Charles-Henri Delacroix (9 January 1779 - 30 December 1845) was a French soldier who became a general in the Napoleonic army. He was the older brother of the painter

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

Family background

Charles-Henri Delacroix was born in Paris on 9 January 1779. His father was

Charles-François Delacroix Charles-François Delacroix (or Lacroix; 15 April 1741 – 26 October 1805) was a French statesman who became Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Directory. The painter Eugène Delacroix was his fourth son, although doubts have been cast on his p ...

(or Lacroix), minister of Foreign Affairs under the

Directory Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network's u ...

. His mother was Victoire Oëbène. His sister Henriette was born in 1780. She married the diplomat

Raymond de Verninac Saint-Maur Raymond de Verninac Saint-Maur (7 January 1761 – 23 April 1822) was a French diplomat. Life The Verninac family originated in Gourdon, Lot in the former province of Quercy. Jean de Verninac was a counsellor of the king in Villefranche in 169 ...

(1762-1822). His brother Henri was born six year later. He was killed at the

Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen. Napoleon and the French obtai ...

on 14 June 1807. His youngest brother was the future painter

(1798–1863), born twenty years after him.

Military career

On 4 November 1793 Delacroix enlisted as a naval volunteer. He became a first class ensign on 27 April 1794, and was discharged in 1796. On 8 January 1799 he enlisted as a second lieutenant in the 9th Chasseurs-a-Cheval Regiment. He participated in the campaign of the Army of Italy that year. General Joubert promoted him to Lieutenant on 13 August 1799 in recognition of his gallantry. On 3 January 1800 he was accepted as Lieutenant in the Chasseurs-a-Cheval Regiment of the Consular Guard. He fought with distinction at the

Battle of Marengo The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General Mic ...

(14 June 1800). On 26 October 1800 he was promoted to Captain. On 6 June 1805 he was promoted to Major, and became an aide to Prince

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marr ...

. He participated in the Italian campaigns of 1805-06. On 20 August 1808 he was appointed Colonel of the 9th Chasseurs-a-Cheval Regiment. He participated in the 1809 campaign in Italy and Austria. He was wounded at

Raab Raab is a market town (''Marktgemeinde'') in the district of Schärding in Upper Austria in Austria. History The village historically belonged to the Duchy of Bavaria until the Treaty of Teschen transferred the area to Austria in 1780. During t ...

. He was again made an aide to Prince Eugene on 10 July 1809. He participated in the 1812 campaign in Russia. He was wounded at the crossing of the Dvina and sent to the hospital at

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

. He was taken prisoner there in December 1812. Delacroix returned to France after Napoleon abdicated in 1814 and was placed on the non-active list. On 10 March 1815 he was made honorary Brigadier-General. He was allowed to retire on 2 March 1816. He died in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

on 30 December 1845.

Honors

Delacroix received the following honors: *14 June 1804: Knight’s cross of 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, ...

*19 December 1807: Officer of the Legion of Honor *15 August 1809: Baron of the Empire *15 August 1812: Commander of the Legion of Honor *26 October 1814: Knight’s cross of the Royal and Military Order of Saint-Louis

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Delacroix, Charles-Henri 1779 births 1845 deaths French generals French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars