Elzéar Auguste Cousin de Dommartin (26 May 1768 in

Dommartin-le-Franc Dommartin-le-Franc () is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France. Geography The Blaise flows northward through the middle of the commune and crosses the village. People It is the birthplace of Elzéar Auguste Cousin de ...

– 9 August 1799 in

Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Ro ...

) became a French general 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 ...

, fought in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

under

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, and commanded the artillery division of the Armée d'Orient during 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 1798.

Life

Dommartin received his first commission in 1785, serving as a captain of the artillery. Seriously wounded during the siege of Avignon, he was unable to take up his appointment as artillery commander at the

Siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-Spa ...

in 1793. Therefore, an ambitious young artillery captain named

assumed command of the French artillery, with notable success. Dommartin then served in the Army of Italy. During the Montenotte Campaign, he led a brigade in the

Second Battle of Dego The Second Battle of Dego was fought on 14 and 15 April 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars between French forces and Austro-Sardinian forces. The battle was fought near Dego, a hamlet in northwestern Italy, and ended in a French vict ...

and in the

Battle of Mondovì The Battle of Mondovì was fought on 21 April 1796 between the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte and the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont led by Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi. The French victory meant that they had put the Liguri ...

. Later, he commanded the artillery at the

Battle of Rovereto In the Battle of Rovereto (also Battle of Roveredo) on 4 September 1796 a French army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte defeated an Austrian corps led by Paul Davidovich during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars ...

.Boycott-Brown, p 425 Dommartin was appointed commander of the artillery of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

in 1797. Bonaparte then chose him in 1798 to command the artillery for the invasion of Egypt as acting

general of 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 corp ...

. During that campaign, Dommartin organised the

Siege of El Arish The siege of El Arish was a successful siege by French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte against Ottoman forces under Mustafa Pasha. The French army, commanded by Jean Baptiste Kléber and Jean Reynier laid siege to the fortress of El Arish for n ...

and the

Siege of Acre Siege of Acre may refer to: * Siege of Acre (1104), following the First Crusade *Siege of Acre (1189–1191), during the Third Crusade * Siege of Acre (1263), Baibars laid siege to the Crusader city, but abandoned it to attack Nazareth. *Siege of A ...

, but was wounded in a skirmish and died of blood poisoning. His name is engraved on the south 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'' ...

References

* Boycott-Brown, Martin. ''The Road to Rivoli.'' London: Cassell & Co., 2001.

Footnotes

External links

A miniature of DommartinThe History of the French RevolutionDommartin at JaffaThe Life of Napoleon BonaparteGuns in the Desert: General Jean-Pierre Doguereau's Journal of Napoleon's Egyptian Expedition
1768 births 1799 deaths French Republican military leaders killed in the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars People from Haute-Marne French generals Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe {{France-mil-bio-stub