Marcellin Marbot | |
|---|---|
 Marbot as a colonel commander of the7th Hussar Regiment in 1815[1] | |
| Birth name | Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin Marbot |
| Nickname | Marbot the Younger |
| Born | (1782-08-18)18 August 1782 |
| Died | 16 November 1854(1854-11-16) (aged 72) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  French RepublicFrench Empire Kingdom of FranceKingdom of FranceFrench Republic |
| Years of service | 1799–1848 |
| Rank | Lieutenant-Général (Divisional general) |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Order of the Legion of Honour (Grand Officer) Order of Saint Louis (Knight) Order of Leopold (Commander) Order of the Oak Crown (Grand Cross) |
| Relations | Jean-Antoine Marbot,Divisional general (Father) Antoine Adolphe Marcelin Marbot,Maréchal de camp (Brother) François Certain de Canrobert,Marshal of France (Cousin) |
| Other work | Member of the Chamber of Peers |
Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin Marbot[a] (/mɑːrˈboʊ/mar-BOH,French:[ʒɑ̃batistɑ̃twanmaʁsəlɛ̃maʁbo]; 18 August 1782 – 16 November 1854), known asMarcellin Marbot,[b] was a Frenchgeneral, famous for his memoirs depicting theNapoleonic age of warfare.[3] He belongs to a family that has distinguished itself particularly in the career of arms, giving three generals to France in less than 50 years. His elder brother,Adolphe Marbot, was also a general.
Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin Marbot was born into a family of military nobility inAltillac, in the ancient province ofQuercy in southwestern France.[4] He was the younger son of GeneralJean-Antoine Marbot, who had served asaide-de-camp toLieutenant-Général de Schomberg, inspector general of the cavalry in themilitary household of the king of France.[5]
After completing his studies at the Military College of Sorèze (1793–1798), he joined the1st Hussar Regiment as a volunteer on 3 September 1799.[4] Serving under GeneralJean-Mathieu Seras, he was promoted to the rank ofsergeant on 1 December 1799, and later that month, tosecond lieutenant on 31 December in recognition of his bravery. He fought with theArmy of Italy and took part in theSiege of Genoa, during which his father, General Jean-Antoine Marbot died, and subsequently fought in theBattle of Marengo.[6]
Upon returning to France, he joined the25th Chasseur Regiment on 11 June 1801 and was detached to the Cavalry School atVersailles.[7]
On 31 August 1803 he becameaide-de-camp to GeneralCharles-Pierre Augereau and was promoted to the rank oflieutenant on 11 July 1804. Having distinguished himself at theBattle of Austerlitz, he fought in theVII corps of theGrande Armée during the1806–1807 campaign against theKingdom of Prussia and theRussian Empire. On 3 January 1807 he was promoted to the rank ofcaptain and took part in theBattle of Eylau, during the course of which he nearly lost his life. Subsequently, he served in thePeninsular War under MarshalsJean Lannes andAndré Masséna, and showed himself to be a dashing leader of light cavalry in theRussian campaign of 1812.[8]
He was promoted to the rank ofcolonel on 15 November 1812 and took part in theGerman campaign of 1813 as commander of the23rd Chasseur Regiment. During the morning of the first day of theBattle of Leipzig, Marbot nearly altered the course of the war when his regiment came close to capturing the Tsar of Russia,Alexander I and the King of Prussia,Frederick William III, as they had strayed from their escort.[9] After a slow recovery from the wounds he had sustained at the battles ofLeipzig andHanau, he rallied to EmperorNapoleon during theHundred Days, leading the7th Hussar Regiment at theBattle of Waterloo.[8]
After Napoleon's final defeat in 1815, he was exiled during the early years of theBourbon Restoration, returning to France in 1819.[8]
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During theJuly Monarchy, his close relationship with KingLouis Philippe I and his son, PrinceFerdinand Philippe of Orléans secured him important military appointments. He was promoted to the rank ofmaréchal de camp (brigadier general), and was present in this capacity at theSiege of Antwerp in 1832.[8]
From 1835 to 1840 he served in variousAlgerian expeditions, and was promoted to the rank oflieutenant-général (divisional general) in 1836. In 1845 he became a member of theChamber of Peers. Three years later, after the fall of King Louis Philippe I, he retired into private life.[8]
His father, GeneralJean-Antoine Marbot, had four sons, only two whom reached adulthood:Antoine Adolphe Marcelin, the elder,maréchal de camp (brigadier general) during theJuly Monarchy, and Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin, the younger. Through his mother, he was the cousin ofFrançois Certain de Canrobert,Marshal of France during theSecond French Empire.[4]
On 5 November 1811, he married Angélique Marie Caroline Personne-Desbrières (1790–1873), and by this alliance became the owner of the Château du Rancy inBonneuil-sur-Marne.[10] They had two sons:
Marbot received the following decorations:
Knight: 6 June 1827.[11]Marbot endured 13 wounds and injuries[2] during his service:
In exile after theBattle of Waterloo, Marbot returned to France in 1819 and wrote two books:
The first publication was a reply to General Joseph Rogniat's treatise on war, in which Marbot effectively contrasted the human factor in war with Rogniat's pure theory. The second presented his recommendations for the future development of theFrench Armed Forces.
Napoleon read the first publication while in exile on the island ofSaint Helena. Hisaide-de-camp, GeneralHenri Gatien Bertrand recorded in his diary on 14 March 1821:
In the evening, the Emperor handed me Marbot's book, [...] and said: "That is the best book I have read for four years. It is the one that has given me the greatest amount of pleasure. [...] He has expressed some things better than I did, he was more familiar with them because, on the whole, he was more of a Corps commander than I. [...] Throughout the book he never refers to 'the Emperor'. He wanted the King of France [Louis XVIII] to give him an appointment with the rank of Colonel; that is quite obvious. He uses 'Emperor' once, so as not to look as though he were afraid to do so, or to appear cowardly, and another time he uses 'Napoleon'. He mentionsMasséna andAugereau frequently, and he has described theBattle of Essling better than I could have done it myself [...]. I should have liked to show Marbot my appreciation by sending him a ring. If I ever return to active life, I will have him attached to me as anaide-de-camp [...].[18]
This publication earned Marbot the distinction of being remembered inNapoleon's will:
To Colonel Marbot, one hundred thousand francs. I recommend him to continue to write in defence of the glory of theFrench armies, and to confound their calumniators and apostates.[19]
His fame rests chiefly on theMemoirs of his life and campaigns, theMemoirs of General Baron de Marbot, which were written for his children and published posthumously in Paris, in 1891. An English translation byArthur John Butler was published in London, in 1892.[20] Marbot's Memoirs were widely acclaimed, andArthur Conan Doyle wrote of them:
The first of all soldier books in the world. [...] There are few books which I could not spare from my shelves better than the Memoirs of the gallant Marbot.[21]
Several authors and personalities have cited Marbot and his Memoirs in their works:
Several places and buildings have been named after Marbot:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Marbot, Jean Baptiste Antoine Marcelin, Baron de".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.The regiment was led in 1815 by Colonel Marcelin Marbot, who left a vivid set of memoirs about his military career under Napoleon; these give a picture of the Napoleonic age of warfare [...].
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Marbot, Jean Baptiste Antoine Marcelin, Baron de".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 680.Marbot, Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcellin. 6 June 1827. Knight.
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)10 March 1833. – N. 425. – Ordinance containing the French decorated with theOrder of Leopold on the occasion of the Antwerp Citadel. [...] Marbot,aide-de-camp to HRH The Duke of Orléans. Baudrand,aide-de-camp to HRH The Duke of Orléans.
We receive an official report of the appointments made in Belgium to different ranks of theOrder of Leopold in favor of the French army. [...] Are appointed Commanders: Generals Dejean, Jamia, Fabre, Achard, T. Sébastiani, Gentil-Saint-Alphonse, Schramm, Marbot, Baudrand, Rumigny, Harlet, Latour-Maubourg, de Riguy, Georges, Simonneau, Lawoestine, Rullière, Durocheret, d'Hincourt, Laffaille, Auvray and Gourgaud.
Netherlands. [...]Order of the Oak Crown. Grand Crosses. Baron Achard, Peer, Lieutenant-General. Baron Marbot, Peer, Lieutenant-General.
Paris, 9th Sept. [...] TheKing of the Netherlands (and Grand Duke of Luxembourg) has awarded the Grand Cross of theOrder of the Oak Crown to the Adjutant of the Count of Paris, Lieutenant-General Marbot.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
