Charles-Antoine-Louis-Alexis Morand (4 June 1771 – 2 December 1835)

Comte de l'Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that th ...

, was a general of 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 ...

during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

and

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. He fought at many of the most important battles of the time, including

Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to: History * Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte Places * Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz an ...

, Borodino and

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

Early career and French Revolutionary Wars

Morand was born in Pontarlier,

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019. He trained to join his father's law practice, qualifying as a lawyer at the ''Ecole de Droit'' in Besançon in 1791. However, inspired by the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...

's call to arms, he volunteered for the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, joining the Doubs volunteers on 9 August 1792. Elected as captain by his comrades, by the time his battalion reached the Army of the Rhine on 5 September 1792 Morand was in command with a rank of lieutenant colonel. The following year they were transferred to the Army of the North, where Morand distinguished himself at Hondschoote and

Wattignies Wattignies (; nl, Wattenijs) is a commune in the Nord department of northern France. It lies in the south-western part of the Lille conurbation. It covers an area of , and as of 2019 its population was 15,075. Neighboring communes Lille, Fac ...

. After fighting at Fleurus, they were moved again to Bernadotte's 10th division of Jourdan's Army of the Sambre and Meuse. On 18 September 1794 his battalion lead the assault to cross the Ourthe at

Aywaille Aywaille (; wa, Aiwêye) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2012, Aywaille had a total population of 11,697. The total area is 80.04 km² which gives a population density of 146 inhabit ...

in one of the finest regimental actions of the campaign. He was also conspicuous at the battle of

Aldenhoven Aldenhoven () is a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 5 km south-west of Jülich, 5 km north of Eschweiler and 20 km north-east of Aachen. Gallery ...

on 2 October. On 29 December 1794, Morand's battalion was merged into the 112th Demi-Brigade (later the 88th Line), with him taking command of the 1st battalion. In this role, he took part in Jourdan and

Moreau Moreau may refer to: People *Moreau (surname) Places *Moreau, New York *Moreau River (disambiguation) Music *An alternate name for the band Cousteau, used for the album ''Nova Scotia'' in the United States for legal reasons In fiction *Dr. Mo ...

's campaigns against Archduke Charles, fighting at Koenigstein, and Neumarkt. He was severely injured in the thigh at

Sprimont Sprimont (; wa, Sprumont) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Dolembreux, Gomzé-Andoumont, Louveigné, Rouvreux, and Sprimont. Other villages: Bann ...

and had to be hospitalised. After leaving hospital, Morand remained with Bernadotte's division when it left to join the Army of Italy in January 1797. He was present at the crossing of the Tagliamento on 16 March 1797 and at the capture of

Gradisca Gradisca d'Isonzo ( fur, Gardiscja or ''Gardiscje'', sl, Gradišče ob Soči, archaic german: Gradis am Sontig) is a town and ''comune'' of the Province of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, north-eastern Italy. The lawyer, linguist, philologist Ph ...

three days later. After taking part in Berthier's capture of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on 11 February 1798, his battalion remained there before being chosen to take part in the

French invasion of Egypt The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the ...

in April 1798. In Egypt, Morand fought under the command of Desaix. He was promoted to '' chef de brigade'' on the battlefield of the battle of the Pyramids on 21 July 1798. He remained with Desaix on the latter's expedition to

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient ...

, and was placed in command of the garrison of

Girgeh Girga ( arz, جرجا ), alternatively Digirga or Digurga is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile River. Metropolitan see of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Name The name of the city comes from ...

whilst Desaix headed further south. He repulsed a

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

attack on this town on 6 April 1799, and that August defeated

Murad Bey Murad Bey Mohammed ( 1750 – 22 April 1801) was an Egyptian Mamluk chieftain ( Bey), cavalry commander and joint ruler of Egypt with Ibrahim Bey. He is often remembered as being a cruel and extortionate ruler, but an energetic courageous fighter ...

at the battles of El Ganaim and Samannud. He was appointed ''adjutant général chef de brigade'' and governor of the province of Girgeh on 7 September 1799. Promoted to '' Général de Brigade'' on 6 September 1800, by May 1801 he joined Verdier's division to form the garrison of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

against the advancing Anglo-Turkish forces. A struggle for the city was avoided when, along with General Belliard, he signed a surrender agreement that would evacuate the remaining French troops. He himself left Egypt on 9 August 1801 and arrived in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

on 14 September. His letters and other writings during this period were later published.

