Nicolas Joseph, marquis de Maison | |
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| Born | (1771-12-19)19 December 1771 Épinay-sur-Seine, France |
| Died | 13 February 1840(1840-02-13) (aged 68) Paris, France |
| Years of service | 1789–1836 |
| Rank | Marshal of France |
| Commands | Morea expedition (1828) |
| Battles / wars | French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars Greek War of Independence |
| Awards | Marquess Peer of France Name engraved under the Arc de Triomphe Grand-croix of the Order of Saint-Louis Grand-croix of the Legion of Honour Knight of the Military Order of Maximilian Joseph (Bavaria) Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Redeemer (Greece) Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III (Spain) Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) |
| Other work | Minister of Foreign Affairs (1830) Minister of War (1835 –1836) |
Nicolas Joseph Maison, marquis de Maison (French:[nikɔlaʒozɛfmɛzɔ̃]; 19 December 1771 – 13 February 1840) was a French military officer who served in theFrench Revolutionary Wars, theNapoleonic Wars, and as commander of theMorea expedition during theGreek War of Independence. He was made aMarshal of France in 1829 and served asMinister of War from 1835 to 1836.[1]
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Nicolas-Joseph Maison was born inÉpinay-sur-Seine, near Paris on 19 December 1771. He enlisted in the Army in 1789 and on 1 August 1791, he was namedcaptain in the 9th Battalion of Volunteers of Paris and served in the infantry in the earlyFrench Revolutionary Wars. He served asaide-de-camp to Minister of WarJean Bernadotte in 1799.[1]
In 1805, he joined the I Corps of theGrande Armée assembled by EmperorNapoleon I and participated in theBattle of Austerlitz. During the campaign of 1806, he served as aGeneral de brigade in the corps of Marshal Bernadotte and took part in the chase of the Prussian army toLübeck after their defeat atJena. In 1808 he was sent to Spain where he served under MarshalVictor and was wounded at the capture ofMadrid. In 1812 he joined Napoleon in theinvasion of Russia. At some point in the invasion MarshalMichel Ney saved his life, a deed he would later repay by refusing to join the court-martial which in 1815 was assembled to judge Ney after theHundred Days.[2] At the Beresina he was promoted toGeneral de division and made abaron of the Empire.[1]
After the wounding of MarshalOudinot, he took over command of the II Corps and led it during the retreat to theWeischel. He served in the campaign of 1813 and after MarshalJacques MacDonald's defeat at theBattle of Katzbach was once again tasked with leading the retreat. After theBattle of Leipzig, where he was wounded, he was given the Grand Cross of theLégion d'honneur and was made acount of the empire.[3] In 1814, he was tasked with defending what is now Belgium and the port ofAntwerp. With inadequate forces, he managed to hold his own against greatly superior Allied forces and defeatedJohann von Thielmann's Saxons at theBattle of Courtrai.[1]
After the abdication of the emperor, Maison rallied to KingLouis XVIII, who made him a Knight of St. Louis and appointed him Governor of Paris. During theHundred Days, Maison stayed loyal to the Bourbons and joined them when they fled toGhent. After theSecond Restoration, he was made commandant of the 1st Military Division. He was put on the court martial appointed to judge MarshalNey on a charge of treason for joining Napoléon but after he and his colleagues declared themselves incompetent he was demoted to command of the 8th Military Division inMarseille. In 1817, Maison was created amarquis and aPeer of France by Louis XVIII.[1]
In 1828, he was given command of theFrench expeditionary corps inMorea (thePeloponnese peninsula in Greece).[1][4] This expedition consisted in a land intervention of the French Army in the Peloponnese at the time of theGreek War of Independence, with the aim of liberating the region from the Turkish-Egyptian occupation forces commanded byIbrahim Pasha.[5] The military expedition was also accompanied by a scientific expedition mandated by theFrench Academy. After the soldiers took control of the principal strongholds held by the Turkish troops (Navarino,Modon,Coron andPatras), General Maison was created aMarshal of France byCharles X on 22 February 1829.[6][7][8][9] Although he returned to France after 8 months, the French kept a military presence in the area until 1833. He left Greece on 22 May 1829.[5]
In 1830, Maison supported theJuly Revolution and served in November 1830 as Minister of Foreign Affairs for a couple of weeks, before being sent toVienna as ambassador. In 1833 he was madeambassador to Russia in St. Petersburg. Maison served as minister of war from 30 April 1835 to 19 September 1836 after which he retired from public life.[1]
Nicolas-Joseph Maison died in Paris on 13 February 1840. He is buried in thePère Lachaise Cemetery (division 5).[1]
Commander of theLegion of Honor on 22 November 1808.
Grand Officer of theLegion of Honor on 28 September 1813.
Grand Cross of theLegion of Honor on 22 July 1814.
Grand Cross of theOrder of the Reunion on 19 November 1813.
Grand Cross of theOrder of Saint Louis on 30 September 1818.
Bavaria:Knight of theMilitary Order of Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria (1806).
Greece:Grand Cross of theRoyal Order of the Redeemer (1834).
Spain:Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Charles III (1835).
Belgium:Grand Cordon of theOrder of Leopold (1836).| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 2 November 1830 – 17 November 1830 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of War 30 April 1835 – 6 September 1836 | Succeeded by |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Cabinet of Jacques Laffitte (2 November 1830 to 13 March 1831) | ||
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Head of state: KingLouis Philippe I | ||
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Cabinet of Victor de Broglie (12 March 1835 to 22 February 1836) | ||
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Head of state: KingLouis Philippe I | ||
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First cabinet of Adolphe Thiers (22 February 1836 to 6 September 1836) | ||
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Head of state: KingLouis Philippe I | ||
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