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French general (1755?1825)
Gabriel-Marie-Theodore-Joseph, comte d'Hedouville
(27 July 1755 in
Laon
,
Aisne
– 30 March 1825) (also
Thomas Hedouville
) was a French soldier and diplomat.
Life
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Early life
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A student at the royal college at
La Fleche
, he became a lieutenant in 1788 and rose to adjutant-general and lieutenant-colonel in 1792. He fought at the
Battle of Valmy
on 20 September 1792 and was made
general de brigade
and
chief of staff
to the
Army of Moselle
the following March. He then distinguished himself at the
Battle of Kaiserslautern
. However, he was then suspended and imprisoned as a noble and thus as a suspect, but was freed on
9 Thermidor
year II (27 July 1794), brought back into the army at the rank of general of brigade and sent to the
Army of the Coasts of Cherbourg
(then at
Brest
). He became
general of division
in November 1795 and the
Cherbourg
army's chief of staff in January 1795, under
Lazare Hoche
. Under Hoche's orders he carried out a policy of pacification and appeasement in the west, which had revolted against the Republican regime.
He temporarily commanded the
Army of the Coasts of the Ocean
in place of Hoche from 10 July to mid-August 1796.
Saint-Domingue
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He served on
Saint-Domingue
in 1798, where he had been sent as governor during
Sonthonax
's second commission. He encouraged the dissension between
Andre Rigaud
and
Toussaint Louverture
which helped to fuel the
Haitian Revolution
.
[2]
[3]
Toussaint's military leadership during the
Haitian Revolution
resulted in the rebellious slaves gaining the upper hand and restoring most of Saint-Domingue to France. Now that he ruled the island, Toussaint did not wish to surrender power to France and continued to effectively rule the country autonomously. Hedouville was one of the rivals to power whom Toussaint had to overcome. Hedouville was eventually forced to flee.
[4]
However, before he left, he released
Andre Rigaud
from Toussaint's leadership.
[5]
Consulate to Restoration
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After his time on Saint-Domingue, Hedouville was employed by the
Armee d'Angleterre
before returning to western France in January 1800 to take over from Hoche as commander-in-chief of the
Army of the West
He again negotiated a peace settlement with the Royalists. He was appointed as the
Consulate
's minister plenipotentiary at
Saint Petersburg
, Russia, from 1801 to 1804, when the Tsar broke relations with France. Hedouville left Saint Petersburg 7 June 1804. On 1 February 1805 he became a member of the
Senat conservateur
, and he was ennobled as a
Count of the Empire
. Remaining a monarchist at heart, he enthusiastically rallied to
King Louis XVIII
in 1814.
Notes
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References
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External links
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