Napoleonic Wars

Battle of Austerlitz - Situation at 0900, 2 December 1805

Back in France, after some leave, Morand was made commandant of the

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastli ...

on 19 March 1802 before being called to

Marshal Soult Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Frenc ...

's camp at Saint-Omer on 30 October 1803. He was made an Officer 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, ...

on 11 December 1803, and a Commander on 14 June 1804. When the

Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...

marched for Austria in August 1805, he commanded the first brigade in Saint-Hilaire's first division of Soult's IV Corps. He was present at the

battle of Donauwörth The Battle of Donauwörth was the first engagement of Napoleon's 1805 Austrian campaign. French forces under marshals Joachim Murat and Nicolas Soult beat an Austrian army corps under Kienmayer on 7 October at Donauwörth and crossed the Danub ...

and the remainder of the Ulm campaign, culminating in the capitulation of General Mack. At the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in ...

on 2 December 1805, Morand's brigade led the way in Soult's decisive advance onto the Pratzen Heights. Wounded by a shot during the battle, Morand was rewarded for the part he played in the victory by promotion to '' Général de Division'' on 24 December 1805, and also made governor of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. On 14 February 1806, Morand replaced

Caffarelli Caffarelli may be *Caffarelli (castrato), stage name of the castrato Gaetano Majorano (1710-1783)Carmela Cafarelli(1889-1979) was proprietor of Cleveland Ohio's Cafarelli Opera Company *Luis Caffarelli (born 1948), American-Argentine mathematician * ...

as commander of the 1st Division of Davout's

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 ...

. Davout knew Morand from their days in Egypt and was pleased with the appointment; they would serve together until 1813. Morand's first campaign with III Corps was against Prussia in 1806. His division played a vital part in the battle of

Auerstedt Auerstedt is a village and a former municipality in the Weimarer Land district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 31 December 2012, it is part of the town Bad Sulza. It lies northeast of Weimar. On October 14, 1806, the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, a dec ...

, where Davout's lone corps defeated a Prussian army more than twice their size. During the battle, Morand was wounded in the arm by a

canister Canister may refer to: * Any container that is roughly cylindrical in shape * A container for 35mm movie film or 35mm photo film for use in cameras * Pods used for parachute supply drops * Gas containers used for riot control * A perforated metal ...

shot. Continuing to campaign into Poland, he fought at the capture of Custrin, the crossing of the Bug, and the battles of Czarnowo and Golymin, before being wounded again at Eylau. On 7 July 1807 Morand was named a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. After the Treaty of Tilsit, his division formed the garrison of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. There, at a ball organised by Frederick Augustus, Duke of Warsaw in December 1807, he met Emilia, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Count Parys, a Polish aristocrat and colonel in the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

army. Morand was smitten, and proposed soon afterwards. The couple were married in a civil service on 10 January 1810, with Davout and Savary as witnesses, and in a religious service four days later at the Church of the Holy Cross in the presence of Prince Poniatowski. Napoleon sent the newlyweds a gift of jewellery and 30,000 gold francs. On 24 June 1808, Morand was named a ''

''. In the summer of 1808, as relations with Austria deteriorated, III Corps was redeployed to

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

to watch the border, Morand being stationed in Neumarkt. When the

War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis ...

broke out in April 1809, his division was temporarily transferred to

Marshal Lannes Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz (10 April 1769 – 31 May 1809), was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Napoleon's ...

, fighting at

Abensberg Abensberg () is a town in the Lower Bavarian district of Kelheim, in Bavaria, Germany, lying around southwest of Regensburg, east of Ingolstadt, northwest of Landshut and north of Munich. It is situated on the river Abens, a tributary of the ...

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...

, and Eckmühl on 20–22 April. Back with the III Corps, he fought at

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the states of Austria, state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Morava (river), Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city ...

