Antoine de La Torré (29 September 1787 - 8 February 1851) was a French 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 ...

Early life

Antoine de la Torré was taken prisoner by the

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 ...

in Tudela or Ocaña. He then enlisted in the

troupes coloniales The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...

as an officer in Joseph Napoleon's Regiment.

French conquest of Algeria

De La Torré was put on leave from military rank on 8 October 1830. He was then appointed

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the occupied city 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 ...

on 11 May 1831 during the French conquest of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. De La Torré proved himself during three military campaigns on Algerian soil: the first lasting from 11 June 1831 to 27 October 1834, the second from 10 January 1836 to 25 February 1839, and the third from 12 April 1840 to 21 March 1845. Each fight against the Algerian resistance fighters presented him a new opportunity to show his bravery and to give the measure of his military value on

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n soil.

Citations

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

during the

First Battle of Boudouaou The First Battle of Boudouaou in 25–26 May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg against the troops of Kabylia of the ''Igawawen''. Historical Context When Emi ...

(25 May – 30 May 1837), de La Torré was awarded the ''General Order of the African Army'' on 2 June and 22 June 1837. His name is cited in the Governor-General of Algeria's special report (27 June 1840) and again in the report of the general commanding the province of

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

and in the agenda of the same date (1 December 1840).

First Battle of Boudouaou

The fight of

Boudouaou Boudouaou, during French colonialism known as L'Alma (or Alma) is a town in the western part of Boumerdès, Algeria. It is a coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea. Its population in 2008 was 56,398.Kabylia Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of th ...

during the French wars in

, granted La Torré the opportunity of a promotion. The Boudouaou victory earned de La Torré the rank of lieutenant-colonel on 3 September 1837 and the colonel of the 13th Light Infantry Regiment on 20 June 1840.

Awards

De La Torré was decorated with the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

on 4 October 1823, promoted to French officer on 30 May 1837 after the

, and then decorated with the title of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 2 October 1842. Colonel de La Torré was naturalized a French citizen by the ordinance of 21 December 1844; he was then appointed on 26 February 1845 as first class commander in

Death

After retiring from the French Army on 27 May 1845, Colonel de la Torré died at the age of 64 in the city of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

on 8 February 1851.

Gallery

File:Damrémont par Julien.jpg,

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 ...

File:Buste du général Perregaux.jpg, Alexandre Charles Perrégaux File:Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg 4.jpg, Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg File:Col de Ténia.jpg,

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 ...

(1837) File:Photo boudouaou marine 08102014.jpg,

(1837)

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de La Torré, Antoine 1787 births Spanish military personnel 1851 deaths Deaths in France French Army officers French people of colonial Algeria 1830s in Algeria Knights of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Legion of Honour