French marshal
Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr
,
1st Marquis of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr
(
French pronunciation:
[lo???
d?
?uvj??
s??
si?]
; 13 April 1764 – 17 March 1830) was a French military commander in the
French Revolutionary
and
Napoleonic Wars
who rose to the rank of
Marshal of the Empire
. He is regarded as
Napoleon
's finest commander in defensive warfare.
Early life
[
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]
He was born Laurent Gouvion in
Toul
,
Three Bishoprics
(now
Meurthe-et-Moselle
), the eldest child of Jean-Baptiste Gouvion, a
tanner
, and his wife Anne-Marie Mercier. He adopted the name Saint-Cyr after his mother, who had abandoned him at an early age.
He went to
Rome
when he was eighteen in order to study painting, but, although he continued his artistic studies after his return to
Paris
in 1784, he never adopted the profession of a
painter
.
He married Anne Gouvion (
Toul
, 2 November 1775 ? Paris, 18 June 1844) and had issue, including Laurent Francois, Marquis de Gouvion Saint-Cyr (30 December 1815 ? 30 January 1904), married in
Saint-Bouize
on 17 August 1847 to Marie Adelaide Bachasson de Montalivet (5 November 1828 ? 14 April 1880), daughter of
Marthe Camille Bachasson, Count of Montalivet
, and had issue.
Revolutionary Wars
[
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]
Portrait by
Jean-Urbain Guerin
, 1801
In 1792, Saint-Cyr was chosen as a
captain
in a volunteer battalion and served on the staff of
General Custine
. Promotion rapidly followed, and in the course of two years he rose to
chef de brigade
,
general de brigade
and
general de division
. He commanded the centre division of
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
's army in the
Rhine Campaign of 1796
, aiding in the celebrated retreat from
Bavaria
to the
Rhine
.
In 1798 he succeeded
Andre Massena
in the command of the
army of Italy
. In the following year he commanded the left wing of
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
's army fighting in
Germany
; when Jourdan was succeeded by Massena, he joined the army of Moreau in Italy, where he distinguished himself in face of the great difficulties that followed the
defeat of Novi
. Moreau disliked Saint-Cyr for his sense of righteousness and incorruptibility. Rumours were soon spreading that Saint-Cyr was a "bad bed fellow". Moreau also accused him of not supporting his brother generals, though General Ney and Davout often thanked him for his support after battles. In 1800, when Moreau was appointed to the command of the army of the Rhine, Saint-Cyr was named his principal lieutenant, and on 9 May gained a
victory
over
General Kray
at
Biberach
. He was not, however, on good terms with his commander and retired to France after the first operations of the campaign.
In 1801, Saint-Cyr was sent to Spain to command the army intended for the invasion of
Portugal
(
see
War of the Oranges
), and was named grand officer of the
Legion of Honour
. When a treaty of peace was shortly afterwards concluded with Portugal, he succeeded
Lucien Bonaparte
as ambassador at
Madrid
.
Napoleonic Wars
[
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]
Heraldic achievement of Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr as
comte de l’Empire
Saint-Cyr was a stoic in an age of pragmatism and glory. His refusal to sign the proclamation of congratulation for declaring the birth of the empire resulted in his name not being included in the first list of Napoleonic Marshals, while commanders such as
Jean Lannes
,
Jean-Baptiste Bessieres
and
Jean-de-Dieu Soult
who had not had independent command experience were included. For the whole of his life Saint-Cyr believed that Napoleon deliberately refused him troops just to disgrace him. In 1803, he was appointed to the command of an army corps in Italy. In 1805, he served with distinction under Massena, and in 1806, he was engaged in the
French invasion of Naples
. When he returned to Paris to protest his treatment in Naples, Napoleon sent him back to his post on pain of death. He took part in the
1807 campaigns
in
Prussia
and
Poland
, and in 1808, in which year he was made a
count
(
comte de l’Empire
), he commanded an army
corps
in
Catalonia
; but, not wishing to comply with certain orders he received from Paris, he resigned his command and remained in disgrace till 1811.
He was still a
general de division
, having been excluded from the first list of marshals. On the opening of the
Russian campaign
, Saint-Cyr received command of the
VI Corps
, and on 18 August 1812 won a victory over the Russians at
Polotsk
, in recognition of which he was made a marshal. The Russians, under
Barclay de Tolly
, were burning everything as they retreated back towards Moscow, and had just burned nearby Smolensk. It was just prior to the victory at
Polotsk
on the banks of the
Daugava river
, however, that
Oudinot
was wounded, and thus Saint-Cyr assumed his command.
In October 1812, Saint-Cyr was
driven out of Polotsk
. He received a severe wound in one of the battles during the general retreat. Saint-Cyr distinguished himself at the
Battle of Dresden
(26?27 August 1813) and in the
city's defence
against the
Allies
after the
Battle of Leipzig
, capitulating only on 11 November, when
Napoleon
had retreated to the Rhine. In this year, Saint Cyr's relation with the Emperor warmed as Napoleon commented that Saint Cyr had no match in all of the marshalate and was the equal of Napoleon himself in defence. On the day he received his baton, he wrote a lengthy letter to his wife, and, true to his character, he devoted only one line to his promotion.
Last years
[
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]
During the
Bourbon Restoration
, Saint-Cyr was created a
Peer of France
, and in July 1815 was appointed
War Minister
, but resigned his office in the following November. During this appointment he tried to assist long-time friend and fellow marshal
Michel Ney
by providing him a jury of four other Napoleonic Marshals, but was disgraced when
Marshal Moncey
refused to even sit in it. In June 1817, he was appointed
Marine Minister
, a pretext for him to resume the place of War Minister, which he did in September and continued to discharge till November 1819. During this time he initiated many reforms, particularly in respect of measures tending to make the army a national rather than a
dynastic
force. He made efforts to safeguard the rights of veteran soldiers of the Empire, organized the
General Staff
, and revised the code of
military law
and the
pension
regulations. He was made a
marquess
in 1817. Saint-Cyr died on 17 March 1830 in
Hyeres
, a town in the southeast of France.
In literature
[
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]
Marshal Saint-Cyr is mentioned in
Joseph Conrad
's short story "The Duel" (as well as Ridley Scott's film adaptation
The Duellists
) as the commander of Armand d'Hubert after the second and final restoration of
Louis XVIII
as King of France. He is also mentioned in Stendhal's "The Red and the Black".
Writings
[
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]
- Journal des operations de l'armee de Catalogne en 1808 et 1809
(Paris, 1821)
- Memoires sur les campagnes des armees de Rhin et de Rhin-et-Moselle de 1794 a 1797
(Paris, 1829)
- Memoires pour servir de l'histoire militaire sous le Directoire, le Consulat et l'Empire
(1831)
References
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