François Séverin Marceau | |
|---|---|
 General Marceau, byFrançois Bouchot,Musée de l'armée | |
| Born | 1 March 1769 |
| Died | 21 September 1796(1796-09-21) (aged 27) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of France.svg) Kingdom of France French Republic |
| Years of service | 1785–1796 |
| Rank | Divisional general |
| Commands | Armée de l'Ouest Fortress of Mainz |
| Battles / wars | French Revolutionary Wars |
| Awards | Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe |
| Other work | Minister of War |
François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers (French pronunciation:[fʁɑ̃swasevəʁɛ̃maʁsodegʁavje]; 1 March 1769 – 21 September 1796) was a French general of theRevolutionary Wars.
Desgraviers was born on 1 March 1769 inChartres, in the province ofOrléanais, the son of aprosecutor. In December 1785, at the age of 16, he enlisted in the Angoulême Infantry Regiment, which later became the 34th Infantry Regiment of the French Army. While onfurlough in Paris, Marceau participated in thestorming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789.[1] After that event he took his discharge from the regular army and returned to Chartres, but the opposition of his family soon compelled him to seek new military employment.[2]
In July 1792, Marceau was appointedcaptain of theRevolutionary Army's 2nd Battalion of Volunteers ofEure-et-Loir.[1] He took part in thedefence of Verdun later in the year, and it was his troop that was ordered to bear the proposals of capitulation to thePrussian camp. The defenders' lack ofmorale provoked the anger of the revolutionary authorities, and Marceau was fortunate to find re-employment as a captain in the regular service. However, early in 1793, he along with other officers under suspicion was arrested and imprisoned for a period.[3]
On his release, Marceau hurried to take part in the defence ofSaumur against theVendéean Royalists, distinguishing himself at theBattle of Saumur on 10 June 1793 by rescuing the representativePierre Bourbotte from the hands of the insurgents. TheNational Convention voted him the thanks of the country and he received rapid promotion. His conduct at theBattle of Chantonnay on 5 September 1793 won him the provisional rank ofgeneral of brigade. On 17 October, he bore a great part in the victory at theBattle of Cholet, and on began his friendship withJean Baptiste Kléber while on the field of battle.[3]
Kléber was made ageneral of division, and Marceau confirmed as general of brigade. Marceau in turn became agénéral de division on 10 November; then succeeded to thecommander-in-chiefad interim. With Kléber, he crushed the Vendean rebels at theBattle of Le Mans on 12–13 December and at theBattle of Savenay on 23 December 1793.
In the wake of Le Mans, Marceau had rescued and protected a youngRoyalist lady, Angélique des Mesliers, with whom it has been supposed Marceau fell in love – however, even his help could not save her from theguillotine.[3]
He and Kléber themselves were saved from arrest and execution only by the intervention of Bourbotte. Around this time Marceau became engaged to Agathe Leprêtre de Châteaugiron, but the marriage was prevented by his constant military employment, his broken health and the opposition of bothAuguste-Félicité Le Prestre de Châteaugiron and Marceau's devoted half-sister Emira, wife of theRepublican politicianAntoine Joseph Sergent.[3]
After spending the winter of 1793–94 in Paris, Marceau accepted a command in the army underJean-Baptiste Jourdan alongside Kléber and took part in the various battles nearCharleroi. During thebattle of Fleurus on 26 June 1794 he had a horse shot from under him. He distinguished himself atJülich, atAldenhoven and atKoblenz, where he stormed the enemy lines on 23 October.[3]
He took part in the1795-1796 campaign with the armies of theSambre andMeuse, fighting on theRhine and theLahn and distinguishing himself alongside Kléber and future king of Sweden and marshal of FranceCharles XIV John (Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte) nearNeuwied andSulzbach.[3]
He became a close companion ofJean Baptiste Bernadotte and they shared many victories, often working together as an effective duo. At Neuwied he held Kléber and Bernadotte's rear, going so far as to threaten to "shoot himself from mortification" if his men were to fail to hold. It was effective, and the retreat was successful.[4]
After Jourdan andJean Victor Marie Moreau'sRhine Campaign of 1796 ended in defeat, Marceau's men covered Jourdan's retreat over the Rhine. Marceau fought in the desperateBattle of Limburg on theLahn River (16–19 September 1796). While conducting a successful rear guard action nearAltenkirchen on 19 September, he received a mortal wound. He died two days later in the early morning, aged only twenty-seven.[3]
TheAustrians competed with Marceau's own countrymen to honour the dead general. His body was burned and the ashes placed under a pyramid in Koblenz designed by Kléber. They were transferred to thePanthéon in 1889.[3]
Marceau was immortalized inLord Byron'sChilde Harold's Pilgrimage:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Marceau-Desgraviers, François Séverin".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 683–684. The 1911Britannica, in turn, gives the following references:
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