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Charles Nicolas Fabvier | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 10 December 1782 |
| Died | 15 September 1855 (aged 72) |
| Allegiance |  First French EmpireDuchy of Warsaw  First Hellenic Republic Bourbon Restoration |
| Branch | French ArmyHellenic Army |
| Years of service | 1804-1831 |
| Rank | Captain (Imperial Guard) Colonel of the General Staff Lieutenant General |
| Battles / wars | |
Charles Nicolas Fabvier (Greek:Κάρολος Φαβιέρος,romanized: Karolos Favieros) (10 December 1782 – 15 September 1855) was an ambassador, general and French member of parliament who played a distinguished role in theGreek War of Independence.[1]
He was born atPont-à-Mousson inMeurthe and was a student at theÉcole Polytechnique before joining the1st Artillery Regiment in Napoleon’s army inGermany in 1804. He participated in the 1805Ulm Campaign, and was wounded in thebattle of Dürenstein. In 1807, he was part of the French military mission to theOttoman SultanSelim III, tasked with shoring up the defences ofConstantinople. Fabvier then managed to join the diplomatic mission of GeneralCharles Mathieu Gardanne, Napoleon's envoy toPersia, who tried to combat British and Russian influence in the region. Fabvier was tasked with creating an artillery school and arsenal atEsfahān, and was awarded the newly constitutedOrder of the Lion and the Sun for his efforts.[1]
In 1809, he returned toEurope viaRussia, and served for a while as a volunteer in the Polish army of theDuchy of Warsaw. Arriving atVienna, he was named captain in theFrench Imperial Guard. He served asaide-de-camp of MarshalAuguste de Marmont in Spain, and was sent by him to Russia to inform Napoleon on theBattle of Salamanca. He arrived at Napoleon's headquarters on 6 September 1812, the eve of theBattle of Borodino. Fabvier was gravely wounded in this battle, leading the charge during the final assault on the Russian fortifications. Napoleon rewarded him by naming him artillery major in theVI Corps underMarshal Ney. He distinguished himself further during the operations of theWar of the Sixth Coalition in Germany, and was raised to colonel of the General Staff and madebaron de l'Empire. He participated in the retreat into France, and on 31 March 1814, on behalf of MarshalsMarmont andMortier, he signed thesurrender ofParis to the Coalition armies.[1]
During theHundred Days, he joined the frontier defence forces as a volunteer.
After Napoleon's downfall in 1815, he continued to serve in the royal French army. In 1817, he accompanied Marshal Marmont as chief of staff in quelling the riots atLyon, provoked by the harsh conduct of the local military governor, GeneralSimon Canuel. Soon after, he was suspended from his military duties for hisliberal beliefs, and was arrested in August 1820 and charged with participation in a military conspiracy. Although he was released for lack of evidence, he was later called as a witness, but refused to disclose a name demanded by the public prosecutor, for which he was fined 500 francs.
In 1822, he was charged with aiding the flight of thefour sergeants of La Rochelle, but was acquitted.[2] In 1823 he decided to leave France and went toGreece, to help the Greeks during their ongoingWar of Independence. His first task was the supervision of the fortifications ofNavarino. Then he travelled to Britain to drum up support among thePhilhellenes. Returning again to Greece, he was appointed head of the small Greek regular army, with which he participated in several battles, most notably theSiege of the Acropolis ofAthens in 1826. In 1828, he returned to France, only to return to Greece alongside the FrenchMorea expedition. For his services during the Greek War of Independence, theThird National Assembly at Troezen declared Fabvier an honorary Greek citizen in 1827, and he was later awarded the Grand Cross of theOrder of the Redeemer by KingOtho I.
In 1830, he returned to France and took part in theJuly Revolution. Initially chief of staff to GeneralÉtienne Maurice Gérard, on 4 August Fabvier was named military commander of Paris. In 1831, he resigned his commission and retired with the rankLieutenant General. Fabvier was made apeer of France in 1845, and in 1848, he was sent as the French ambassador toConstantinople, and thereafter toDenmark. Back in France he was elected to theNational Assembly of France as a representative ofMeurthe. There he sided with the conservative group of the assembly. He retired from public life on2 December 1851, and died inParis four years later.[1]
