Jacques Albert Verly was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 5 January 1815, was a French

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, accompanying him in many battles, and a member of the

Cent-gardes Squadron The Cent-gardes Squadron, ( French: L'Escadron des Cent-gardes), also called ''Cent Gardes à Cheval'' (Hundred Guardsmen on Horseback), was an elite cavalry squadron of the Second French Empire primarily responsible for protecting the person of t ...

created in May 1854. He died in Paris on 25 July 1883.

Biography

Jacques Albert Verly was the son of a plantation owner of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

. Orphan at age 6, he studied in France and then enlisted in the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

in 1833. Becoming

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in 1841, he was appointed Lieutenant to the 6th

Chasseur ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army orig ...

s Regiment in July 1843, and Lieutenant in 1847. In 1848 he becomes commanding officer of the armed forces of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1852, he moved on to the Regiment of Guides, embryo of the guard which provided security for the Prince President. This contact with the future Emperor favors him and then he moves on to the Cent-gardes Squadron. In the middle of his social life, richly married, he took part in military campaigns accompanying the Emperor Napoleon III. He was seriously wounded in the arm on 24 June 1859 at

Solferino Solferino ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a small town and municipality in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately south of Lake Garda. It is best known as being close to the site of the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, par ...

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in October 1859, and then again

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

on 26 October 1864, he is kept commanding the Cent Guards as a sign of imperial favor. He is made Baron of the empire in 1867, Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1869, receiving numerous foreign decorations thereafter. Despite being linked to the splendor of the empire, he suddenly falls prisoner of the emperor in Sedan. Verly is set to compulsory retirement by the republic in October 1870.

References

External links

Souvenirs du Second Empire
by Albert Verly at

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

1815 births 1883 deaths French military officers French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from Kingston, Jamaica French people of Haitian descent {{France-mil-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References

External links