Antoine Virgile Schneider | |
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| Born | (1779-03-22)22 March 1779 Bouquenom,Bailiwick of Sarreguemines, France |
| Died | 11 July 1847(1847-07-11) (aged 68) Paris, France |
| Rank | Lieutenant general (1831) |
| Commands | Spain expedition (1823) Morea expedition (1828) |
| Battles / wars |  Napoleonic Wars |
| Awards | Name engraved under the Arc de Triomphe Grand-croix of the Legion of Honour Grand-commander of the Order of the Redeemer (Greece) Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) |
| Other work | Deputy (district of Moselle):
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Antoine Virgile Schneider (22 March 1779 – 11 July 1847) was a Frenchgeneral andpolitician. He wasMinister of War under theJuly Monarchy in the second government ofJean de Dieu Soult from 12 May 1839 to 1 March 1840.[1][2]
Antoine Virgile Schneider was born on 22 March 1779 at Bouquenom, and was the son of doctor Christophe Schneider. He was the cousin ofAdolphe Schneider andEugène Schneider, who developed the iron industry atLe Creusot. Virgil Schneider graduated from theÉcole Polytechnique in the year VII of the 1st French Republic (1799).[1]
A memoir on the Greek island ofCorfu addressed toNapoleon Bonaparte earned him his appointment as supernumerary inMilitary engineering. He wasLieutenant during the Polish campaign,Captain during theSpanish Civil War (1808), he took part in the sieges ofSaragossa (1808–1809) andFigueres (1811). He was created aKnight of the Empire on 23 February 1811, he became aide-de-camp toGeneral Clarke. After a mission to theIonian islands, he was besieged inDanzig in 1813 withGeneral Rapp. He was appointedColonel in 1815. Prisoner of War, he returned to France in 1814 and was, during theHundred Days, Chief of Staff of Rapp, who commanded the 5th Corps, assigned to cover the Rhine.[1]
Brought into inactivity by theSecond Restoration, he was recalled to service in 1819 and took part in thecampaign in Spain and particularly in theSiege of Pamplona in 1823 as colonel of the 20th Regiment of Light Infantry. Promoted toMaréchal de camp on 22 May 1825, he participated to theMorea expedition in Greece, under the command ofMarshal Maison, and he directed the siege operations of the fortresses of thePeloponnese in October 1828.[3] Heading the 3rd Brigade of the expeditionary force, he liberated the city ofPatras (on 5 October 1828) and took the “Castle of Morea” of Patras (on 30 October 1828 ) to the Turkish-Egyptian occupation troops ofIbrahim Pasha.[3] After having completely liberated Greece from the occupier, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the occupation troops in place of Marshal Maison, and received, at the time of his recall in July 1831, a sword of honor by the Greek government.[1]
Promoted toLieutenant-General on 12 August 1831 and appointed Chief of Staff at the Department of War on 20 November 1832, he was elected on 21 June 1834deputy of the 6th district ofMoselle (Sarreguemines), and re-elected on 4 November 1837 and 2 March 1839. He served in the majority but voted against the law of disjunction and was part of the coalition against theLouis Mathieu Molé Ministry. He voted for funding the Duke of Nemours and for the census.[1]
AppointedMinister of War in the second government ofJean de Dieu Soult on 12 May 1839, he had to stand again before his electors, who confirmed his mandate on 8 June 1839. He kept his ministry until 1 March 1840. During his time in government, he improved the lives of the officers and reorganized the General Staff.[1]
On 28 November 1840, General Schneider was given command of the troops of the external division of Paris, which cooperated in the work of the fortifications of the capital and, on 17 July 1841, he became president of the infantry committee. Re-elected as a deputy on 9 July 1842 and on 1 August 1846, he voted against the compensation Pritchard and the Rémusat proposal.[1]
Grand-officier of the Legion of Honour (22 February 1829)
Grand-croix of the Legion of Honour (14 April 1844)
Grand-commander of the Order of the Redeemer (Greece) (Almanach royal et national 1835)
Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) (Almanach royal et national 1835)| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of War 12 May 1839 - 1 March 1840 | Succeeded by |
Second cabinet of Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult (12 May 1839 to 1 March 1840) | ||
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Head of state: KingLouis Philippe I | ||
| President of the council | ||
| Foreign Affairs | ||
| Interior | ||
| Justice and Religious Affairs | ||
| War | ||
| Finance | ||
| Navy and Colonies | ||
| Public Education | ||
| Public Works | ||
| Agriculture and Commerce | ||
General Council of Moselle until 2015 | |
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