Étienne Macdonald duc deTarente | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byAntoine-Jean Gros, 1817 | |
| Birth name | Étienne Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald |
| Born | (1765-11-17)17 November 1765 Sedan, France |
| Died | 25 September 1840(1840-09-25) (aged 74) Beaulieu-sur-Loire, France |
| Branch | French Army |
| Years of service | 1785–1830 |
| Rank | Marshal of the Empire |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Grand Cross of theLegion of Honour |
| Other work | Chancellor of the Legion of Honour |
| Signature |  |
Étienne Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald,[1][2][3]1st duc deTarente (French pronunciation:[etjɛnʒakʒozɛfalɛksɑ̃dʁmakdɔnald]; 17 November 1765 – 25 September 1840),[4] was aMarshal of the Empire and military leader during theFrench Revolutionary Wars andNapoleonic Wars.[5] While not as famous as the other marshals of Napoleon, he was nonetheless a first-rate and successful general.[6]
Macdonald distinguished himself during theWar of the First Coalition, with Macdonald being instrumental in the French victory during theFlanders campaign.[7] He saw service in theLow Countries,Germany andItaly.[7] He was one of the most successfulRepublican generals, playing an important role in extending French control over Europe during the French Revolutionary Wars.[8]
Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre Macdonald[1][3] was born inSedan, Ardennes,France. His father was an exiledJacobite Army veteran andwar poet named Neil MacEachen MacDonald, who had been born intoClan MacDonald of Clanranald at Howbeg inSouth Uist, in theOuter Hebrides ofScotland. Neil Macdonald briefly studied for theRoman Catholic priesthood in Paris, where he had developed a fluency in theFrench language that later endeared him toPrince Charles Edward Stuart. Similarly to his uncle, the fellow Gaelic poet and Jacobite officerAlasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair,[9] Neil Macdonald was a close relative of the far more famousFlora MacDonald, who aided the escape of PrinceCharles Edward Stuart to France after the defeat of the1745 Rising at theBattle of Culloden.
In a Gaelic poem composed, however, after his release from theTower of London, Niall mac Eachainn mhic Sheumais, who had also risked his own life to protect the hunted Prince, harshly criticized his cousin Flora MacDonald. Flora, he alleged, had carefree steps and accordingly sought to curry favor with both theStuarts andHanoverians at the same time, instead of making a choice and sticking with it. In contrast, Neil not only vowed his own forever loyalty to the Prince, but followed him into exile in France, where he married into thenobility.[10] In the late 1820s, a partial manuscript of Mac Echainn's, "fluent charming, and undoubtedly genuine narrative of the prince's sojourn in theHebrides", during the rising's aftermath resurfaced in the hands of aParis barber who claimed to be his illegitimate son. Marshal MacDonald, who had just visited South Uist seeking to research hisgenealogy in 1825, had been unaware of the manuscripts existence.[11]
In 1784, Macdonald joined theIrish Legion, raised to support the revolutionary party[12] in theDutch Republic against theKingdom of Prussia and was made lieutenant on 1 April 1785. After it was disbanded, he received a commission inDillon's Regiment,Irish Brigade of theFrench Royal Army.[12] At the start of theFrench Revolution, the regiment of Dillon remained loyal to the King, except for Macdonald, who was in love with Mlle Jacob, whose father was an enthusiastic revolutionary.[12] After his marriage on 5 May 1791, on 17 August 1792 he was promoted to captain, and on 29 August 1792 he was appointedaide-de-camp to GeneralCharles François Dumouriez.[12] He distinguished himself at theBattle of Jemappes, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 12 November 1792 and then colonel on 8 March 1793.
He refused to defect to theAustrians with Dumouriez and as a reward was madegénéral de brigade on 26 August 1793 and appointed to command the leading brigade inPichegru's invasion of the Netherlands. His knowledge of the country proved useful, and he was instrumental in the capture of the Dutch fleet by Frenchhussars in January 1795.[12]
In 1797, having been madegénéral de division back in November 1794, he now served first in the Army of the Rhine[12] and later in the Army of Italy as of 24 April 1798. When he reached Italy in 1798, theTreaty of Campo Formio had been signed on 18 October 1797, and Bonaparte had returned to France; but, under the direction ofBerthier, Macdonald occupiedRome in the 1798-1799Roman Republic, of which he was made governor on 19 November 1798, and then in conjunction withChampionnet he defeatedGeneral Mack[12] at theBattle of Ferentino, theBattle of Otricoli, the 5 December 1798Battle of Civita Castellana, and two military affairs, first atCalvi Risorta and then on 3 January 1799 atCapua, and then by 10 January 1799, he had resigned his Office due to disagreements with Championnet. However, despite any differences, the men managed to conquer the 1282-1799Kingdom of Naples, which then became known as theParthenopaean Republic.[citation needed]
Imperial Russian Army GeneralSuvorov invaded northern Italy in March 1799 with an Austro-Russian army, and was undoing the conquests of Bonaparte and defeatedMoreau atCassano andSan Giuliano. In response Macdonald moved northwards in command of theArmée de Naples. With 35,000 men, he attacked Suvorov's 22,000 men at theTrebbia. After three days' fighting, receiving no help fromMoreau, he was utterly defeated and retreated toGenoa.[13] Later, he was made governor ofVersailles and acquiesced, even if he did not participate, in the events of the18 Brumaire.[12]
In 1800, he received command of the army in theHelvetic Republic, maintaining communications between thearmies of Germany and of Italy.[12] He carried out his orders diligently, and in the winter of 1800–01, he was ordered to march over theSplügen Pass at the head of theArmy of the Grisons. This achievement is described byMathieu Dumas, his chief of staff. It is sometimes considered as noteworthy as Bonaparte's passage of theSt Bernard before theBattle of Marengo, although Macdonald did not fight a battle.[14]
