Marc Antoine de Beaumont
Encyclopedia
Marc Antoine Bonnin de la Bonninière de Beaumont, born 23 September 1763 – died 4 February 1830, a French nobleman, became a page to the king and joined the army of the Old Regime. He stayed in the army during the French Revolution
and narrowly escaped being executed. During the French Revolutionary Wars
he fought in the 1796 Italian campaign under Napoleon Bonaparte, leading the cavalry at Lodi
and Castiglione
. In 1799 he was wounded in Italy but fought there again in late 1800.
After Napoleon became emperor, Beaumont led the 3rd Dragoon
Division in two major campaigns during the Napoleonic Wars
. He led his cavalrymen against Habsburg Austria and Russia
in several actions during the War of the Third Coalition in 1805. In the War of the Fourth Coalition
, he was present at Jena and fought at Prenzlau
and Eylau
. In 1809, he commanded a reserve formation. His brother-in-law was Marshal
Louis-Nicolas Davout. Beaumont is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
.
, Beaumont became a page
in the household of King Louis XVI of France
on 31 December 1777. After attaining the position of first page, he was nominated captain in the Lorraine Dragoon
Regiment on 2 June 1784. He received the brevet
rank of lieutenant colonel
on 22 July 1792 and colonel
on 7 August. While his regiment was posted at Lyon
during the Reign of Terror
, he came under suspicion, was arrested, and condemned to die. His dragoons turned out fully armed and promised to use violence if the sentence was carried out. In the face of this threat, the authorities had a change of heart and Beaumont was posted to the Army of Italy
instead. While in Italy, he served under André Masséna
and Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer
. He became a general of brigade on 25 March 1795.
On 26 March 1796, a youthful commander named Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Nice
to assume command of the Army of Italy. At that time, Beaumont was a brigadier in the 3,090-man 1st Cavalry Division under the overall command of Henri Christian Michel de Stengel
. The division included the 1st Hussar
Regiment, the 10th, 22nd, and 25th Chasseurs à Cheval, and the 5th and 20th Dragoon Regiments. In April, Beaumont fought in the Montenotte Campaign
, in which Stengel was mortally wounded at the Battle of Mondovì
.
On 2 May, while leading part of the cavalry, Beaumont sent out patrols to find where the Austrian forces were located. At the Battle of Lodi
on 10 May, Bonaparte directed him to take his cavalry to ford the Adda River
and flank the Austrians out of position. A ford was located 800 meters upstream but it was hard to move significant numbers of horsemen across because the river banks were a tangle of trees. At 6:00 PM Bonaparte ordered a frontal attack, which was a success. Though the horsemen were not directly involved, the knowledge that enemy cavalry were crossing the river helped to unnerve the Austrian defenders.
An eyewitness described an incident during the pursuit of the Austrians. As the French cavalry advance guard approached Crema
in a cloud of dust, the observer made out the leading horseman yelling at the Austrian stragglers whom he encountered on the road. It was Beaumont. The general dismounted his men, who were on their best behavior, and requested refreshment for his unit. At the time much of the army was on a plundering rampage, looting everything in sight.
At the Battle of Castiglione
on 5 August 1796, a powerful redoubt crowned a small hill on the Austrian left flank near the village of Medole
. To take the Monte Medolano position, Bonaparte assigned Beaumont's cavalry, Auguste Marmont
's 15 to 18 artillery pieces, and the 4th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade under Jean-Antoine Verdier
. After an hour and a half of combat, the position fell to the 4th Line and Beaumont's cavalry supports. Though the French tried to cut off the retreat of Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
's army, it was able to escape across the Mincio
River.
In the War of the Second Coalition
, Beaumont served in Italy again. On 5 April 1799, he was shot through the right shoulder at the Battle of Magnano
. He recovered from his wound in time to fight at the Battle of the Mincio on 25 December 1800. He received promotion to general of division sometime in 1802 or 1803. On 11 December 1803 he became a member of the Légion d'Honneur
.
, he led his 2,400 troopers into action at the Battle of Wertingen
on 8 October 1805. The French cavalry, including Beaumont's division, Louis Klein
's 1st Dragoon Division, Anne-François-Charles Trelliard
's Light Cavalry Brigade, and Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty
's 1st Cuirassier Division, marched from Rain early that morning. Moving south along the Lech River
to Nordendorf
, they turned west and appeared before Franz Xavier Auffenburg's 5,400 Austrians at Wertingen
.
Klein's division marched south and west to flank the Austrians, while Beaumont and Trelliard attacked in front. Major Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
led an attack by 200 dismounted dragoons which cleared the Austrians out of an outlying village. The French found the nine enemy battalions drawn up behind Wertingen in one large square. The formation was attacked with the help of Nicolas Oudinot
's infantry division and driven back in increasing confusion. Finally, the Austrians fled, leaving 2,000 prisoners in French hands.
After the Austrians surrendered at the Battle of Ulm
, Napoleon's army pursued a rear guard led by Maximilian, Count of Merveldt
to the east. Murat's cavalry attacked between 4,000 and 6,000 Austrians near Ried im Innkreis
on 30 October. A portion of the rear guard was driven into a defile. Murat sent in chasseurs à cheval and dismounted dragoons to crush this force, capturing 500 to 600 prisoners. The next day, 4,000 troops from Merveldt's rear guard under Emmanuel von Schustekh-Herve made a stand at Lambach
on the Traun
River. Three battalions of the Ignaz Gyulai
Infantry Regiment, two squadrons of the Kaiser Dragoons # 1, and eight squadrons of the Kaiser Hussars # 1 were supported by four Russian jager battalions and a squadron of hussars. Murat ordered Beaumont's 3rd Dragoon Division and Baptiste Pierre Bisson
's 1st Division of Davout's III Corps to attack. The Allies were driven back, with the Russians suffering 100 killed and less than 50 wounded. French losses were "slight" though Bisson was wounded. Beaumont fought at the Battle of Austerlitz
, leading the 5th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 21st Dragoon Regiments. He was named a Grand Officer of the Légion d'Honneur on 10 February 1806.
Beaumont led the 3rd Dragoon Division at the Battle of Jena on 14 October 1806 in the War of the Fourth Coalition
. His division was one of the three present with Marshal Joachim Murat
at the Capitulation of Erfurt
. The 3rd Division included the 5th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 19th, and 21st Dragoon Regiments. He was active in the pursuit of Prince Hohenlohe's
Prussian corps. He was present in the action of Zehdenick
on 26 October. Beaumont played a prominent role at the Battle of Prenzlau
on 28 October. After the Prussian rear guard under Prince Augustus of Prussia
became separated from the marching column, Beaumont charged it repeatedly, driving it northward. He finally pinned the rear guard against the Uecker
River, forcing it to surrender. Hohenlohe capitulated with his main body soon afterward. He was present at the Battle of Czarnowo
on 23 December 1806.
Emperor Napoleon named Beaumont a Senator
on 14 August 1807 and a Count of the Empire in March 1808. That year he was also awarded the Order of the Iron Crown
, the Military Order of Max Joseph
of Bavaria
, and the Order of Fidelity of Baden
.
In 1809 Beaumont commanded the Reserve Division under Marshal François Christophe de Kellermann
. Based at Frankfurt-on-the-Main, the all-arms unit consisted of 826 men from elite companies of line and light infantry regiments, 1,251 Württemberg infantry, 527 Bavarian infantry, a 160-man foot artillery company with eight guns, and the following provisional dragoon regiments, 1st - 697 sabers, 2nd - 669 sabers, 3rd - 515 sabers, 4th - 771 sabers, and 5th - 792 sabers. This force did not fight at the Battle of Wagram
.
In 1814, the Senate officially passed laws deposing Napoleon. King Louis XVIII of France
bestowed the Order of Saint Louis
on Beaumont in June 1814. He was not employed during the Hundred Days
. After the Bourbon Restoration
he commanded a division in the Army of Paris.
. The surname was shared with another French officer, Louis Chrétien Carrière Beaumont (1771–1813), who temporarily led a brigade under Beaumont at Prenzlau.
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...
and narrowly escaped being executed. During the French Revolutionary Wars
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...
he fought in the 1796 Italian campaign under Napoleon Bonaparte, leading the cavalry at Lodi
Battle of Lodi
The Battle of Lodi was fought on May 10, 1796 between French forces under General Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian rear guard led by Karl Philipp Sebottendorf at Lodi, Lombardy...
and Castiglione
Battle of Castiglione
The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of Habsburg Austria led by Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated and driven back along a line of hills to the river crossing at...
. In 1799 he was wounded in Italy but fought there again in late 1800.
After Napoleon became emperor, Beaumont led the 3rd Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
Division in two major campaigns during the Napoleonic Wars
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...
. He led his cavalrymen against Habsburg Austria and Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in several actions during the War of the Third Coalition in 1805. In the War of the Fourth Coalition
War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom....
, he was present at Jena and fought at Prenzlau
Battle of Prenzlau
In the Battle of Prenzlau or Capitulation of Prenzlau on 28 October 1806 two divisions of French cavalry and some infantry led by Marshal Joachim Murat intercepted a retreating Prussian corps led by Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen. In this action from the War of the Fourth...
and 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 1809, he commanded a reserve formation. His brother-in-law was Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Louis-Nicolas Davout. Beaumont is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
The following is the list of the names of the 660 persons inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. Most of them are generals who served during the First French Empire with additional figures from the French Revolution ....
.
Early career
Born into a noble family from the province of TouraineTouraine
The Touraine is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, the Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher and Indre.-Geography:...
, Beaumont became a page
Page of Honour
While a page is a comparatively low-ranking servant, a Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page...
in the household of King Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
on 31 December 1777. After attaining the position of first page, he was nominated captain in the Lorraine Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
Regiment on 2 June 1784. He received the brevet
Brevet
Brevet may refer to:* Brevet , a temporary authorization for a person to hold a higher rank* Brevet , a long-distance bicycle ride with check-point controls* Aircrew brevet, a Royal Air Force and British Army badge...
rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
on 22 July 1792 and colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
on 7 August. While his regiment was posted at Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
during the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
, he came under suspicion, was arrested, and condemned to die. His dragoons turned out fully armed and promised to use violence if the sentence was carried out. In the face of this threat, the authorities had a change of heart and Beaumont was posted to the Army of Italy
Army of Italy (France)
The Army of Italy was a Field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. Though it existed in some form in the 16th century through to the present, it is best known for its role during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic...
instead. While in Italy, he served under 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....
and Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer
Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer
Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer , born in Delle, near Belfort, became a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and on three occasions led armies in combat.-Early career:...
. He became a general of brigade on 25 March 1795.
On 26 March 1796, a youthful commander named Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in 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...
to assume command of the Army of Italy. At that time, Beaumont was a brigadier in the 3,090-man 1st Cavalry Division under the overall command of Henri Christian Michel de Stengel
Henri Christian Michel de Stengel
Henri Christian Michel de Stengel joined the French royal army, rapidly rose to general officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars, and was mortally wounded in Italian campaign while serving in General Napoleon Bonaparte's army.-Early career:Born in Neustadt an der Weinstraße in the...
. The division included the 1st Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
Regiment, the 10th, 22nd, and 25th Chasseurs à Cheval, and the 5th and 20th Dragoon Regiments. In April, Beaumont fought in the Montenotte Campaign
Montenotte Campaign
The Montenotte Campaign began on 10 April 1796 with an action at Voltri and ended with the Armistice of Cherasco on 28 April. In his first army command, Napoleon Bonaparte's French army separated the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont under Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi from the allied...
, in which Stengel was mortally wounded at the Battle of Mondovì
Battle of Mondovi
The Battle of Mondovì was fought on 21 April 1796 between the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte and the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont led by Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi. The French victory meant that they had put the Ligurian Alps behind them, while the plains of Piedmont lay...
.
On 2 May, while leading part of the cavalry, Beaumont sent out patrols to find where the Austrian forces were located. At the Battle of Lodi
Battle of Lodi
The Battle of Lodi was fought on May 10, 1796 between French forces under General Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian rear guard led by Karl Philipp Sebottendorf at Lodi, Lombardy...
on 10 May, Bonaparte directed him to take his cavalry to ford the Adda River
Adda (river)
The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...
and flank the Austrians out of position. A ford was located 800 meters upstream but it was hard to move significant numbers of horsemen across because the river banks were a tangle of trees. At 6:00 PM Bonaparte ordered a frontal attack, which was a success. Though the horsemen were not directly involved, the knowledge that enemy cavalry were crossing the river helped to unnerve the Austrian defenders.
An eyewitness described an incident during the pursuit of the Austrians. As the French cavalry advance guard approached Crema
Crema
-Other uses:* Crema , a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso* Crema Mexicana, or Mexican fresh cream, akin to crème fraîche...
in a cloud of dust, the observer made out the leading horseman yelling at the Austrian stragglers whom he encountered on the road. It was Beaumont. The general dismounted his men, who were on their best behavior, and requested refreshment for his unit. At the time much of the army was on a plundering rampage, looting everything in sight.
At the Battle of Castiglione
Battle of Castiglione
The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of Habsburg Austria led by Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated and driven back along a line of hills to the river crossing at...
on 5 August 1796, a powerful redoubt crowned a small hill on the Austrian left flank near the village of Medole
Medole
Medole is a comune in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 110 km east of Milan and about 30 km northwest of Mantua...
. To take the Monte Medolano position, Bonaparte assigned Beaumont's cavalry, Auguste Marmont
Auguste Marmont
Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, 1st Duke of Ragusa was a French General, nobleman and Marshal of France.-Biography:...
's 15 to 18 artillery pieces, and the 4th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade under Jean-Antoine Verdier
Jean-Antoine Verdier
Jean-Antoine Verdier was a French General during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.Born in Toulouse, he enlisted into the Régiment de la Fère on 18 February 1785...
. After an hour and a half of combat, the position fell to the 4th Line and Beaumont's cavalry supports. Though the French tried to cut off the retreat of Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigismund, Count Wurmser was an Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mounted several successful campaigns in the Rhineland in the initial years of the French Revolutionary Wars, he...
's army, it was able to escape across the Mincio
Mincio
Mincio is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.Called the Sarca River before entering Lake Garda, it flows from there about 65 km past Mantua into the Po River....
River.
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...
, Beaumont served in Italy again. On 5 April 1799, he was shot through the right shoulder at the Battle of Magnano
Battle of Magnano
In the Battle of Magnano on 5 April 1799, an Austrian army commanded by Pál Kray defeated a French army led by Barthélemy Schérer. In subsequent battles, the Austrians and their Russian allies drove the French out of nearly all of Italy...
. He recovered from his wound in time to fight at the Battle of the Mincio on 25 December 1800. He received promotion to general of division sometime in 1802 or 1803. On 11 December 1803 he became a member of the 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...
.
Napoleonic Wars
In the War of the Third Coalition, Beaumont led the 3rd Dragoon Division, which included 18 squadrons in the 5th, 8th, 9th, 12th, and 16th Dragoon Regiments, and a horse artillery battery. His brigadiers were Charles Joseph Boyé and Nicolas-Joseph Scalfort. Under the overall leadership of Marshal Joachim MuratJoachim 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...
, he led his 2,400 troopers into action at the Battle of Wertingen
Battle of Wertingen
In the Battle of Wertingen on October 8, 1805, French forces led by Marshals Joachim Murat and Jean Lannes mauled a small Austrian corps commanded by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Franz Auffenberg. This was the opening battle of the Ulm Campaign.-Background:...
on 8 October 1805. The French cavalry, including Beaumont's division, Louis Klein
Louis Klein
Louis Klein served in the French military during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars as a general of cavalry....
's 1st Dragoon Division, Anne-François-Charles Trelliard
Anne-François-Charles Trelliard
Anne-François-Charles Trelliard or Treillard or Treilhard, born 7 February 1764 – died 14 May 1832, joined the cavalry of the French Royal Army as a cadet gentleman in 1780. During the French Revolutionary Wars he fought in Germany and Holland, eventually rising in rank to become a general...
's Light Cavalry Brigade, and Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty
Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty
Count Étienne-Marie-Antoine-Champion de Nansouty was a French cavalry commander during the French Revolutionary Wars who rose to the rank of General of Division in 1803 and subsequently held important military commands during the Napoleonic Wars. Of noble Burgundian descent, he was a student at...
