Barthélémy Louis Joseph Lebrun (22 October 1809,

Landrecies Landrecies (; nl, Landeschie) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. History In 1543, Landrecies was besieged by English and Imperial forces, who were repulsed by the French defenders. In 1794, it was besieged by Dutch forces, ...

- 6 October 1889, Paris) was a French Army officer of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

Life

Entering the

école spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ...

in 1829, he left it as a

sous-lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 1831. Promoted to lieutenant in 1834, then to captain, he served in the 5th Dragoon Regiment. A chef d'escadron during the

1848 Revolution 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 Europea ...

, he was beside general Négrier when the latter was wounded. He then participated in the siege of Rome in 1849 as chef d'état-major of the second division of the French expeditionary corps in the Mediterranean. Promoted to

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 colonel. ...

, he was attached to the

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

division as chef d'état major in 1852. Rising to

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 ...

in January 1855, he fought in 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 de ...

as chef d'état-major of the 2nd and then the 1st division of

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

. Chef d'état-major to general Mac Mahon in 1855 in

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

, he was then given the same post in the Paris division two years later. Made a general in 1858 he fought in the battles of

Turbigo Turbigo (Milanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about west of Milan, along the Naviglio Grande canal. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,486 and an area of . Tur ...

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and

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 ...

. Chef d'état-major of the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...

in 1860, he was promoted to général de division in 1866 before becoming emperor's aide-de-camp in 1868. In 1870, he was given a diplomatic mission to Vienna before becoming chief aide-major-général of the armée du Rhin in 1870. He then commanded

XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to: * 12th Army Corps (France) * XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army * XII ...

in 1870, heading it in the battles of Beaumont, Mouzon,

Bazeilles Bazeilles () is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of northern France. On 1 January 2017, the former communes of Rubécourt-et-Lamécourt and Villers-Cernay were merged into Bazeilles. The inhabitants of the commune are ...

(where he commanded the

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) and finally Sedan. He was held as a prisoner of war on the Iges peninsula (wishing to remain with his men) then in Germany at

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

then

Aix-la-Chapelle Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

. On his release he served in several roles, such as member of the Mixed Commission on Public Works, inspector general to the staff training school, president of the commission de révision du règlement sur le service des places, member of the defence committee and president of the commission on reorganisation of the army staff. He was also the author of several documents and books. He took command of

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of th ...

from 1873 to 1879, when he retired, dying ten years later and being buried at the cemetery in his birthplace.

References

*Biography - ''De Landrecies à Sedan, Hommage au général Lebrun'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebrun 1809 births 1889 deaths People from Nord (French department) French generals People of the Second French Empire French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War French military personnel of the Crimean War