Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer (18 December 1747 – 19 August 1804), born in Delle, near

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

, became a French

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and on three occasions led armies in battle.

Early career

Schérer served in the Austrian army long before the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, but defected to France in 1775. In 1780 Schérer became a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in an artillery regiment stationed in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. He entered Dutch service in 1785 as a major in the ''Légion de Maillebois''. In 1790 he was released from Dutch service with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

French Revolution

He returned to France in 1791 and in 1792 was made a

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

in the 82nd Infantry Regiment, serving as aide-de-camp to General Jean de Prez de Crassier at the Battle of Valmy. In 1793 he served as a senior aide-de-camp to general Alexandre de Beauharnais on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. In 1794, Schérer was promoted to the rank of ''

général de division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

'' and commanded a division in the Army of the Sambre and Meuse, serving with distinction at the Battle of Aldenhoven. On 3 May he married Marie Françoise Henriette Caroline Müller in a civil ceremony at Delle in the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

. On 3 November 1794 he was named commander of the Army of Italy before his transfer to command the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees on 3 March 1795. On 14 June a 35,000-strong Spanish army defeated Schérer's 25,000 men in battle at Bàscara in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

province in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. On 31 August 1795 he was again sent to Italy to replace François Kellerman (the older) as commander-in-chief of the Army of Italy. As commander of the Army of Italy, Schérer won the Battle of Loano (22–24 November 1795) against an Austrian army but failed to exploit his advantage due to his own caution and winter weather. He was relieved of the command of this army on 23 February 1796 and replaced by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. Schérer was then unemployed for a number of months until being named Inspector-General of Cavalry, first of the Army of the Interior and then of the Army of the Rhine and the Moselle.

War of the Second Coalition

Schérer served as French Minister of War from 22 July 1797 to 21 February 1799. When the

War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition () (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war targeting French Revolution, revolutionary French First Republic, France by many European monarchies, led by Kingdom of Great Britain, Britai ...

broke out, Schérer was given command of the Army of Italy once again. He won an initial clash at Pastrengo on 26 March. But he proved unable to stop the Russo-Austrian advance. He was defeated by Austrian General Pál Kray at the Battle of Magnano on 5 April. "Schérer went into this battle without forming a reserve and was thus unable to react to crisis or opportunities effectively."Smith, p 151 Forced to retire behind the river Mincio, he then loses the important fortress of

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

; he gave up command to Jean Moreau, prior to being defeated by the new coalition commander, Suvorov, in the

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants in Lombardy, Northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). The Bergamasqu ...

engagement, which preceded the Battle of Cassano. Because of Schérer's responsibility for the loss of Italian possessions, he was forced to appear before a committee of inquiry. After securing an acquittal, he retired to private life on his estate at Chauny in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

, where he died in 1804.

Footnotes

References

* * Chandler, David. ''The Campaigns of Napoleon.'' New York: Macmillan, 1966. * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998.

External links

website of the city of Delle about Schérer

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scherer, Barthelemy Louis Joseph 1747 births 1804 deaths People from Delle Ministers of war of France 18th-century French politicians French generals French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe