Pierre-Louis Binet de Marcognet
Encyclopedia
Pierre-Louis Binet de Marcognet (14 November 1765 – 19 December 1854) joined the French army in 1781 as an officer cadet and fought in the American Revolutionary War
. During the French Revolutionary Wars
he fought in the Army of the Rhine and was wounded at First
and Second Wissembourg
. After being dismissed from the army for a year and a half for having noble blood, he resumed his military career and was wounded at Biberach
and Kehl
. Promoted to lead the 108th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade, he was in the thick of the fighting at Hohenlinden in 1800, where he was wounded and captured.
At the start of the Napoleonic Wars
, Marcognet was a general officer commanding a brigade in Marshal of France
Michel Ney
's corps. He led his troops at Günzburg
, Elchingen
, and Scharnitz
in 1805. In the 1806-1807 campaign, he led his brigade at Jena, Magdeburg
, Eylau
, Guttstadt-Deppen
, and Friedland
. After Ney's corps transferred to Spain, he fought at Tamames
, Alba de Tormes
, Ciudad Rodrigo
, Almeida
, Bussaco, Torres Vedras
, Casal Novo
, and Fuentes de Onoro
.
Marcognet commanded a division in the Italian campaign of 1813-1814, fighting at Caldiero
, Boara Pisani
, the Mincio, and other actions. In 1815, he led a division at Waterloo
where it was broken by cavalry after an initial success. Marcognet is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
, on Column 7.
in Saintonge
province, which is now the Charente-Maritime
department. His parents were Louis-Nicolas, Count of Marcognet and Suzanne-Emilie Pintault, the count's first wife Suzanne-Louise Guicheneux having died on 30 March 1764. His great-grandfather, the Marquis de Montblin (died 1717) had been governor of La Rochelle
, Saintonge, and Aunis
. Marcognet entered the Bourbonnais Infantry Regiment as a cadet
on 13 March 1781 and became a sous lieutenant in July. He served in the American Revolutionary War
under Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
from 1781 to 1783. Promoted to lieutenant
in 1787 and captain in 1792, he was assigned to the Army of the Rhine at the start of the War of the First Coalition. Marcognet was wounded in the right thigh on 14 September 1793 in fighting along the Lauter River
. This was one of the skirmishes that preceded the First Battle of Wissembourg
. In November he earned a name for himself in action near Saverne
. He was wounded again at the Second Battle of Wissembourg
when the French retook the Lines of Wissembourg.
In December 1793, Marcognet was dismissed from the army because he was a nobleman and therefore a suspected enemy of the revolution. Indeed, his paternal uncle Binet de Jasson was equerry
to King Louis XVI of France
while his aunt Madame de Soran was a maid of honor to Princess Élisabeth. His noble family was torn apart by the French Revolution
. Two of his brothers died fighting in the War in the Vendée while a third brother was shot at Neuf-Brisach
for carrying a message to Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé an Émigré
leader. Readmitted to the army in July 1795 after the Reign of Terror
, he resumed the rank of captain.
On 24 August 1795, Marcognet transferred to the 10th Light Infantry Demi-Brigade
. With his new unit he fought under Jean Victor Marie Moreau
at the Battle of Ettlingen
on 9 July 1796 and was promoted to chef de bataillon (major) the following day. He led a provisional battalion at the Battle of Neresheim on 11 August and at Geisenfeld
on 1 September. Marcognet was wounded during a French victory at the Battle of Biberach
on 2 October. At the Siege of Kehl
he was shot in the right arm. Subsequently, Charles Pichegru
appointed him to lead a battalion in the 95th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade.
Marcognet received promotion to Adjutant General
(colonel) in the 108th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade on 18 June 1800. At the Battle of Hohenlinden on 3 December 1800, the 2,234-strong 108th Line served in Emmanuel Grouchy's division of Moreau's army. As the head of Johann Kollowrat
's Left Center Column advanced along the main highway from the east, they bumped into Marcognet's 108th Line at about 7:00 AM. He deployed his troops in line along the edge of a forest. Franz Löpper, who led the Austro-Bavarian advance guard, immediately ordered his 5,341 foot soldiers and 1,319 cavalrymen to attack. Showing tactical finesse, Marcognet repulsed the first attack by the Benjowski Infantry Regiment Nr. 31 with the help of the 4th Hussars and three cannons. Outnumbered two-to-one, he was holding his ground when enemy reinforcements arrived. Using a forest trail, Lelio Spannochi secretly posted the Sebottendorf Grenadier Battalion on the flank of the 108th Line and charged. Surprised, the French rapidly retreated leaving the wounded Marcognet to be captured.
One of the corps commanders at Hohenlinden, Paul Grenier
called Marcognet, "a highly meritorious officer in every respect, worthy of the command entrusted to him." Jacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly
described him as, "a very distinguished officer, zealous and active." He was promoted to general of brigade on 29 August 1803.
on 10 December 1804 and received the cross of the Légion d'Honneur from Emperor Napoleon on 14 June 1805. In the War of the Third Coalition he was assigned to Jean-Pierre Firmin Malher
's 3rd Division of Marshal
Michel Ney
's VI Corps
. At the Battle of Günzburg
on 9 October 1805 he led Malher's center column in an attempt to seize the Danube
bridge. His troops overran the Austrian covering force, capturing Konstantin Ghilian Karl d'Aspré
, 200 men, and two cannons. Marcognet ordered four cannons to provide covering fire as the French tried to rebuild the destroyed span, but the troops were driven back by intense hostile fire. Mahler's division was present at the Battle of Elchingen
on 14 October but it was mostly kept in reserve. Marcognet fought at Scharnitz
in the Tyrol
on 4 November.
At the start of the War of the Fourth Coalition
, Marcognet commanded a brigade in Gaspard Amédée Gardanne
's division of Marshal Michel Ney
's VI Corps
. The brigade consisted of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 25th Light Infantry Regiment. He led his troops at the Battle of Jena on 14 June 1806 and at the Siege of Magdeburg
from 22 October to 11 November. Ney's corps arrived at the Battle of Eylau
at 7:15 PM on 8 February 1807.
Marcognet fought in Baptiste Pierre Bisson
's division at the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen
on 5 and 6 June 1807. In this action, Ney's 17,000 troops executed a brilliant rear guard action against over 63,000 Russians. Marcognet participated in the Battle of Friedland
on 14 June. Bisson's division formed Ney's left flank. After initial success, a massed Russian cavalry charge against Bisson's left flank stopped Ney's attack cold. However, Claude Perrin Victor's corps drove back their enemies, allowing Ney's troops to rally and capture the town of Pravdinsk (Friedland)
.
In 1808 Napoleon granted Marcognet the title of Baron of the Empire. By 1809 he was with Ney's corps in northwest Spain, fighting in the Peninsular War
. After trying without success to suppress the insurrection in Galicia, Ney abandoned the province in June. In the fall, Ney went on leave, leaving Jean Gabriel Marchand
in command. When a Spanish army under Don Lorenzo Duke of Del Parque took a position at Tamames
, Marchand rushed to engage it with 14,000 soldiers and 14 guns. Del Parque arranged his 20,000 infantry, 1,500 cavalry, and 18 guns on a ridge south of the town. In the Battle of Tamames
on 18 October 1809, the French commander sent Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune
to attack the Spanish left while the 25th Light Infantry Regiment pinned the Spanish right. When the two efforts tied up Del Parque's troops, Marcognet's six battalions would smash through the enemy center. Maucune's six battalions made good progress at first, then stalled. At this moment, Marcognet's assault lurched forward and was soon being pounded by 12 guns. Mounting a steep slope, the French columns were riddled by Spanish musketry and fell into confusion. When the Spanish counterattacked, Marcognet's troops fled back down the ridge, prompting Marchand to bring up his reserves and call off the battle. French casualties in the fiasco numbered 1,400, the Spanish only 700.
Under the overall command of François Étienne de Kellermann
, the VI Corps and a dragoon division overcame Del Parque's army at the Battle of Alba de Tormes
on 26 November in a lopsided victory. While the cavalry inflicted most of the damage, the infantry arrived in time to capture the bridge and town. At the time of the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo
from April to July 1810 and the subsequent Siege of Almeida
from July to August, Marcognet led a brigade in Marchand's 1st Division.
On 15 September 1810, Marcognet's 2nd Brigade consisted of 1,686 men of the 39th Line Infantry Regiment under Jacques-Pierre Soyer and the 1,790-strong 76th Line Infantry Regiment led by Jean Chemineau. He led these units in Marshal André Masséna
's invasion of Portugal. Marchand's division lost 1,173 men in its futile attack during the Battle of Bussaco on 27 September. During the retreat from Portugal in early March 1811, Marcognet's brigade was detached to assist Louis-Pierre Montbrun's cavalry. After rejoining his division, his brigade fought in rear guard
actions at Redinha
, Casal Novo
, and Foz do Arouce between 12 and 15 March. The first action was a draw, the second a French success, but in the last skirmish, the 39th Line lost its eagle. Marcognet led his men in the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro
. On 5 May, Marchand's division overran the hamlet of Pozo Bello, but the French were unable to secure a victory. On 6 August 1811, Marcognet received promotion to general of division. On 6 February 1812 he took command of the 14th Military Division.
in Spain and mass conscription, an entirely new army was formed and placed under Napoleon's step-son, Eugène de Beauharnais
. By May 1813, the new Italian army consisted of the 46th, 47th, 48th, and 49th Infantry Divisions, plus one cavalry division. In June, the 50th, 51st, and 52nd Divisions were added. Marcognet received command of the 48th Division. In August 1813, the division consisted of three battalions each of the 29th and 30th Provisional Demi-Brigades, four battalions of the 106th Line Infantry Regiment, and three battalions each of the 1st and 2nd Neapolitan Line Infantry Regiments.
After the Austrian Empire
's declaration of war on 12 August 1813, Eugène moved his army east to defend Illyria
. At the end of September, the Franco-Italian army abandoned Illyria and fell back to the Soča (Isonzo)
River. After a pause, the Franco-Italian army retreated again, this time to the Adige
River, which was reached at the end of October. In early November, Eugène reorganized the army and Marcognet emerged as commander of the 4th Division in Paul Grenier
's corps. The 1st Brigade, which was commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jeanin, comprised the 29th and 31st Provisional Demi-Brigades. The 2nd Brigade under Vincent Martel De Conchy included the 36th Light, 102nd Line, and 106th Line Infantry Regiments. The 29th Provisional was formed from one battalion each of the 20th and 101st Line; the 31st Provisional was composed of single battalions of the 131st and 132nd Line.
In the Battle of Caldiero
on 15 November 1813, Eugène ordered Marcognet's division to attack Johann von Hiller
's Austrian center while François Jean Baptiste Quesnel du Torpt's division turned the enemy right flank. Meanwhile, Marie François Rouyer
's division and a cavalry brigade pressed the Austrian left flank. Beginning at 10:00 AM, Marcognet drove back the Austrian center while the other attacks went forward. The day ended in a Franco-Italian success with the Austrians forced back to Soave
. Each side suffered about 500 casualties, but the Austrians also lost 900 soldiers and two guns captured. Having given his enemies a sharp blow, Eugène fell back to Verona
, leaving Marcognet's division on the east bank of the Adige at San Michele. Hiller attacked the French on 18 November but was eventually repulsed after hard fighting. In this encounter, the Austrians lost 1,200 killed and wounded, plus 200 captured, while French casualties numbered 700, including Grenier wounded.
After De Conchy's brigade was defeated on the Lower Adige, Eugène sent Marcognet's entire division to defend the area in early December. With his own division plus Nicolas Schmitz's brigade of Rouyer's, Marcognet attacked Anton Gundacker von Starhemberg's 6,000 Austrians at Boara Pisani
on 8 December 1813. Though he had 12,000 men and 18 guns, Marcognet only brought 5,000 into the battle. After initial success, the French halted only to be thrown back by a counterattack at 10:00 PM. The French lost 800 killed and wounded plus 102 captured, while Austrian casualties were somewhat fewer.
Marcognet led his division at the Battle of the Mincio River on 8 February 1814. The Franco-Italian army advanced and blundered into Count Heinrich von Bellegarde's Austrian army, resulting in a confused meeting engagement. Eugène and Grenier advanced across the Mincio River on the right and center, pushing back the Austrians in front of them. The divisions of Rouyer and Quesnel led the attack with cavalry on both flanks, supported by Marcognet and Teodoro Lechi
's Italian Guard. Meanwhile, Jean-Antoine Verdier
's troops were barely holding out against greatly superior Austrian forces on the left flank. As Eugène directed Rouyer and Quesnel to the left to help Verdier, he brought Marcognet into the first line. In the end, the French advance was halted by a mass of Austrians and both sides pulled back. The French suffered 3,000 killed and wounded plus 500 captured, while inflicting losses of 2,800 killed and wounded and 1,200 captured on the Austrians.
On the night of 9 February 1814, Bellegarde pushed 10,000 foot soldiers and 2,000 horsemen across the river at Borghetto near Valeggio sul Mincio
. After tough fighting, the divisions of Marcognet and Philibert Fressinet drove the Austrians back to the east bank. After this action, Bellegarde abandoned any attempt to force the Mincio and waited for Joachim Murat
's Neapolitan
army to join him from southern Italy. This was followed by a period of confused fighting as Eugène tried to fend off both Bellegarde and Murat. On 10 March, Eugène launched a reconnaissance in force across the Mincio. At Goito
, Jeanin's 3,000-strong brigade of Marcognet's division fought Friedrich Ernst von Spiegel's 4,300 Austrians. Each side employed six pieces of artillery and the action is called an Austrian victory, though no casualties are stated. The campaign ended on 17 April 1814 after Napoleon's abdication when Eugène agreed to evacuate Italy. He was awarded the Order of the Iron Crown
. After the end of the conflict Marcognet was taken off active service. King Louis XVIII of France
made him a Chevalier of the Order of Saint Louis
on 8 July 1814 and Grand Officer of the Légion d'Honneur on 27 December.
on 18 June 1815, Marcognet commanded the 3rd Division in Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon
's I Corps
. Antoine Nogues' 1st Brigade consisted of the 21st and 46th Line Infantry Regiments. Jean-Georges Grenier's 2nd Brigade included the 25th and 45th Line Infantry Regiments. There were a total of eight battalions. The division was posted in the first line on the right flank, with Pierre François Joseph Durutte
's 4th Division on its right and François-Xavier Donzelot
's 2nd Division on its left. According to historian David G. Chandler
, Marcognet's 4,200-man division was formed with seven battalions each deployed in three-deep line with four pace intervals between battalions. The formation was 200 yards (183 m) or 200 men wide while its depth was 52 yards (48 m). The French called this tactical formation the Colonne de Division par Bataillon.
After d'Erlon's attack commenced, Joachim Jerome Quiot du Passage's 1st Division encountered the British 95th Rifles in the gravel pit and inclined to its right. This movement caused the 2nd Division to hesitate and Marcognet's division surged several hundred yards into the lead. The Netherlands 7th and 8th National Militia Battalions engaged in a fire fight with the French skirmishers, taking some loss. Suddenly, their opponents fell back to reveal the front rank of Marcognet's column at close range. The French fired a tremendous volley from 400 muskets which inflicted heavy losses on the militiamen, who immediately retired on the second line. The men of Rogers' nearby battery abandoned their position and spiked one of their own guns. As Denis Pack ordered his British brigade forward from the second line, the battalion of the 45th Line in Marcognet's front rank found itself being attacked by the 92nd Foot, a Scottish Highland regiment. The Highlanders fired into the mass before them at a range of 20 yards (18 m) but their volley was not fully effective because of their four-deep line formation. Overlapping the 92nd on both flanks, the 45th Line fired another crushing volley, throwing the Highlanders into confusion. At this moment, the British division commander Thomas Picton
fell dead from a bullet in his forehead. The 3rd Division began to shout, "Victory".
Suddenly, the 2nd Scots Greys
Dragoon Regiment appeared behind the 92nd and plowed into Marcognet's division. The effect was catastrophic. The British cavalrymen, mounted on large horses, rained sword-cuts on the French foot soldiers as they hewed a bloody path through the formation. During the one-sided melee, the 45th Line lost its eagle. The Scots Greys rode completely through the 3rd Division, but were repulsed by one of Durutte's brigades. Those Frenchmen who were untouched by British heavy cavalry swords immediately fled back toward their own lines chased by the British and Netherlands infantry. Altogether, about 3,000 prisoners were gathered up from d'Erlon's four divisions, all of which were broken by cavalry. Late in the day, Marcognet got together a rump of his division in order to support the final assault on La Haye Sainte farm. Shortly before the defeat of the Old Guard's final attack, the remnant of the 3rd Division rallied to attack one last time.
Marcognet was retired from the army on 9 September 1815 and not employed for 15 years. After the July Revolution
of 1830, the new government admitted him into the army reserve on 7 February 1831. His final retirement came on 1 May 1832. He died in Paris
on 19 December 1854 and is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery
with his wife, Julie Catherine Le Monnier (1795–1866).
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. 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 Army of the Rhine and was wounded at First
First Battle of Wissembourg (1793)
In the First Battle of Wissembourg on 13 October 1793, an Allied army commanded by Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser attacked and defeated Jean Pascal Carlenc's French army defending behind the Lauter River...
and Second Wissembourg
Second Battle of Wissembourg (1793)
The Second Battle of Wissembourg from 6 December 1793 to 9 February 1794 saw an army of the First French Republic under General Lazare Hoche fight a series of clashes against an army of Austrians, Prussians, Bavarians, and Hessians led by General Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser. There were significant...
. After being dismissed from the army for a year and a half for having noble blood, he resumed his military career and was wounded at Biberach
Battle of Biberach (1796)
The Battle of Biberach was fought on 2 October 1796 between a First French Republic army led by Jean Victor Marie Moreau and a Habsburg Austrian army led by Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour. The French army paused in its retreat toward the Rhine River to savage the pursuing Austrians...
and Kehl
Siege of Kehl (1796)
The 1796-1797 Siege of Kehl lasted from October 1796 to 9 January 1797, during the War of the First Coalition...
. Promoted to lead the 108th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade, he was in the thick of the fighting at Hohenlinden in 1800, where he was wounded and captured.
At the start of 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...
, Marcognet was a general officer commanding a brigade in Marshal of France
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...
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...
's corps. He led his troops at Günzburg
Battle of Günzburg
The Battle of Günzburg on 9 October 1805 saw General of Division Jean-Pierre Firmin Malher's French division attempt to seize a crossing over the Danube River at Günzburg in the face of a Habsburg Austrian army led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Karl Mack von Lieberich. Malher's division managed to...
, Elchingen
Battle of Elchingen
The Battle of Elchingen, fought on October 14, 1805, saw French forces under Michel Ney rout an Austrian corps led by Johann Sigismund Riesch. This defeat led to a large part of the Austrian army being invested in the fortress of Ulm by the army of Emperor Napoleon I of France while other...
, and Scharnitz
Scharnitz
Scharnitz is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land and is located 16,40 km north of Innsbruck as well as 9 km above Seefeld in Tirol at the border to Germany. It has one of the biggest area size and possesses 12 parts. The village was founded in the early middle age and was once an...
in 1805. In the 1806-1807 campaign, he led his brigade at Jena, Magdeburg
Siege of Magdeburg (1806)
The siege of Magdeburg was a siege of the city that took place during the war of the Fourth Coalition...
, 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...
, Guttstadt-Deppen
Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen
In the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen on 5 and 6 June 1807, troops of the Russian Empire led by General Levin August, Count von Bennigsen attacked the First French Empire corps of Marshal Michel Ney. The Russians pressed back their opponents in an action that saw Ney fight a brilliant rear guard action...
, and Friedland
Battle of Friedland
The Battle of Friedland saw Napoleon I's French army decisively defeat Count von Bennigsen's Russian army about twenty-seven miles southeast of Königsberg...
. After Ney's corps transferred to Spain, he fought at Tamames
Battle of Tamamés
The Battle of Tamames was a sharp reversal suffered by part of Marshal Michel Ney's French army under Major-General Jean Marchand in the Peninsular War. The French, advancing out of Salamanca, were met and defeated in battle by a Spanish army on October 18, 1809.-Course of battle:The Spanish drew...
, Alba de Tormes
Battle of Alba de Tormes
In the Battle of Alba de Tormes, fought on November 26, 1809, a French army commanded by Major General Jean Marchand routed Lieutenant-General Duke del Parque's retreating Spanish army during the Peninsular War.-Strategic situation:...
, Ciudad Rodrigo
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810)
In the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, the French Marshal Michel Ney took the fortified city from Field Marshal Don Andrés Perez de Herrasti on 9 July 1810 after a siege that began on 26 April...
, Almeida
Siege of Almeida (1810)
In the Siege of Almeida, the French corps of Marshal Michel Ney captured the border fortress from Brigadier General William Cox's Portuguese garrison. This action was fought in the summer of 1810 during the Peninsular War portion of the Napoleonic Wars...
, Bussaco, Torres Vedras
Lines of Torres Vedras
The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, constructed by Sir Richard Fletcher, 1st Baronet and his Portuguese workers between...
, Casal Novo
Battle of Casal Novo
The Battle of Casal Novo was a rear-guard action fought on March 14, 1811, during Massena's retreat from Portugal. During this retreat the French rear-guard, under command of Michel Ney, performed admirably in a series of sharp rear-guard actions...
, and Fuentes de Onoro
Battle of Fuentes de Onoro
In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro , the British-Portuguese Army under Viscount Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida.-Background:...
.
Marcognet commanded a division in the Italian campaign of 1813-1814, fighting at Caldiero
Battle of Caldiero (1813)
The Battle of Caldiero on 15 November 1813 saw an army of the First French Empire under Eugène de Beauharnais opposed to an Austrian Empire army led by Johann von Hiller. Eugène, who was the Viceroy of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy inflicted a defeat on Hiller's troops, driving them from Caldiero...
, Boara Pisani
Boara Pisani
Boara Pisani is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 60 km southwest of Venice and about 35 km south of Padua. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,542 and an area of 16.5 km².Boara Pisani borders the following municipalities:...
, the Mincio, and other actions. In 1815, he led a division at Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
where it was broken by cavalry after an initial success. Marcognet 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 ....
, on Column 7.
Revolution
Marcognet was born on 14 November 1765 in Croix-ChapeauCroix-Chapeau
Croix-Chapeau is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.-History:From 1953 to 1966 there was a 500-bed U.S. Army hospital in Croix-Chapeau, run by the 28th General Hospital unit. For a while after 1966 it was used as a French Military Hospital...
in Saintonge
Saintonge
Saintonge is a small region on the Atlantic coast of France within the département Charente-Maritime, west and south of Charente in the administrative region of Poitou-Charentes....
province, which is now the Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River.- History :Previously a part of Saintonge, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
department. His parents were Louis-Nicolas, Count of Marcognet and Suzanne-Emilie Pintault, the count's first wife Suzanne-Louise Guicheneux having died on 30 March 1764. His great-grandfather, the Marquis de Montblin (died 1717) had been governor of La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
, Saintonge, and Aunis
Aunis
Aunis is a historical province of France, situated in the north-west of the department of Charente-Maritime. Its historic capital is La Rochelle, which took over from Castrum Allionis the historic capital which gives its name to the province....
. Marcognet entered the Bourbonnais Infantry Regiment as a cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
on 13 March 1781 and became a sous lieutenant in July. He served in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
under Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
Marshal of France Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau was a French nobleman and general who participated in the American Revolutionary War as the commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force which came to help the American Continental Army...
from 1781 to 1783. Promoted to lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
in 1787 and captain in 1792, he was assigned to the Army of the Rhine at the start of the War of the First Coalition. Marcognet was wounded in the right thigh on 14 September 1793 in fighting along the Lauter River
Lauter (Rhine)
The Lauter is a river in Germany and France, left tributary of the Rhine. Its length is 55 km. It is formed by the confluence of two headstreams north of Hinterweidenthal in the Pfälzerwald, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
. This was one of the skirmishes that preceded the First Battle of Wissembourg
First Battle of Wissembourg (1793)
In the First Battle of Wissembourg on 13 October 1793, an Allied army commanded by Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser attacked and defeated Jean Pascal Carlenc's French army defending behind the Lauter River...
. In November he earned a name for himself in action near Saverne
Saverne
Saverne is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km N.W...
. He was wounded again at the Second Battle of Wissembourg
Second Battle of Wissembourg (1793)
The Second Battle of Wissembourg from 6 December 1793 to 9 February 1794 saw an army of the First French Republic under General Lazare Hoche fight a series of clashes against an army of Austrians, Prussians, Bavarians, and Hessians led by General Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser. There were significant...
when the French retook the Lines of Wissembourg.
