Alexandre Charles Perrégaux (21 October 1791 - 6 November 1837) was a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

officer who participated in the

French conquest of Algeria The French invasion of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Deylik of Algiers, and the French consul escalated into a blockade, following which the July Monarchy of France inva ...

Family

Alexandre Charles Perrégaux was born in

Neuchâtel , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...

on 21 October 1791, the second son of Charles Albert Henri Perregaux (1757-1831) who was state councilor, colonel inspector of militias and

knight of the red eagle A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

. He had married Cécile de Pourtalès in

on 5 December 1825. Cécile, who was born on 9 September 1804, predeceased her husband, dying in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 24 March 1830. The couple had no surviving children.

Injury and death

Perrégaux took part in the

Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha The Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg against the troops of ''Beni Aïcha'' of the ''Igawawen''. Historical Contex ...

, and was present at the

Siege of Constantine The 1837 siege of Constantine was decided by Louis Philippe I and the head of his government, Count Molé in the summer of 1837. At the time, during the consolidation of the July Monarchy and recovery economic prosperity, the king was considerin ...

on 12 October 1837 when General

Charles-Marie Denys de Damrémont Charles-Marie Denys, comte de Damrémont (8 February 1783–12 October 1837) was a French general and military governor of French Algeria. He was killed in combat during the siege of Constantine. Early life Charles-Marie Denys was born in Chaumo ...

was killed by a cannonball. While attempting to reach Damrémont and recover his body, Perrégaux was struck by a bullet which passed through his nose and into the

palate The palate () is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly sepa ...

of his mouth. He was knocked unconscious and wounded on Damrémont's body. Perregaux was rushed back by his soldiers to the town of

Annaba Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...

, and embarked on a boat to take him back to France. He died at sea while crossing the Mediterranean. The boat carrying him docked in a port on the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, and he was buried in a cemetery in the city of

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

1791 births People from Neuchâtel 19th-century Swiss military personnel 1837 deaths People who died at sea Deaths in Italy French Army officers French Algeria 1830s in Algeria Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour {{France-mil-bio-stub