's 1st Cuirassier Division, marched from Rain early that morning. Moving south along the Lech River
Lech River
The Lech is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube in length with a drainage basin of .Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in the Alps at an altitude of...
to Nordendorf
Nordendorf
Nordendorf is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria in Germany....
, they turned west and appeared before Franz Xavier Auffenburg's 5,400 Austrians at Wertingen
Wertingen
Wertingen is a municipality in the district of Dillingen in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 13 km east of Dillingen, and 28 km northwest of Augsburg.The German band Killerpilze comes from Wertingen....
.
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans, 1st Comte Exelmans was a distinguished French soldier of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as a political figure of the following period.-Early career:...
led an attack by 200 dismounted dragoons which cleared the Austrians out of an outlying village. The French found the nine enemy battalions drawn up behind Wertingen in one large square. The formation was attacked with the help of Nicolas Oudinot
Nicolas Oudinot
Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 1st Comte Oudinot, 1st Duc de Reggio , was a Marshal of France.-Early life:...
's infantry division and driven back in increasing confusion. Finally, the Austrians fled, leaving 2,000 prisoners in French hands.
After the Austrians surrendered at the Battle of Ulm
Battle of Ulm
The Battle of Ulm was a series of minor skirmishes at the end of Napoleon Bonaparte's Ulm Campaign, culminating in the surrender of an entire Austrian army near Ulm in Württemberg....
, Napoleon's army pursued a rear guard led by Maximilian, Count of Merveldt
Maximilian, Count of Merveldt
Maximilian, Count von Merveldt , among the most famous of an illustrious old Westphalian family, entered Austrian military service, rose to the rank of General of Cavalry, served as Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador to Russia, and became special envoy extraordinaire to the Court of St....
to the east. Murat's cavalry attacked between 4,000 and 6,000 Austrians near Ried im Innkreis
Ried im Innkreis
Ried im Innkreis is a town in the state of Upper Austria in Austria, approximately 70 km west of Linz and 60 km north of Salzburg...
on 30 October. A portion of the rear guard was driven into a defile. Murat sent in chasseurs à cheval and dismounted dragoons to crush this force, capturing 500 to 600 prisoners. The next day, 4,000 troops from Merveldt's rear guard under Emmanuel von Schustekh-Herve made a stand at Lambach
Lambach
Lambach is a market town in the Wels-Land district of Upper Austria, Austria, on the Ager and Traun Rivers. It has a population of 3,242 as of 2001. A major stop on the salt trade, it is the site of the Lambach Abbey, built around 1056.-Notable inhabitants:...
on the Traun
Traun
Traun is a city in the state of Upper Austria, Austria. As of 2001, according to , the population was 23,470 . Traun is home to a large Turkish immigrant community, a significant part of which originates from Sakarya/Akyazi, Turkey. The city is located at latitude 48.21667, longitude...
River. Three battalions of the Ignaz Gyulai
Ignaz Gyulai
Ignaz Gyulai von Máros-Nemeth und Nádaska, Ignácz Gyulay, Ignác Gyulay, or Ignjat Đulaj born 11 September 1763 – died 11 November 1831, joined the army of Habsburg Austria, fought against Ottoman Turkey, and became a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. From 1806 he held the...
Infantry Regiment, two squadrons of the Kaiser Dragoons # 1, and eight squadrons of the Kaiser Hussars # 1 were supported by four Russian jager battalions and a squadron of hussars. Murat ordered Beaumont's 3rd Dragoon Division and Baptiste Pierre Bisson
Baptiste Pierre Bisson
Baptiste-Pierre-François Bisson, born 16 February 1767 at Montpellier, France and died 26 July 1811, at Mantua in the Kingdom of Italy, joined the French army and rose rapidly in rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He served as a division commander in the Grand Armée of Emperor Napoleon in...
's 1st Division of Davout's III Corps to attack. The Allies were driven back, with the Russians suffering 100 killed and less than 50 wounded. French losses were "slight" though Bisson was wounded. Beaumont fought at the Battle of 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...
, leading the 5th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 21st Dragoon Regiments. He was named a Grand Officer of the Légion d'Honneur on 10 February 1806.
Beaumont led the 3rd Dragoon Division at the Battle of Jena on 14 October 1806 in the War of the Fourth Coalition
War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom....