, where he was wounded. In July 1810, Morand was stationed in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and appointed governor general of the Hanseatic cities. By this time his relationship with Davout had soured, as Morand believed his chief had blocked his chances of promotion in order to retain his services. Matters came to a head in November 1810 when, by accident or design, Morand wrote directly to Minister of War

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

instead of corresponding via Davout. Davout delivered a sharp rebuke in response, and Morand wrote again to Clarke threatening to resign if he was not transferred to a different commander. Napoleon refused to allow such a transfer and settled the affair, but the two men were never again on good terms. Battle of Borodino 1812

They had to put aside their differences during the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

, when Morand's division formed part of Davout's renumbered

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

. Crossing the Niemen on 24 June 1812, he fought at Smolensk and had his jaw smashed by a shell splinter at the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

. He continued to lead his division in the retreat from Moscow, being one of the last formations to leave the city. Fighting at Vyazma and Krasnoi, by the time he reached the Niemen he had just 300 left of the original 10,000 men under his command. For the German Campaign of 1813, Morand was given command of a new division in

Bertrand Bertrand may refer to: Places * Bertrand, Missouri, US * Bertrand, Nebraska, US * Bertrand, New Brunswick, Canada * Bertrand Township, Michigan, US * Bertrand, Michigan * Bertrand, Virginia, US * Bertrand Creek, state of Washington * Saint-Bert ...

's IV Corps. On 3 April 1813, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Reunion The Order of the Reunion (french: link=no, Ordre de la Réunion) was an order of merit of the First French Empire, set up to be awarded to Frenchmen and foreigners to reward services in the civil service, magistracy and army, particularly those fro ...

and made a Commander of the Saxon

Military Order of St. Henry The Military Order of St. Henry (''Militär-St. Heinrichs-Orden'') was a military order of the Kingdom of Saxony, a member state of the German Empire. The order was the oldest military order of the states of the German Empire. It was founded on O ...

. He fought at Lutzen, Bautzen,

Dennewitz Dennewitz is a village of Germany, in the federal state and old Prussian province of Brandenburg, near Jüterbog, 40 km. S.W. from Berlin. It is part of the municipality of Niedergörsdorf, Teltow-Fläming district. History It is memorable a ...

, Wartenburg,

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...

, and Hochheim as the Allies defeated Napoleon. He took over command of the IV Corps on 13 November 1813 and led the defence of Mainz from December 1813 to April 1814, retiring to

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

when Napoleon abdicated. Morand was reconciled to the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

during the first

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, and was made a Knight of St. Louis by King

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

. However, when Napoleon returned during

The Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

, Morand rallied to his cause. He was made colonel of the

Chasseurs ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army ori ...

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 ...

on 13 April 1815, and a

Peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

on 2 June. During the

Waterloo campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by ...

, he led the guard Chasseur division and was heavily engaged in the struggle for Plancenoit during the

battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

Post war career

Morand was placed on the non active list on 1 August, then suspended without pay or pension on 23 December 1815 and ordered to leave France. He passed through Vienna, where he was received kindly by Emperor Francis who remembered his moderation whilst governor of Vienna in 1805. Tsar Alexander II offered him a post in the Russian army, but instead he chose a quiet exile in Kawenczyn near

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. On 29 August 1816 he was convicted in absentia of plotting to overthrow the King during Napoleon's march on Paris and sentenced to death. With the help of Gouvion Saint Cyr, this sentence was overturned on 14 June 1819, and his rank and privileges were restored on 20 September 1820. He returned from exile but never held a command under the Bourbons, retiring on 17 March 1825. He went to live in

Montbenoît Montbenoît () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography The commune lies north of Pontarlier in the Jura mountains. History In the early 12th century, Landry, Lord of Joux, ga ...

, where he wrote a book of military theory based on the experiences of the recent wars. Morand's fortunes improved following the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

, and he was recalled to the colours as commander of the 6th Military Division at Besançon on 4 August 1830. He was made a Grand Commander of the Legion of Honour on 13 October 1830, and a Peer of France on 11 October 1832. He died of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

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 2 September 1835, and was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery. His name was inscribed on the east side of the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

. In 1885, his remains were transferred to a mausoleum in Haut-Doubs, close to the Morand family home and to

Abbey.

Family

Charles and Emilie (who died on 11 November 1868 in Paris) had the following children: * Louise (1809–1862) * Napoléon (1811–1852) * Emilie (1812–?) * Louis Charles Alphonse (1813–1905) * Emile (1817–1828) * Amédée (1819–1855) * Euphroisine (1821–1828) * Jeanne Estelle (1824–1837) * Louis Charles Auguste (1826–1870), Général de brigade, ADC to

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, mortally wounded at the Battle of Beaumont * Paul Louis Marie (1828–1897)

Early career and French Revolutionary Wars

Napoleonic Wars

Post war career

Family

References

Further reading