Louis-Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers (6 September 1795 – 6 June 1878), 1st Comte Baraguey d'Hilliers, was a Marshal of France and politician.
Baraguey d'Hilliers was born in Paris, the son of the French revolutionary general Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers. He was educated at the
Prytanée National Militaire
The Prytanée national militaire is a French military school managed by the French military, offering regular secondary education as well as special preparatory classes, equivalent in level to the first years of university, for students who wi ...
Marshal Marmont
Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont (20 July 1774 – 22 March 1852) was a French general and nobleman who rose to the rank of Marshal of the Empire and was awarded the title (french: duc de Raguse). In the Peninsular War Marmont succeede ...
at the
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...
, where he lost his left hand. Promoted to captain in 1815, he fought at
Quatre Bras
Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles-Namur road south of Genap ...
, where he was promoted to colonel after the capture of
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...
in 1830. In 1834, Baraguey d'Hilliers was made vice-governor of the military academy of Saint Cyr, promoted to ''général de brigade'' in 1836, he was made commandant of the academy. Sent to Algeria in 1841, by 1843 he had been promoted to ''général de division'' and was made commandant of Constantine. Put on the non active list in 1844, by 1847 he was reinstated and made Inspector-General of infantry. After the
Revolution of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...
, Nicolas Changarnier was sent as commanding general to
Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerlan ...
and was elected to the constituent assembly for the department of
Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte for the office of vice president of the Republic; he received only one vote. He was then appointed commander-in-chief of the French troops that invaded the revolutionary Roman Republic, in 1849, in the context of the First Italian War of Independence.
In 1851 he replaced as commander of the army of Paris
Nicolas Changarnier
Nicolas Anne Theodule Changarnier (26 April 1793 – 14 February 1877), French general, was born at Autun, Saône-et-Loire.
Educated at Saint-Cyr, he served for a short time in the bodyguard of Louis XVIII, and entered the line as a lieute ...
, whom President
Napoleon Louis Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
distrusted, and was a supporter of the latter's coup d'état later in that year. In 1853, Baraguey d'Hilliers was sent to Constantinople as ambassador extraordinaire, and recalled in 1854. During the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
he was given command of the expeditionary force destined for the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. After capturing Bomarsund, Baraguey d'Hilliers was promoted to Marshal of France and made a Senator. He would later serve as vice-president of the French Senate. During the Italian campaign of 1859, Baraguey d'Hilliers commanded the I Corps with which he distinguished himself by capturing the town of
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, part ...
during the
Battle of Solferino
The Battle of Solferino (referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Piedmont-Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II (together know ...
. After the war he was given command of V Corps in
Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metrop ...
.
Made governor of Paris in 1870, by his frankness he made himself unpopular with the Empress Eugénie and with Palikao. On 12 August he was replaced by Trochu. After the end of the Franco-Prussian War,
Adolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic.
Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...
made him president of a commission investigating the causes of the French defeat. He died in 1878 in Amélie-les-Bains.
Honours
* : Baton of
Maréchal de France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...
Médaille militaire
The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...
* :
Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign
The Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign (french: Médaille commémorative de la campagne d'Italie de 1859) was a French commemorative medal established by Napoleon III, following the 1859 French campaign in Italy during the Second I ...
Crimea Medal
The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units (land and naval) which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–56 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of th ...