Joseph Marie, comte Dessaix (24 September 1764,Thonon-les-Bains,Haute-Savoie – 26 October 1834) was a French general of theNapoleonic Wars.
He was born atThonon inSavoy. He studied medicine, took his degree atTurin, and then went toParis, where in 1789 he joined theNational Guard. In 1791 he tried without success to begin an uprising inSavoy, in 1792 he organized theLégion des Allobroges, and in the following years he served at thesiege of Toulon, in theArmy of the Eastern Pyrenees, and in theArmy of Italy. He was captured atRivoli, but was soon exchanged.[1]
In the spring of 1798 Dessaix was elected a member of theCouncil of Five Hundred. He was one of the few in that body who opposed thecoup d'etat of the18th Brumaire (November 9, 1799). In 1803 he was promoted general of brigade, and soon afterwardsCommander of the Légion d'honneur. He distinguished himself greatly at thebattle of Wagram (1809), and was about this time promoted general of division and named Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur, and in 1810 was made a count. He took part inNapoleon's invasion of Russia, leading the 4th division of theI Corps (Grande Armée) underDavout, and was twice wounded. For several months he wascommandant ofBerlin, and afterwards delivered the department ofMont Blanc from theAustrians. After thefirst restoration Dessaix held a command under theBourbons.[1]
He joinedNapoleon in theHundred Days and was appointed to command the 23rd Division in MarshalLouis Gabriel Suchet's corps on the Savoy frontier. His division included two battalions each of the 42nd and 53rd Line Infantry Regiments under General of Brigade Jean Revest and three battalions of the 67th Line under General of Brigade Jean Montfalcon.[2]
In 1816 he was imprisoned for five months. The rest of his life was spent in retirement.[1]
DESSAIX, J. is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 1.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dessaix, Joseph Marie".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 103.
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