Michel Marie Claparède
Encyclopedia
Michel Marie Claparède (28 August 1770, Gignac
- 23 October 1842, Montpellier
) was a French general. His name is engraved on the Arc de Triomphe
.
’s failed expedition
to Santo Domingo
. Having been promoted to general de brigade he returned to France in 1804, where he joined the Grande Armée at Boulogne.
When the War of the Third Coalition started, Claparède commanded a brigade in Suchet
’s division from the V Corps of Marshal Lannes
. With this unit he distinguished himself at Ulm
, Austerlitz
, Saalfeld
, Jena, Pultisk
. And Ostrołęka
.
Having been promoted to general de division in October 1808, in the War of the Fifth Coalition
, Claparède distinguished himself at the twin battles of Aspern-Essling
and at Wagram
. During the following years he served in Portugal and Spain but in 1812 he was recalled to the Grande Armée for the French invasion of Russia
. In Russia he served at Smolensk
, Borodino
and the crossing of the Berezina
. Having served in the 1813 German campaign and the 1814 French campaigns, he distinguished himself at Leipzig
and Paris
.
During the Bourbon Restoration
Claparède served as inspector-general of the 1st military division and as Pair de France
.
côte LH/541/39.
Gignac, Hérault
Gignac is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France.Its inhabitants are called "Gignacois".-Sites:* Gignac Bridge over the Hérault River, completed 1810.* Church of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce...
- 23 October 1842, Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
) was a French general. His name is engraved 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...
.
Life
Claparède enlisted in a battalion of volunteers in 1792. Having been promoted to captain he served under Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy. Having given command of a battalion in the Army of the Rhine, Claparède served at Hohenlinden. He took part in Charles LeclercCharles Leclerc
Charles Victoire Emmanuel Leclerc was a French Army general and husband to Pauline Bonaparte, sister to Napoleon Bonaparte.-To 1801:...
’s failed expedition
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
to Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
. Having been promoted to general de brigade he returned to France in 1804, where he joined the Grande Armée at Boulogne.
When the War of the Third Coalition started, Claparède commanded a brigade in Suchet
Louis Gabriel Suchet
Louis Gabriel Suchet, 1st Duc d'Albufera was a Marshal of France and one of Napoleon's most brilliant generals.-Early career:...
’s division from the V Corps of Marshal Lannes
Jean Lannes
Jean Lannes, 1st Duc de Montebello, was a Marshal of France. He was one of Napoleon's most daring and talented generals. Napoleon once commented on Lannes: "I found him a pygmy and left him a giant"...
. With this unit he distinguished himself at 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....
, 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...
, Saalfeld
Battle of Saalfeld
The Battle of Saalfeld saw Marshal Lannes and a division of his V Corps defeat 8,300 Prussians under Prince Louis Ferdinand.-Battle:Prince Louis Ferdinand was one of the principal advocates of resuming war against the French....
, Jena, Pultisk
Battle of Pultusk
The Battle of Pułtusk took place on 26 December 1806 during the War of the Fourth Coalition near Pułtusk, Poland. Approximately 35,000 Russian soldiers with 128 guns under General Levin August, Count von Bennigsen resisted the attacks of 25,000 First French Empire soldiers under Marshal Jean...
. And Ostrołęka
Battle of Ostrołęka (1807)
The Battle of Ostrołęka was fought on 16 February 1807 between First French Empire troops under General of Division Anne Jean Marie René Savary and Russian soldiers under Lieutenant General Ivan Essen. The French defeated the Russians and forced them to retreat to the east...
.
Having been promoted to general de division in October 1808, in the War of the Fifth Coalition
War of the Fifth Coalition
The War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria. Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with...
, Claparède distinguished himself at the twin battles of Aspern-Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
and at 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...
. During the following years he served in Portugal and Spain but in 1812 he was recalled to the Grande Armée for the French invasion of Russia
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
. In Russia he served at Smolensk
Battle of Smolensk (1812)
The Battle of Smolensk, the first major battle of the French invasion of Russia took place on August 16–18, 1812, between 175,000 men of the Grande Armée under Napoleon Bonaparte and 130,000 Russians under Barclay de Tolly, though only about 50,000 and 60,000 respectively were actually engaged...
, Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
and the crossing of the Berezina
Battle of Berezina
The Battle of Berezina took place November 26–29, 1812 between the French army of Napoleon, retreating after his invasion of Russia and crossing the Berezina , and the Russian armies under Mikhail Kutuzov, Peter Wittgenstein and Admiral Pavel Chichagov. The battle ended with a mixed outcome...
. Having served in the 1813 German campaign and the 1814 French campaigns, he distinguished himself at 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...
and Paris
Battle of Paris (1814)
The Battle of Paris was fought during the Napoleonic Wars in 1814. The French defeat led directly to the abdication of Napoleon I.-Background:...
.
During 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...
Claparède served as inspector-general of the 1st military division and as Pair de France
Peerage of France
The Peerage of France was a distinction within the French nobility which appeared in the Middle Ages. It was abolished in 1789 during the French Revolution, but it reappeared in 1814 at the time of the Bourbon Restoration which followed the fall of the First French Empire...
.
Titles
- Comte de l'Empire by imperial decree of 19 March 1808 and letters patent of 29 June 1808
- Confirmed as a hereditary count by royal ordinance of 23 June 1816
External links
Archives nationales (CARAN) – Service Historique de l’Armée de Terre – Fort de Vincennes – Dossier S.H.A.T. Côte : 7 Yd 477 ; Dossier de la Légion d'honneurLégion 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...
côte LH/541/39.
-
- Côte S.H.A.T., état de services, distinctions sur web.genealogie.free.fr : Les militaires Biography on lesapn.forumactif.fr : Les Amis du Patrimoine Napoléonien.