François Certain de Canrobert | |
|---|---|
 François Certain de Canrobert photographed byNadar | |
| Nicknames | Doyen[1] ofMarshals Doyen des Maréchaux |
| Born | (1809-06-27)27 June 1809 |
| Died | 28 January 1895(1895-01-28) (aged 85) |
| Allegiance |  Bourbon Restoration July MonarchyFrench Second RepublicSecond French EmpireFrench Third Republic |
| Branch | French Army Line Infantry |
| Years of service | 1828–1873 |
| Rank | Maréchal de France |
| Commands | Subdivision of Batna 2nd Foreign Legion Regiment 2ème R.E.L.E (1848) VI Army Corps,Army of the Rhine (1870) |
| Battles / wars | Conquest of Algeria Crimean War Franco-Prussian War |
| Other work | Military governor of Paris (1865–1870) Senator ofLot (1876) Senator ofCharente (1879) |
François Marcellin Certain de Canrobert (French pronunciation:[fʁɑ̃swamaʁsəlɛ̃sɛʁtɛ̃dəkɑ̃ʁɔbɛʁ]; bornFrançois Certain Canrobert;[2] 27 June 1809 – 28 January 1895) was a FrenchMarshal. He demonstrated ability during theSecond French Empire while participating in theBattle of the Alma, theBattle of Magenta, theBattle of Solferino and theBattle of Gravelotte. A staunch supporter ofNapoleon III, he became, under theFrench Third Republic, one of the leading figures in theBonapartist party and chairman, from 1876 to 1894, of theSenate within the French parliamentary groupAppel au peuple.
François Certain de Canrobert was born inSaint-Céré inLot, where a statue (1897) in his effigy was erected inplace de la République by Alfred Lenoir.
At his birth, his father, Antoine Certain Canrobert, a former captain, was already 55 years old. This officer of theAncien régime had emigrated in 1791 and served against the French republic in theArmée de Condé. His half-brother, Antoine, a brilliant officer and graduate ofSaint-Cyr, was killed by a cannonball at theBattle of Ligny on 16 June 1815, while fighting forEmperor Napoleon I.
Through his father’s sister, Marie-Louise, François Certain de Canrobert was the cousin ofAdolphe andMarcellin Marbot, who became respectivelymaréchal de camp (brigadier general) andlieutenant-général (divisional general) during theJuly Monarchy of 1830–1848.
On 19 November 1826, aged 17, Canrobert entered theÉcole Royale spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr where he was designated as acorporal on 18 May 1828. At his graduation, he was posted to the 47th Line Infantry Regiment (French:47e Régiment d’Infanterie de Ligne) (RIL), with the rank ofsous-lieutenant starting 1 October. He served until 1840 and was promoted tolieutenant on 20 January 1832.
In 1835 he arrived with his unit inAlgeria, where he engaged in combat on the edges of Oued Sig and Habra. In 1836 he fought in actions at Dar el Achen, Tafna, Sidi Yacoub, La Silal and Bet el Laham.
He was designated as lieutenant adjudant major on 28 September 1836. On 26 April 1837 he was promoted to captain adjudant major. He took part in the combat of Medjeoly-Amar and theSiege of Constantine where, as an assistant to colonel Michel Combes (French:Combes), he was wounded. At the age of 27, Canrobert earned the Knight Cross of theLegion d'honneur.
He was assigned to the 6th Chasseurs Battalion à Pied (French:6e Bataillon), on 17 October 1840. He took part in the battle of col de Mouzaïa in 1840 (French:col de la Mouzaïa). In the following year, he participated in actions at de Nador, de Moursia and confronted the Flittas. Designated ascommandant-major on 22 May 1842, he joined the 13th Light Infantry Regiment (French:13e Régiment d'Infanterie Légère). On 16 October he transferred to the 5th Chasseurs Battalion à Pied (French:5e Bataillon de Chasseurs à Pied), where he gained the Officer Order of theLegion d'honneur while demonstrating combat capability at Gontas, Baal, Tadjena,Battle of Sidi Brahim, then near Oued Lemig, during the combatIsly and at Riou.
