François Joseph Drouot de Lamarche (14 July 1733 – 18 May 1814) briefly commanded a French army 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 ...

. He served in the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army (french: Armée Royale Française) was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon Dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude ...

as a cavalryman. In 1792 he was raised to the rank of

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

and fought at

Valmy Valmy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. Geography The town stands on the west flank of the Forest of Argonne, Argonne massif, midway between Verdun-sur ...

and

Jemappes Jemappes (; in older texts also: ''Jemmapes''; wa, Djumape) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Mons, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality until the fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1 ...

. The following year he led his troops at

Neerwinden Neerwinden is a village in Belgium in the province of Flemish Brabant, a few miles southeast of Tienen. It is now part of the municipality of Landen. The village gave its name to two great battles. The Battle of Neerwinden (1693), first battle w ...

, was promoted to

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 ...

and appointed to lead the ''

Army of the North The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...

''. Within three weeks he was defeated at

Famars FAMARS, or Fabbrica Armi d’Abbiatico e Salvinelli, is an Italian gunmaker that manufactures bespoke shotguns and rifles. The company is best known for its patented detachable-lock designs and handcrafted woodwork and engraving. FAMARS is consi ...

and resigned his army command. Soon afterward, he was denounced by the Revolutionary authorities and sacked, but he was lucky to escape the

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...

. A young

Michel Ney Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...

served as his aide de camp. His surname is one of the

names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe The following is a list of the 660 names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. Most of them represent generals who served during the French First Republic (1792–1804) and the First French Empire (1804–1815). Underlined names signify tho ...

, on Column 5.

References

* * * 1733 births 1814 deaths People from Bas-Rhin French generals French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Knights of the First French Empire {{mil-hist-stub