. His division was one of the three present with 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...
at the Capitulation of Erfurt
Capitulation of Erfurt
In the Capitulation of Erfurt on 16 October 1806 a large body of troops from the Kingdom of Prussia under Lieutenant General the Prince of Orange surrendered to Marshal Joachim Murat at the city of Erfurt. The Prussian soldiers were demoralized by their shattering defeat at the Battle of...
. The 3rd Division included the 5th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 19th, and 21st Dragoon Regiments. He was active in the pursuit of Prince Hohenlohe's
Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen
Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen was a Prussian general and the eldest son of Prince John Frederick of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen....
Prussian corps. He was present in the action of Zehdenick
Zehdenick
Zehdenick is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Havel, 26 km southeast of Fürstenberg/Havel, and 51 km north of Berlin .-Subdivision:Zehdenick includes the following villages:...
on 26 October. Beaumont played a prominent role at the Battle of Prenzlau
Battle of Prenzlau
In the Battle of Prenzlau or Capitulation of Prenzlau on 28 October 1806 two divisions of French cavalry and some infantry led by Marshal Joachim Murat intercepted a retreating Prussian corps led by Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen. In this action from the War of the Fourth...
on 28 October. After the Prussian rear guard under Prince Augustus of Prussia
Prince Augustus of Prussia
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich August of Prussia , known in English as Prince Augustus, was a Prussian general...
became separated from the marching column, Beaumont charged it repeatedly, driving it northward. He finally pinned the rear guard against the Uecker
Uecker
The Uecker or Ucker is a river in the northeastern German states of Brandenburg, where it is known as the Ucker, and of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its source lies in the Uckermark district, near the village Alt-Temmen. It flows north through Lake Oberuckersee, Lake Mollensee and Lake Unteruckersee,...
River, forcing it to surrender. Hohenlohe capitulated with his main body soon afterward. He was present at the Battle of Czarnowo
Battle of Czarnowo
The Battle of Czarnowo on the night of 23–24 December 1806 saw troops of the First French Empire under the eye of Emperor Napoleon I launch an evening assault crossing of the Wkra River against Lieutenant General Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy's defending Russian Empire forces...
on 23 December 1806.
Emperor Napoleon named Beaumont a Senator
Sénat conservateur
The Sénat conservateur was a body set up in France during the Consulate by the Constitution of the Year VIII. With the Tribunat and the Corps législatif, it formed one of the three legislative assemblies of the Consulate...
on 14 August 1807 and a Count of the Empire in March 1808. That year he was also awarded 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...
, the Military Order of Max Joseph
Military Order of Max Joseph
The Military Order of Max Joseph was the highest purely military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria...
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...
, and the Order of Fidelity of Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
.
In 1809 Beaumont commanded the Reserve Division under Marshal François Christophe de Kellermann
François Christophe de Kellermann
François Christophe Kellermann or de Kellermann, 1st Duc de Valmy was a French military commander, later the Général d'Armée, and a Marshal of France...
. Based at Frankfurt-on-the-Main, the all-arms unit consisted of 826 men from elite companies of line and light infantry regiments, 1,251 Württemberg infantry, 527 Bavarian infantry, a 160-man foot artillery company with eight guns, and the following provisional dragoon regiments, 1st - 697 sabers, 2nd - 669 sabers, 3rd - 515 sabers, 4th - 771 sabers, and 5th - 792 sabers. This force did not fight 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...
.
In 1814, the Senate officially passed laws deposing Napoleon. King Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
bestowed the Order of Saint Louis
Order of Saint Louis
The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis was a military Order of Chivalry founded on 5 April 1693 by Louis XIV and named after Saint Louis . It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, and is notable as the first decoration that could be granted to non-nobles...
on Beaumont in June 1814. He was not employed during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
. After the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
he commanded a division in the Army of Paris.
Family
Beaumont married Louis-Nicolas Davout's sister Julie (1771–1846) in 1801. He died on 4 February 1830 and was buried in the same tomb as his brother-in-law Davout with whom he shared a long friendship. The name BEAUMONT is engraved on Column 17 of the Arc de TriompheArc 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...
. The surname was shared with another French officer, Louis Chrétien Carrière Beaumont (1771–1813), who temporarily led a brigade under Beaumont at Prenzlau.