Promoted tolieutenant-colonel on 26 October 1845, he was assigned to the 16th Line Infantry Regiment (French:16e RIL) on 4 September[clarification needed]. On 8 June 1847 he was assigned to the 2nd Line Infantry Regiment (French:2e RIL) and commanded the subdivision of Batna.
Promoted tocolonel, on 8 November, he was assigned to the 78th Line Infantry Regiment (French:3e Régiment d'Infanterie Légère), which he left on 31 March 1848 to take up the functions of regimental commander of the2nd Foreign Legion Regiment2ème R.E.L.E, while simultaneously maintaining the subdivision of Batna. With this unit, he took onAhmed Bey.
In June he substituted for colonel Jean-François de Cariés de Senilhes (French:Cariés de Senilhes) and took command of the 3rd Zouaves Regiment (French:3e Régiment de Zouaves) and the subdivision of Sour El-Ghozlane. In 1849 he was in Beni Mélikech, Sameur, Al Amri. Then he commanded at the battle of Zaatcha (French:siège de Zaatcha), earning the Commander Neck Order of theLegion d'honneur on 10 December.
Recalled to France by the Prince-PresidentLouis-Napoléon Bonaparte, he was designated asmaréchal de camp (brigadier general) starting 12 January 1850. He was nominated as commandant of the infantry brigade of the 1st Division of Paris, on 8 March 1850, then to the command of the 3rd Brigade on 9 February 1851; he contributed to the success inParis of theFrench coup d'état of 1851. In the afternoon of 4 December 1851, on the Boulevards Montmarte and Poissonnière, the soldiers of the Division commanded by Canrobert came into contact with a crowd formed of the curious and protestors.[3][4] In a certain confusion, the soldiers opened fire, causing 100–300 deaths and hundreds of wounded.[3] On the night of 4 December the Parisian resistance to the coup collapsed, with 300 to 400 civilians killed.[5] While two-thirds of the protestors comprised workers, amongst them also featured the innocent and curious, victims of the division of Canrobert on the grand boulevards.[5] In all of France, 26,884 people were arrested, essentially in the South-East, the South-West and a couple of departments in the Center. Almost 21,000 people were condemned by mixed commissions (composed in each department by prefects, a general, and a magistrate) out of which 9,530 ended in transportation toAlgeria and 239 were sent to Cayenne inGuiana. On the other hand and quite quickly, all pronounced repression measures declared by the 82 mixed commissions worried PresidentLouis-Napoléon Bonaparte,[6] who delegated in extraordinary mission, generals Canrobert,Espinasse, and State Council Quentin Bauchart, in order to revise the arrest decisions taken and to prepare acts ofgrâce (forgiving the condemned by mercy). Espinasse and Canrobert, placed in charge of the South-West and Languedoc, showed little indulgence towards the condemned, they both accorded a little more than a thousand acts of forgiveness, while State Counselor Quentin-Bauchart, charged with the South-East, accorded alone 3,400 forgiveness sentences, while Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in his own right forgave numerous condemnations.[7]
Following these events Canrobert gained the function ofaide-de-camp to the Prince-President, and later to the Emperor. Promoted todivisional general on 14 January 1853, he commanded the infantry division at camp Helfaut-Saint Omer, as of 27 April. In May he became the inspector general of the 5th Infantry Arrondissement for the year 1853 before being designated to the infantry division of theOrient Army on 23 February 1854.
Asdivisional general, he participated to theCrimean War of 1853–1856 and became commander in chief after MarshalSaint-Arnaud, who died in September 1854. He took part in action atDobruja (July 1854) and in theBattle of the Alma (20 September 1854), where he was slightly wounded. He was elevated to the Grand Officer Order of theLegion d'honneur on 1 October. Present at theBattle of Balaclava (25 October 1854) and theBattle of Inkerman, he was wounded during the course of the latter, on 5 November 1854. He was accordingly promoted to the Order of theGrand-Croix of the Légion d'honneur. On 13 January 1855, he received theMedaille Militaire.
