Marie-François Auguste de Caffarelli du Falga (French pronunciation:[maʁifʁɑ̃swaoɡystdəkafaʁɛlidyfalɡa]; 7 October 1766,Falga,Haute-Garonne, France – 23 January 1849,Leschelles, nearGuise,Aisne) was a Frenchgénéral de division ofItalian descent. Two of hisbrothers were also generals. His name is inscribed on the south side of theArc de Triomphe.
First serving with the army onSardinia from 1783, he returned toFrance in 1791, enrolling as a privatedragoon in the 15e régiment and becomingaide-de-camp to GeneralDagobert. He was then madeadjutant general to theArmée de Sambre-et-Meuse and commanded the light-infantryDemi-brigade, which was nicknamedl'incomparable.
Also serving on theFrench invasion of Egypt, he became aide-de-camp toNapoléon Bonaparte in 1800,général de brigade after theBattle of Marengo, and finally commander of theLégion d'honneur in 1804. Sent as an ambassador toPope Pius VII, he organised the Pope's trip to France for Napoleon's coronation as emperor.
He was sent to interrogateToussaint Louverture in his French prison cell at Fort de Joux and met with Toussaint several times, the first time on 15 September 1802. One of his duties was to find out about treasures that French authorities believed Toussaint had hidden in Saint-Domingue. Toussaint, in his memoir, disputes that he ever took any treasures, and indeed it seems as if Napoléon and his aide were absolutely wrong to assume that Toussaint had ever diverted any money. John Relly Beard writes that "It has been suggested that torture [of Toussaint Louverture] was employed by Bonaparte's aide, Caffarelli" although he states that he can find no evidence to support this claim. (Beard p. 342)
He becamegénéral de division and governor of theTuileries, and grand aigle (Grand croix) of the Légion d'honneur, all on 8 February 1806, for his contribution to the victory atAusterlitz, and the following month was summoned to theKingdom of Italy's ministry of war and the fleet (remaining at its head until 1810).
He was made a knight of theOrder of the Iron Crown (ordre de la Couronne de fer) in 1807,comte de l'Empire (with a "dotation" of 23,000 francs on the "domaines" ofHanover), and was then employed inSpain. There he defeated an attempted English landing atLaredo, seizedBilbao, was named governor ofBiscay in 1811, completely routedMina's band of guerrillas and contributed to the raising of thesiege of Burgos.
In 1813, he once again became Napoleon's aide-de-camp, and when the Emperor left his army, he entrusted Caffarelli with commanding the remaining troops in Paris, the government of the imperial palace and organising the guard for the empressMarie Louise. In 1814, he accompanied Marie-Louise andher son as far asVienna. On his return to France, he begged to be allowed to retire, butLouis XVIII replied to his requests by sending him the insignia of theOrder of Saint Louis and naming him military governor of the 13e division militaire.
In January 1815, theduc de Bourbon sent him toRennes to do all the good and prevent all the evil that he could. On 22 April, he resumed his role as aide-de-camp, and on 2 June took command of the 1e division militaire.
He followed the army behind theLoire and was dismissed. Made aPair de France in 1831, in 1840, he headed the legal commission looking into having Napoleon's mortal remains transferred back to France. Out of place in this era of grand political debates, General Caffarelli died in 1849 after a long illness, leaving a widow (daughter of comteLouis Charles d'Hervilly), two daughters and a son (who the French government summoned to join theconseil d'État for the prefecture ofIlle-et-Vilaine).
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