In December 1793, Marcognet was dismissed from the army because he was a nobleman and therefore a suspected enemy of the revolution. Indeed, his paternal uncle Binet de Jasson was equerry
Equerry
An equerry , and related to the French word "écuyer" ) is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a Sovereign, a member of a Royal Family, or a national...
to 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....
while his aunt Madame de Soran was a maid of honor to Princess Élisabeth. His noble family was torn apart by 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...
. Two of his brothers died fighting in the War in the Vendée while a third brother was shot at Neuf-Brisach
Neuf-Brisach
Neuf-Brisach is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.The town's name means New Breisach, referring to the German town Breisach, located on the other side of the Rhine....
for carrying a message to Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé an Émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
leader. Readmitted to the army in July 1795 after 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 resumed the rank of captain.
Demi-brigade
Not to be confused with 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign LegionThe Demi-brigade was a military formation first used by the French Army during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Demi-brigade amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single unit...
. With his new unit he fought under Jean Victor Marie 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...
at the Battle of Ettlingen
Battle of Ettlingen
The Battle of Ettlingen on 9 July 1796 was fought during the French Revolutionary Wars between the armies of the First French Republic and Habsburg Austria near the town of Malsch, 9 km southwest of Ettlingen. The Austrians under Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen tried to halt the eastward...
on 9 July 1796 and was promoted to chef de bataillon (major) the following day. He led a provisional battalion at the Battle of Neresheim on 11 August and at Geisenfeld
Geisenfeld
Geisenfeld is a town in the district of Pfaffenhofen, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Ilm, southeast of Ingolstadt....
on 1 September. Marcognet was wounded during a French victory at the Battle of Biberach
Battle of Biberach (1796)
The Battle of Biberach was fought on 2 October 1796 between a First French Republic army led by Jean Victor Marie Moreau and a Habsburg Austrian army led by Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour. The French army paused in its retreat toward the Rhine River to savage the pursuing Austrians...
on 2 October. At the Siege of Kehl
Siege of Kehl (1796)
The 1796-1797 Siege of Kehl lasted from October 1796 to 9 January 1797, during the War of the First Coalition...
he was shot in the right arm. Subsequently, Charles Pichegru
Charles Pichegru
Jean-Charles Pichegru was a French general and political figure of the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars.-Early life and career:...
appointed him to lead a battalion in the 95th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade.
Marcognet received promotion to Adjutant General
Adjutant general
An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...
(colonel) in the 108th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade on 18 June 1800. At the Battle of Hohenlinden on 3 December 1800, the 2,234-strong 108th Line served in Emmanuel Grouchy's division of Moreau's army. As the head of Johann Kollowrat
Johann Kollowrat
Kollowrat-Krakowsky, Johann Karl, Graf von joined the Austrian army, fought against the Kingdom of Prussia and Ottoman Turkey before being promoted to general officer rank. During combat against the French in the French Revolutionary Wars, he first became known as an artillery specialist...
's Left Center Column advanced along the main highway from the east, they bumped into Marcognet's 108th Line at about 7:00 AM. He deployed his troops in line along the edge of a forest. Franz Löpper, who led the Austro-Bavarian advance guard, immediately ordered his 5,341 foot soldiers and 1,319 cavalrymen to attack. Showing tactical finesse, Marcognet repulsed the first attack by the Benjowski Infantry Regiment Nr. 31 with the help of the 4th Hussars and three cannons. Outnumbered two-to-one, he was holding his ground when enemy reinforcements arrived. Using a forest trail, Lelio Spannochi secretly posted the Sebottendorf Grenadier Battalion on the flank of the 108th Line and charged. Surprised, the French rapidly retreated leaving the wounded Marcognet to be captured.
One of the corps commanders at Hohenlinden, Paul Grenier
Paul Grenier
Paul Grenier joined the French royal army and rapidly rose to general officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a division in the 1796-1797 campaign in southern Germany. During the 1800 campaign in the Electorate of Bavaria he was a wing commander...
called Marcognet, "a highly meritorious officer in every respect, worthy of the command entrusted to him." Jacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly
Jacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly
Jacques-Louis-François Delaistre de Tilly became a general officer in the French army during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a cavalry division in a number of battles during the Napoleonic Wars...
described him as, "a very distinguished officer, zealous and active." He was promoted to general of brigade on 29 August 1803.
Early Empire
Marcognet became a member of the 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...
on 10 December 1804 and received the cross of the Légion d'Honneur from Emperor Napoleon on 14 June 1805. In the War of the Third Coalition he was assigned to Jean-Pierre Firmin Malher
Jean-Pierre Firmin Malher
Jean-Pierre Firmin Malher, born 29 June 1761 and died 13 March 1808, joined the army of the First French Republic and fought in the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Napoleonic Wars he rose in rank to command a division. He was accidentally killed in 1808 while on campaign in Spain...
's 3rd Division of 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...
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...
's VI Corps
VI Corps (Grande Armée)
The VI Corps of the Grande Armée was the name of a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. It was formed at the Camp de Boulogne and assigned to Marshal Michel Ney. From 1805 through 1811, the army corps fought under Ney's command in the War of the Third Coalition, the War of...
. At the Battle of Günzburg
Battle of Günzburg
The Battle of Günzburg on 9 October 1805 saw General of Division Jean-Pierre Firmin Malher's French division attempt to seize a crossing over the Danube River at Günzburg in the face of a Habsburg Austrian army led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Karl Mack von Lieberich. Malher's division managed to...
on 9 October 1805 he led Malher's center column in an attempt to seize the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
bridge. His troops overran the Austrian covering force, capturing Konstantin Ghilian Karl d'Aspré
Konstantin Ghilian Karl d'Aspré
Konstantin Ghilian Karl d'Aspré von Hoobreuk, born 27 December 1754 – died 8 July 1809, served in the army of Habsburg Austria during the French Revolutionary Wars. In the Napoleonic Wars, he made a mark in two major campaigns. In 1809, he was briefy Proprietor of an infantry regiment and...
, 200 men, and two cannons. Marcognet ordered four cannons to provide covering fire as the French tried to rebuild the destroyed span, but the troops were driven back by intense hostile fire. Mahler's division was present at the Battle of Elchingen
Battle of Elchingen
The Battle of Elchingen, fought on October 14, 1805, saw French forces under Michel Ney rout an Austrian corps led by Johann Sigismund Riesch. This defeat led to a large part of the Austrian army being invested in the fortress of Ulm by the army of Emperor Napoleon I of France while other...
on 14 October but it was mostly kept in reserve. Marcognet fought at Scharnitz
Scharnitz
Scharnitz is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land and is located 16,40 km north of Innsbruck as well as 9 km above Seefeld in Tirol at the border to Germany. It has one of the biggest area size and possesses 12 parts. The village was founded in the early middle age and was once an...
in the Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
on 4 November.
At the start of 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....
, Marcognet commanded a brigade in Gaspard Amédée Gardanne
Gaspard Amédée Gardanne
Gaspard Amédée Gardanne was a French general who fought in the Napoleonic Wars.-Biography:Born at at Solliès-Pont, he joined the French royal army in 1779. After the French Revolution he joined a volunteer unit as an officer. He fought under Napoleon Bonaparte during the 1796-1797 and 1800...
's division of Marshal 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...
's VI Corps
VI Corps (Grande Armée)
The VI Corps of the Grande Armée was the name of a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. It was formed at the Camp de Boulogne and assigned to Marshal Michel Ney. From 1805 through 1811, the army corps fought under Ney's command in the War of the Third Coalition, the War of...
. The brigade consisted of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 25th Light Infantry Regiment. He led his troops at the Battle of Jena on 14 June 1806 and at the Siege of Magdeburg
Siege of Magdeburg (1806)
The siege of Magdeburg was a siege of the city that took place during the war of the Fourth Coalition...
from 22 October to 11 November. Ney's corps arrived 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...
at 7:15 PM on 8 February 1807.
Marcognet fought in 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 division at the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen
Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen
In the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen on 5 and 6 June 1807, troops of the Russian Empire led by General Levin August, Count von Bennigsen attacked the First French Empire corps of Marshal Michel Ney. The Russians pressed back their opponents in an action that saw Ney fight a brilliant rear guard action...
on 5 and 6 June 1807. In this action, Ney's 17,000 troops executed a brilliant rear guard action against over 63,000 Russians. Marcognet participated in the Battle of Friedland
Battle of Friedland
The Battle of Friedland saw Napoleon I's French army decisively defeat Count von Bennigsen's Russian army about twenty-seven miles southeast of Königsberg...
on 14 June. Bisson's division formed Ney's left flank. After initial success, a massed Russian cavalry charge against Bisson's left flank stopped Ney's attack cold. However, Claude Perrin Victor's corps drove back their enemies, allowing Ney's troops to rally and capture the town of Pravdinsk (Friedland)
Pravdinsk
Pravdinsk is a town and the administrative center of Pravdinsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Lava River, approximately east of Bagrationovsk...
.
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. After trying without success to suppress the insurrection in Galicia, Ney abandoned the province in June. In the fall, Ney went on leave, leaving Jean Gabriel Marchand
Jean Gabriel Marchand
Jean Gabriel Marchand, 1st Count Marchand went from being an attorney to a company commander in the army of the First French Republic in 1791. He fought almost exclusively in Italy throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and served on the staffs of a number of generals...
in command. When a Spanish army under Don Lorenzo Duke of Del Parque took a position at Tamames
Tamames
Tamames is a municipality located in the province of Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 992 inhabitants....
, Marchand rushed to engage it with 14,000 soldiers and 14 guns. Del Parque arranged his 20,000 infantry, 1,500 cavalry, and 18 guns on a ridge south of the town. In the Battle of Tamames
Battle of Tamamés
The Battle of Tamames was a sharp reversal suffered by part of Marshal Michel Ney's French army under Major-General Jean Marchand in the Peninsular War. The French, advancing out of Salamanca, were met and defeated in battle by a Spanish army on October 18, 1809.-Course of battle:The Spanish drew...
on 18 October 1809, the French commander sent Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune
Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune
Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune joined the pioneer corps of the French army in 1786 and was a lieutenant by the time the French Revolutionary Wars broke out. He fought in the north in 1792 and in the Alps in 1793. Afterward he served in Italy through 1801. During this period, he fought at Arcole in...
to attack the Spanish left while the 25th Light Infantry Regiment pinned the Spanish right. When the two efforts tied up Del Parque's troops, Marcognet's six battalions would smash through the enemy center. Maucune's six battalions made good progress at first, then stalled. At this moment, Marcognet's assault lurched forward and was soon being pounded by 12 guns. Mounting a steep slope, the French columns were riddled by Spanish musketry and fell into confusion. When the Spanish counterattacked, Marcognet's troops fled back down the ridge, prompting Marchand to bring up his reserves and call off the battle. French casualties in the fiasco numbered 1,400, the Spanish only 700.
Under the overall command of François Étienne de Kellermann
François Étienne de Kellermann
Francois Étienne de Kellermann, 2nd Duc de Valmy was a French cavalry general noted for his daring and skillful exploits during the Napoleonic Wars...
, the VI Corps and a dragoon division overcame Del Parque's army at the Battle of Alba de Tormes
Battle of Alba de Tormes
In the Battle of Alba de Tormes, fought on November 26, 1809, a French army commanded by Major General Jean Marchand routed Lieutenant-General Duke del Parque's retreating Spanish army during the Peninsular War.-Strategic situation:...
on 26 November in a lopsided victory. While the cavalry inflicted most of the damage, the infantry arrived in time to capture the bridge and town. At the time of the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810)
In the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, the French Marshal Michel Ney took the fortified city from Field Marshal Don Andrés Perez de Herrasti on 9 July 1810 after a siege that began on 26 April...
from April to July 1810 and the subsequent Siege of Almeida
Siege of Almeida (1810)
In the Siege of Almeida, the French corps of Marshal Michel Ney captured the border fortress from Brigadier General William Cox's Portuguese garrison. This action was fought in the summer of 1810 during the Peninsular War portion of the Napoleonic Wars...
from July to August, Marcognet led a brigade in Marchand's 1st Division.
On 15 September 1810, Marcognet's 2nd Brigade consisted of 1,686 men of the 39th Line Infantry Regiment under Jacques-Pierre Soyer and the 1,790-strong 76th Line Infantry Regiment led by Jean Chemineau. He led these units in Marshal 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 invasion of Portugal. Marchand's division lost 1,173 men in its futile attack during the Battle of Bussaco on 27 September. During the retreat from Portugal in early March 1811, Marcognet's brigade was detached to assist Louis-Pierre Montbrun's cavalry. After rejoining his division, his brigade fought in rear guard
Rear guard
A rear guard or rearguard is that part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal...
actions at Redinha
Battle of Redinha
The Battle of Redinha was a rearguard action which took place on March 12, 1811, during Masséna's retreat from Portugal, by a French division under Marshal Ney against a considerably larger Anglo-Portuguese force under Wellington. Challenging the Allies with only one or two divisions, Ney's 7,000...
, Casal Novo
Battle of Casal Novo
The Battle of Casal Novo was a rear-guard action fought on March 14, 1811, during Massena's retreat from Portugal. During this retreat the French rear-guard, under command of Michel Ney, performed admirably in a series of sharp rear-guard actions...
, and Foz do Arouce between 12 and 15 March. The first action was a draw, the second a French success, but in the last skirmish, the 39th Line lost its eagle. Marcognet led his men in the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro
Battle of Fuentes de Onoro
In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro , the British-Portuguese Army under Viscount Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida.-Background:...
. On 5 May, Marchand's division overran the hamlet of Pozo Bello, but the French were unable to secure a victory. On 6 August 1811, Marcognet received promotion to general of division. On 6 February 1812 he took command of the 14th Military Division.
Late Empire
After Napoleon's disastrous campaign in Russia in 1812, one Italian and three French divisions from the garrison of Italy were sent to Germany as reinforcements. By recalling the Italian units serving under Marshal Louis Gabriel SuchetLouis Gabriel Suchet
Louis Gabriel Suchet, 1st Duc d'Albufera was a Marshal of France and one of Napoleon's most brilliant generals.-Early career:...
in Spain and mass conscription, an entirely new army was formed and placed under Napoleon's step-son, Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...
. By May 1813, the new Italian army consisted of the 46th, 47th, 48th, and 49th Infantry Divisions, plus one cavalry division. In June, the 50th, 51st, and 52nd Divisions were added. Marcognet received command of the 48th Division. In August 1813, the division consisted of three battalions each of the 29th and 30th Provisional Demi-Brigades, four battalions of the 106th Line Infantry Regiment, and three battalions each of the 1st and 2nd Neapolitan Line Infantry Regiments.
After the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
's declaration of war on 12 August 1813, Eugène moved his army east to defend Illyria
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....
. At the end of September, the Franco-Italian army abandoned Illyria and fell back to the Soča (Isonzo)
Soca
The Soča or Isonzo is a 140 km long river that flows through western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps in Slovenia, at an elevation of around 1,100 metres...
River. After a pause, the Franco-Italian army retreated again, this time to the Adige
Adige
The Adige is a river with its source in the Alpine province of South Tyrol near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland. At in length, it is the second longest river in Italy, after the River Po with ....
River, which was reached at the end of October. In early November, Eugène reorganized the army and Marcognet emerged as commander of the 4th Division in Paul Grenier
Paul Grenier
Paul Grenier joined the French royal army and rapidly rose to general officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a division in the 1796-1797 campaign in southern Germany. During the 1800 campaign in the Electorate of Bavaria he was a wing commander...
's corps. The 1st Brigade, which was commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jeanin, comprised the 29th and 31st Provisional Demi-Brigades. The 2nd Brigade under Vincent Martel De Conchy included the 36th Light, 102nd Line, and 106th Line Infantry Regiments. The 29th Provisional was formed from one battalion each of the 20th and 101st Line; the 31st Provisional was composed of single battalions of the 131st and 132nd Line.
In the Battle of Caldiero
Battle of Caldiero (1813)
The Battle of Caldiero on 15 November 1813 saw an army of the First French Empire under Eugène de Beauharnais opposed to an Austrian Empire army led by Johann von Hiller. Eugène, who was the Viceroy of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy inflicted a defeat on Hiller's troops, driving them from Caldiero...
on 15 November 1813, Eugène ordered Marcognet's division to attack Johann von Hiller
Johann von Hiller
Johann Baron von Hiller, June 10, 1754 – June 5, 1819, was an Austrian general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
's Austrian center while François Jean Baptiste Quesnel du Torpt's division turned the enemy right flank. Meanwhile, Marie François Rouyer
Marie François Rouyer
Marie François Rouyer was a French general during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1783 he joined the army of a German state and became a lieutenant of dragoons within three years. In 1791 he joined the French army as an infantry captain. He fought in the French Revolutionary Wars, becoming an Adjutant...
's division and a cavalry brigade pressed the Austrian left flank. Beginning at 10:00 AM, Marcognet drove back the Austrian center while the other attacks went forward. The day ended in a Franco-Italian success with the Austrians forced back to Soave
Soave
Soave is a small comune of the Veneto region in the Province of Verona, Italy with a population of roughly 6,800 people.-Geography:Soave is located approximately 23 kilometers east of Verona and is reachable by use of the A4 motorway exit Soave-San Bonifacio.-History:Soave was a Roman center on the...
. Each side suffered about 500 casualties, but the Austrians also lost 900 soldiers and two guns captured. Having given his enemies a sharp blow, Eugène fell back to Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, leaving Marcognet's division on the east bank of the Adige at San Michele. Hiller attacked the French on 18 November but was eventually repulsed after hard fighting. In this encounter, the Austrians lost 1,200 killed and wounded, plus 200 captured, while French casualties numbered 700, including Grenier wounded.
After De Conchy's brigade was defeated on the Lower Adige, Eugène sent Marcognet's entire division to defend the area in early December. With his own division plus Nicolas Schmitz's brigade of Rouyer's, Marcognet attacked Anton Gundacker von Starhemberg's 6,000 Austrians at Boara Pisani
Boara Pisani
Boara Pisani is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 60 km southwest of Venice and about 35 km south of Padua. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,542 and an area of 16.5 km².Boara Pisani borders the following municipalities:...
on 8 December 1813. Though he had 12,000 men and 18 guns, Marcognet only brought 5,000 into the battle. After initial success, the French halted only to be thrown back by a counterattack at 10:00 PM. The French lost 800 killed and wounded plus 102 captured, while Austrian casualties were somewhat fewer.
Marcognet led his division at the Battle of the Mincio River on 8 February 1814. The Franco-Italian army advanced and blundered into Count Heinrich von Bellegarde's Austrian army, resulting in a confused meeting engagement. Eugène and Grenier advanced across the Mincio River on the right and center, pushing back the Austrians in front of them. The divisions of Rouyer and Quesnel led the attack with cavalry on both flanks, supported by Marcognet and Teodoro Lechi
Teodoro Lechi
Teodoro Lechi was an Italian general, a Jacobin and a military advisor to King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia. He was the brother of Giuseppe Lechi, a brilliant and famous Napoleonic general, and Angelo, also a Napoleonic officer.-Biography:Teodoro Lechi was born in Brescia, the 14th son of 19 of...
's Italian Guard. Meanwhile, 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...
's troops were barely holding out against greatly superior Austrian forces on the left flank. As Eugène directed Rouyer and Quesnel to the left to help Verdier, he brought Marcognet into the first line. In the end, the French advance was halted by a mass of Austrians and both sides pulled back. The French suffered 3,000 killed and wounded plus 500 captured, while inflicting losses of 2,800 killed and wounded and 1,200 captured on the Austrians.
On the night of 9 February 1814, Bellegarde pushed 10,000 foot soldiers and 2,000 horsemen across the river at Borghetto near Valeggio sul Mincio
Valeggio sul Mincio
Valeggio sul Mincio is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km west of Venice and about 25 km southwest of Verona. It is crossed by the Mincio river....
. After tough fighting, the divisions of Marcognet and Philibert Fressinet drove the Austrians back to the east bank. After this action, Bellegarde abandoned any attempt to force the Mincio and waited for 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 Neapolitan
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
army to join him from southern Italy. This was followed by a period of confused fighting as Eugène tried to fend off both Bellegarde and Murat. On 10 March, Eugène launched a reconnaissance in force across the Mincio. At Goito
Goito
Goito is a comune of Lombardy, Italy, in the Province of Mantua, from which it is some 20 km, on the road to Brescia. It is situated on the right bank of the Mincio River near the bridge.-History:...
, Jeanin's 3,000-strong brigade of Marcognet's division fought Friedrich Ernst von Spiegel's 4,300 Austrians. Each side employed six pieces of artillery and the action is called an Austrian victory, though no casualties are stated. The campaign ended on 17 April 1814 after Napoleon's abdication when Eugène agreed to evacuate Italy. He was 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...
. After the end of the conflict Marcognet was taken off active service. 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...
made him a Chevalier of 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 8 July 1814 and Grand Officer of the Légion d'Honneur on 27 December.
Waterloo
At the Battle of WaterlooBattle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
on 18 June 1815, Marcognet commanded the 3rd Division in Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon
Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon
Jean-Baptiste Drouet, comte d'Erlon was a marshal of France and a soldier in Napoleon's Army. D'Erlon notably commanded the I Corps of the Armée du Nord at the battle of Waterloo....
's I Corps
I Corps (Grande Armée)
The I Corps of the Grande Armée was a military unit during the Napoleonic Wars. It were different troops in French service commanded by Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte in 1805 and 1806, General Claude Victor-Perrin in 1807 and Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout during the 1812 invasion of Russia.- Size...
. Antoine Nogues' 1st Brigade consisted of the 21st and 46th Line Infantry Regiments. Jean-Georges Grenier's 2nd Brigade included the 25th and 45th Line Infantry Regiments. There were a total of eight battalions. The division was posted in the first line on the right flank, with Pierre François Joseph Durutte
Pierre François Joseph Durutte
Pierre François Joseph Durutte joined the French army at the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars. Rapidly promoted for feats of bravery under fire at Jemappes in 1792 and Hondschoote in 1793, he found himself appointed to serve as a staff officer...
's 4th Division on its right and François-Xavier Donzelot
François-Xavier Donzelot
Baron François-Xavier Donzelot was a French general and a Governor of the Ionian Islands and Martinique. He was the son of François Donzelot and Jeanne–Baptiste Maire and had a brother named Joseph. He became a general of the French army in March 1801. Months later, he signed the surrender...
's 2nd Division on its left. According to historian David G. Chandler
David G. Chandler
David G. Chandler was a British historian whose study focused on the Napoleonic era.As a young man he served briefly in the army, reaching the rank of captain, and in later life he taught at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Oxford University awarded him the D. Litt. in 1991...
, Marcognet's 4,200-man division was formed with seven battalions each deployed in three-deep line with four pace intervals between battalions. The formation was 200 yards (183 m) or 200 men wide while its depth was 52 yards (48 m). The French called this tactical formation the Colonne de Division par Bataillon.
Thomas Picton
Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton GCB was a Welsh British Army officer who fought in a number of campaigns for Britain, and rose to the rank of lieutenant general...
fell dead from a bullet in his forehead. The 3rd Division began to shout, "Victory".
Suddenly, the 2nd Scots Greys
Scots Greys
The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers to form The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards ....
Dragoon Regiment appeared behind the 92nd and plowed into Marcognet's division. The effect was catastrophic. The British cavalrymen, mounted on large horses, rained sword-cuts on the French foot soldiers as they hewed a bloody path through the formation. During the one-sided melee, the 45th Line lost its eagle. The Scots Greys rode completely through the 3rd Division, but were repulsed by one of Durutte's brigades. Those Frenchmen who were untouched by British heavy cavalry swords immediately fled back toward their own lines chased by the British and Netherlands infantry. Altogether, about 3,000 prisoners were gathered up from d'Erlon's four divisions, all of which were broken by cavalry. Late in the day, Marcognet got together a rump of his division in order to support the final assault on La Haye Sainte farm. Shortly before the defeat of the Old Guard's final attack, the remnant of the 3rd Division rallied to attack one last time.
Marcognet was retired from the army on 9 September 1815 and not employed for 15 years. After the July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
of 1830, the new government admitted him into the army reserve on 7 February 1831. His final retirement came on 1 May 1832. He died 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...
on 19 December 1854 and is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
with his wife, Julie Catherine Le Monnier (1795–1866).