On his return to Paris, Macdonald married the widow ofGeneral Joubert, and was appointed French ambassador toDenmark. Returning in 1805, he was associated with Moreau and thus incurred the dislike of Napoleon, who did not include him in his first creation of marshals.[12] It was for the same reason that Napoleon did not give him a military command between 1803 and 1809.[15]
He remained without employment until 1809, but then Napoleon made him military adviser to PrinceEugène de Beauharnais, viceroy of theKingdom of Italy and the commander of the Army of Italy.[16] After meeting an unexpected defeat atAspern-Essling, Napoleon summoned Eugène's army north to join him, with Macdonald in tow. On the second day ofWagram, amid great pressure along the entire front, Napoleon ordered Macdonald to launch a desperate counterattack on the enemy centre. Macdonald promptly organised a gigantic three-sided open-backed infantry square, covered byNansouty's cavalry, and hurled it against the Austrian lines. Despite sustaining terrible casualties from the Austrian artillery, this bold attack broke the Austrian centre and won the day.[12][16]
After the battle, having rushed to find him on the corpse-strewn battlefield, Napoleon told Macdonald, "You have behaved valiantly...On the battlefield of your glory, where I owe you so large a part of yesterday's success, I make you aMarshal of France. You have long deserved it." Additionally, Napoleon soon after ennobled him asduc deTarente (Duke of Taranto) in theKingdom of Naples.[12][16]
In 1810, Macdonald served in Spain and in 1812, he commanded the left wing of theGrande Armée for the invasion of Russia. He was sent to the north butdid not succeed in occupying Riga. In 1813, after participating in the battles ofLützen andBautzen, he was ordered to invadeSilesia, whereBlücher defeated him with great loss atKatzbach.[12] At theBattle of Nations in 1813, his force was pushed out atLiebertwolkwitz byJohann von Klenau's IV Corps (Austrian); on a counterattack, his troops took the village back. Later that day, Klenau foiled his attempt to flank the Austrian main army, commanded byKarl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg. After theBattle of Leipzig, he was ordered to cover the evacuation of Leipzig withPrince Poniatowski. After the blowing up of the last bridge over the river, he managed to swim theElster, but Poniatowski drowned.[12] During the defensive campaign of 1814, Macdonald again distinguished himself. He was one of the marshals sent by Napoleon to take the notice of his abdication to Paris. When all were deserting Napoleon, Macdonald remained faithful. He was directed by Napoleon to give his adherence to the newrégime, and was presented with the sabre ofMurad Bey for his fidelity.[12]
At theRestoration, he was made apeer of France and knight grand cross of the royal order of St. Louis; he remained faithful to the new order during theHundred Days. In 1815, he became chancellor of theLegion of Honour, a post he held till 1831. In 1816, as major-general of the royal bodyguard, he took part in the debates of theChamber of Peers, created under theCharter of 1814, voting consistently as a moderate Liberal.[12] After Napoleon's abdication in 1814Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814), Macdonald continued serving under the Bourbon monarchy. Known for speaking his mind, and never shying away from sharing his opinions, KingLouis XVIII gave him the nickname "His Outspokenness".[17]
From 1830, he lived in retirement at his country home, the Chateau de Courcelles-le-Roy inBeaulieu-sur-Loire commune,Loiret,[18] where he died on 25 September 1840, aged 74.
In 1791, he married Marie-Constance Soral de Montloisir (died 1797) and had 2 daughters:
In 1802, he married Felicité-Françoise de Montholon (1780–1804), the widow ofGeneral Joubert,[19] and had a daughter:
In 1821, he married Ernestine-Therese de Bourgoing (1789–1825) and had a son:
On 30 April 2010, a plaque was unveiled to the memory ofMarshal of France Jacques Macdonald on the Outer Hebridean island ofSouth Uist, the familial home of Macdonald. Macdonald had visited South Uist in 1825 in order to find out more about his family roots.[20]
Macdonald was assessed in theEncyclopædia Britannica of 1911, which argued:
Macdonald had none of that military genius that distinguishedDavout,Masséna andLannes, nor of that military science conspicuous inMarmont andSt Cyr, but nevertheless his campaign in Switzerland gives him a rank far superior to such mere generals of division asOudinot andDupont. This capacity for independent command made Napoleon, in spite of his defeats at theTrebia and theBattle of Katzbach, trust him with large commands till the end of his career. As a man, his character cannot be spoken of too highly; no stain of cruelty or faithlessness rests on him.[12]
Military historianGunter E. Rothenberg wrote that although he overstated his own abilities, Macdonald was an excellent commander.[21]Richard Dunn-Pattison praised Macdonald for his "keen military insight"[16] whileA. G. MacDonell called his career a string of defeats.[14] John M. Keefe blamed his defeat at Katzbach on a general lack of staff officers in French armies not commanded by Napoleon, arguing that Macdonald had fought successfully in the rest of his career.[15]
[…] grâce aux conseils de Macdonald qu'il a la sagesse d'écouter […].
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Macdonald, Jacques Etienne Joseph Alexandre".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 210–211.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Macdonald was especially fortunate to have accounts of his military exploits recorded by Mathieu Dumas andSégur who were on his staff in Switzerland.
His diary of 1825 has been translated into English with a commentary ...
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