Judged[by whom?] too timorous, he was relieved by generalAimable Pélissier (16 May 1855). He accordingly reassumed command of his former division, which became the 1st Infantry Division of the 2nd Corps. This situation having become difficult, Napoleon III insisted that Canrobert return to France. After several refusals, in August 1855 Canrobert returned to Paris to take up his functions asaide-de-camp.
His disputes withLord Raglan, general of theBritish Army, obliged him to relinquish his command. On 18 March 1856, he was elevated to the dignity ofMarshal of France.
In February 1858 he commanded the division of the East atNancy, then theCamp de Châlons, starting from 1 June 1858. On 22 April 1859 he received the command of the 3rd Army Corps of the Alpes and participated in theSecond Italian War of Independence from April to July, passing by Turin, Dorial, Balba, Magenta and Solferino. He distinguished himself during theBattle of Magenta (4 June 1859) and was a major contributor to the victory at theBattle of Solferino on 24 June 1859.
He then joined the garrison atNancy with his army corps. He became commandant of the 3rd Military Arrondissement at Nancy, on 27 August. In 1862 he commanded the troops of the Camp de Châlons, then took command of the 4th Army Corps at Lyon, starting in October. On 22 June 1856 he commanded the 1st Army Corps of the 1st Military Division of Paris.
Following the outbreak of theFranco-Prussian War on 19 July 1870, on 12 August 1870, Canrobert declined to take command of theArmy of the Rhine, petrified by the responsibilities which would ensue. Abandoning the post toBazaine, Canrobert became an obedient subordinate. He took part in the battles ofSainte-Barbe,Noisseville andLandonchamps. On 16/18 August, he commanded the6th Army Corps and demonstrated distinguished capability atSaint-Privat where he shook three corps ofGénéral von Steinmetz and decimated the1st Infantry Regiment of the Prussian Guard. However, due to a mistake in the supply of ammunition and reinforcements, he abandoned his position. He was made prisoner – with Marshal Bazaine – during thesurrender of Metz on 28 October 1870. Following several months in captivity, he was liberated and returned to France in March 1871.
He was then named President of the infantry promotion commission, a member of theConseil supérieur de la guerre in 1872, and a member of the defense committee in 1873. He led a political career in the BonapartistAppel au peuple, being electedSenator for Lot in 1876 and for Charente in 1879, a function which he held until 1894. His senate colleagueVictor Hugo would not be tender for him: J'ai vu Canrobert au Sénat. Caboche de reître. Méchant, mais bête (Victor Hugo: "I saw Canrobert in the Senate. Roughneck soldier's head. Mean, but thick).[8]
Close toPresident-MarshalDuke de Mac Mahon, he voted for the June 1877 dissolution of the Chamber and supported the short-lived Government ofAlbert de Broglie. In 1873, he represented the French Government at the funeral of KingVictor Emmanuel II. A well-known figure of the Bonapartist Party, his participation in the political debates was mainly focused on military issues. He generally voted on the conservative side, most notably against bills on education, against judicial reforms, against the expulsion of the princes and against divorce, abstaining on the return to voting by district and on the press freedom restriction bill.
Doyen[1] of theMarshals of France of his time, he attended the funeral ofPresident-MarshalDukede Mac-Mahon and was saluted byRussianAdmiral Avellane on behalf of theRussian Emperor. This was his last public official appearance. He died in his Parisian home, on 28 January 1895. His funeral was celebrated on Sunday, 3 February 1895, at the Church of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides where he was buried. AdmiralHenri Rieunier,Minister of the Navy, was designated to hold one of the five cordons of the funeral chariot.
He owned the Eglantine Castle inJouy-en-Josas, which since 1991 houses the Musée de latoile de Jouy.
The name of Canrobert was given to:
Kingdom of France:
United Kingdom:
Sweden-Norway: Knight of theOrder of the Seraphim, 17 November 1855.[10]
Denmark: Knight of theOrder of the Elephant, 28 November 1855.[11]
Kingdom of Sardinia:
Kingdom of Prussia: Knight of theOrder of the Black Eagle, 12 June 1867.[13]
Ottoman Empire:Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class.
Russian Empire: Knight of theOrder of St. Andrew.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
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