormant volcano, the Puy-de-Dôme.Inhabitants were called Puydedomois until December 2005...
, Desaix received his military education at the school founded by Marshal d'Effiat
Effiat
Effiat is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-References:*...
, and entered the French royal army. During his first six years of service, he devoted himself to duty and to military studies. When the French Revolution
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...
broke out, he threw himself into the cause of liberty. Refusing to "emigrate", he joined the staff of Charles Louis Victor de Broglie, prince de Broglie the Jacobin son of prince de Broglie. This nearly cost Desaix his life, but he escaped the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
, and by his conspicuous service soon came into favour with the Republican government. Like many other members of the old ruling classes who had accepted the new order, the instinct of command, joined to native ability, brought Desaix career success. By 1794 he had attained the rank of general of division.
During the campaign of 1795 he commanded Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan , enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804 and he also fought in the Napoleonic Wars. After 1815, he became reconciled...
's right wing, and during Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...
's invasion of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, the following year, he held an equally important command. Following the retreat which ensued when the archduke Charles won the battles of Amberg and Würzburg
Battle of Würzburg
The Battle of Würzburg was fought on 3 September 1796 between an army of Habsburg Austria led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and an army of the First French Republic led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. The French attacked the archduke's forces, but they were resisted until the arrival of...
Desaix commanded Moreau's rearguard, and later the fortress of Kehl
Kehl
Kehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.-History:...
, with the highest distinction, and his name became a household word, like those of 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...
, Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan , enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804 and he also fought in the Napoleonic Wars. After 1815, he became reconciled...
, Hoche, Marceau
François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers
François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars.-Early life:Desgraviers was born at Chartres, Eure-et-Loir. His father served as a legal officer, and Marceau received an education for a legal career, but at the age of sixteen he enlisted in the regiment of...
and Kléber. Next year his initial successes were interrupted by the Preliminaries of Leoben
Leoben
Leoben is a Styrian city in central Austria, located by the Mur river. With a population of about 25,000 it is a local industrial center and hosts the University of Leoben which specialises in mining...
, and he procured for himself a mission into Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in order to meet General Bonaparte, who spared no pains to captivate the brilliant young general from the almost rival camps of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Provisionally appointed commander of the "Army of England," Desaix was soon transferred by Bonaparte to the expeditionary force intended for Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. It was his division which bore the brunt of the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
attack at the battle of the Pyramids
Battle of the Pyramids
The Battle of the Pyramids, also known as the Battle of Embabeh, was fought on July 21, 1798 between the French army in Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte, and local Mamluk forces. It occurred during France's Egyptian Campaign and was the battle where Napoleon put into use one of his significant...
, and he crowned his reputation by his victories over Murad Bey
Murad Bey
Murad Bey was an Egyptian Mamluk chieftain , cavalry commander and joint ruler of Egypt with Ibrahim Bey. He was of Georgian origin having been born in Tbilisi....
in Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
. Amongst the fellaheen he acquired the significant appellation of the "Just Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
".
When command passed to Kléber, Desaix was one of the small party selected to accompany Bonaparte. However, it was months before he could join the new First Consul. The campaign of 1800 was close to its climax when Desaix at last arrived in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He was immediately assigned to the command of a corps of two infantry divisions. Three days later (14 June), detached, with Boudet
Jean Boudet
Jean Boudet was a French général de division of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The campaigns in which he was involved include the Saint-Domingue expedition...
's division, at Rivalta, he heard the cannon of Marengo on his right. Taking the initiative he marched at once towards the sound, meeting Bonaparte
Bonaparte
The House of Bonaparte is an imperial and royal European dynasty founded by Napoleon I of France in 1804, a French military leader who rose to notability out of the French Revolution and transformed the French Republic into the First French Empire within five years of his coup d'état...
's staff officer, who had come to recall him, half way on the route. He arrived with Boudet
Jean Boudet
Jean Boudet was a French général de division of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The campaigns in which he was involved include the Saint-Domingue expedition...
's division at the moment when the Austrians
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
were victorious all along the line. Exclaiming, "There is yet time to win another battle!" he led his three regiments straight against the enemy's centre. At the moment of victory Desaix was killed by a musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
ball. Louis Charles Antoine Desaix was killed the same day as his good friend and comrade, governor-general of Egypt Jean Baptiste Kléber
Jean Baptiste Kléber
Jean Baptiste Kléber was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. His military career started in Habsburg service, but his plebeian ancestry hindered his opportunities...
, who was assassinated in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
Memory
Napoleon paid tribute to Desaix by erecting monuments to him, one on the Place Dauphine and the other in the Place des Victoires in ParisParis
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...
. The memorial in the Place des Victoires was later destroyed. A monumental tomb with sculptures by Jean Guillaume Moitte
Jean Guillaume Moitte
- Life :Moitte was the sculptor of Pigalle then Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. He won the Prix de Rome for sculpture in 1768 with David carrying the head of Goliath in triumph...
serves as his final resting-place at the Great St Bernard Hospice
Great St Bernard Hospice
The Great St Bernard Hospice is a hospice or hostel for travellers in Switzerland, at 2469m altitude at the Great St Bernard Pass in the Pennine Alps. The frontier with Italy is only a few hundred metres to the south.-History:...
, (his body originally lay in Milan, and it was moved to the Hospice in 1805). Moreover, his name is written on a face of 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...
, with other great military figures of the French Revolution
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...
. There is also a fort, in Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France is the capital of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Exports include sugar, rum, tinned fruit, and cacao.-Geography:...
, 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...
, that is named Fort Desaix
Fort Desaix
Fort Desaix is a Vauban fort and one of four forts that protects Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. The fort was built from 1768 to 1772 and sits on a hill, Morne Garnier, overlooking what was then Fort Royal...
in his honor. A street, Rue Desaix, and a parallel cul-de-sac, Square Desaix, in the fifteenth arrondissement of Paris, between two metro stations, Bir-Hakeim and Dupleix
Dupleix
Dupleix could refer to one of the following:*Joseph François Dupleix, governor general of the French establishment in India in the 18th centuryFour ships of the French Navy have been named Dupleix:...
, also bear his name. Desaix Boulevard is a major street in the Bayou St. John / Fairgrounds district of New Orleans.