Baron Antoine Simon Durrieu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1775-07-20)20 July 1775 inGrenade-sur-l'Adour (Landes) Kingdom of France |
| Died | 7 April 1862(1862-04-07) (aged 86) inSaint-Sever (Landes) France |
| Years of service | 1793–1848 |
| Rank | General of division (1829) |
| Commands | Spain expedition (1823) Morea expedition (1828) |
| Battles / wars |  French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars |
| Awards | Baron Name engraved under the Arc de Triomphe Knight of the Order of Saint-Louis Grand-croix of the Legion of Honour Grand-croix of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Grand-croix of the Order of the Redeemer Knight of the Order of the Iron Crown |
| Other work | Deputy (district of Landes):
|
Antoine Simon Durrieu was aFrenchgeneral and politician. He was born on 20 July 1775 inGrenade-sur-l'Adour (Landes) and died on 7 April 1862 inSaint-Sever (Landes).[1][2][3]
Son of a notary, he studied at the seminary ofAire-sur-l'Adour and left it in 1793 to go, with the corps of theNational Guards ofBayonne, to the banks of theBidasoa to keep the positions that the troop of line could not occupy at the borders. In 1795, he becameCaptain of the Basque volunteers. That same year, he joined theArmy of the Eastern Pyrenees. Following the peace concluded withSpain, he crossed intoItaly and fought inTyrol with GeneralsJoubert andBelliard. AfterMalta, he also distinguished himself at theBattle of the Pyramids (21 July 1798) in the FrenchArmy of the Orient commanded by GeneralBonaparte.[1][2]
After his return to France for health reasons, he courageously fought in the battles ofEngen,Messkirch,Biberach,Marengo andPozzolo. He nevertheless remained Captain for fourteen years. Having been wounded inCalabria under the orders of GeneralMasséna, he was finally appointedBattalion Commander in 1807, and eighteen months later,Colonel on the battlefield ofWagram (5–6 July 1809). On 9 May 1811, Napoleon made himKnight of the Empire. During thecampaign of Russia in 1812, he became chief of the general staff of PrinceEugène de Beauharnais, who noticed his conduct at theBattle of Borodino on 7 September.[1][2]
The defense ofGlogau was entrusted to him. He took part in the battles ofLützen andBautzen (1813). BecameBrigadier General on 3 June 1813, he locked himself up with a strong detachment inTorgau on theElbe, where an epidemic fever consumed 25,000 men. Attacked by the Prussians, he resisted them but was taken prisoner in 1814. He was released after the fall of the Empire.[4]
Back in France, during the invasion of 1815, he was division's head at theMinistry of War. The return of Napoleon during theHundred-Days having called him back to activity, he took part in the fights at thebattle of Ligny (Fleurus) and was wounded at thebattle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.[1]
Napoleon Bonaparte had said of Durrieu: "If all those who were responsible for defending the soil of France had resembled Durrieu, the soil would never have been insulted by being trampled on by the foreigner."[2]
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Rallied to the Restoration, he was appointed in 1818, one of the sixteenField Marshals of the royal staff. He participated as Chief of the General Staff in theSpain expedition (1823), then in theMorea expedition (1828) during theGreek War of Independence.
In Greece, in the Peloponnese, he liberated the city ofModon (7 October 1828) and took the “castle of Morea” inPatras (30 October 1828) from the Turkish-Egyptian occupation troops ofIbrahim Pasha.Marshal Maison, under the command of whom he served, and himself, left the Greek soil after 8 months of mission, on 22 May 1829, after having completely liberated Greece from the occupier.[5] During this campaign, on 22 February 1829, he was promoted by KingCharles X,General of division, then on his return to France,Baron on 30 June 1830.[1][2]
Under theJuly Monarchy, entrusted with the command of the division ofAjaccio, Durrieu received the title of General Inspector of Infantry in 1833. Candidate of the government, he was elected deputy of theLandes (district of Saint-Sever) in theChamber of Deputies for five successive terms (from 1834 to 1845, 2nd–6th legislature).[3] AppointedPair of France by KingLouis-Philippe on 14 August 1845, he also sat in theChamber of Peers between 1845 and 1848.
During theRevolution of 1848, he was placed on retirement as a General of division on 30 May 1848, after 54 years of service in the French Army.[4] On 11 May 1851 he was recalled by the voters of the Landes to replace the economistFrédéric Bastiat at the Assembly, and was elected as a Representative of the People at theNational Legislative Assembly of theSecond Republic for one term.[3]
He retired toSaint-Sever for a definitive retirement, and died there on 7 April 1862. His tomb in the municipal cemetery is surmounted by an Egyptian pyramid, probably in memory of the memorable Napoleonic campaign of 1798.
1stBaron Durrieu on 30 June 1830.[6]
Knight of the Order of Saint-Louis.
Knight of the Legion of Honour on 13 February 1809.
Officier of the Legion of Honour on 24 August 1814.
Commander of the Legion of Honour on 29 October 1828.
Grand-officier of the Legion of Honour on 5 January 1834.
Grand-croix of the Legion of Honour on 24 October 1859.[4]Successive military ranks:
