Gabriel-Jean-Joseph Molitor (7 March 1770 – 28 July 1849) was a Marshal of France.

Biography

He was born in Hayingen in Lorraine. Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution, Molitor joined the French revolutionary armies as a captain in a battalion of militia. In 1793 he was given command of a brigade and served under

Hoche Louis Lazare Hoche (; 24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars. He won a victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on ...

under whom he fought at

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...

and Wissembourg. In 1795, Molitor was severely wounded in the

Battle of Mainz The Battle of Mainz (29 October 1795) saw a Habsburg army led by François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt launch a surprise assault against four divisions of the French ''Army of Rhin-et-Moselle'' directed by François I ...

. In 1799, Molitor was sent to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

where he fought under André Masséna against an Austro-Russian force led by Alexander Suvorov, particularly at the Klöntal and Näfels. In 1800, he fought in the ''Army of the Rhine'' under

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 ...

. Molitor was promoted to the rank of ''général de division'' in 1801. He was sent with Massena to Italy in 1805, where he served at Vago and

Caldiero Caldiero is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about east of Verona. Caldiero borders the following municipalities: Belfiore, Colognola ai Colli, Lavagno, San Mart ...

. In 1806 he took part in the relief of Republic of Ragusa. In 1807, Molitor was transferred to the German theatre of operations, where he served against the Swedes around

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

. He was then made governor of

Pommern Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

and was granted a comital title by

Napoleon 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 ...

. In 1809 he was given command of a division in Massena's IV Corps and he saw action in the battles of Aspern and Wagram. In 1810 he was sent to occupy the cities of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

, from 1811 to 1813 he served in Holland, in the campaign of 1814 he served under

MacDonald Macdonald, MacDonald or McDonald may refer to: Organisations * McDonald's, a chain of fast food restaurants * McDonald & Co., a former investment firm * MacDonald Motorsports, a NASCAR team * Macdonald Realty, a Canadian real estate brokerage f ...

. After the abdication of Napoleon, Molitor made his submission to the Bourbons who made him Inspector-General of the infantry. Upon the return of the emperor from Elba, Molitor joined him 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 ...

, for which he was stripped of his functions after Napoleon's defeat. In 1818, Molitor was restored to grace. In 1823 he commanded the II Corps which was sent to Spain as part of the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis. The same year he was made a Marshal of France as well as a

Peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a net ...

. From 1827, he served as secretary to the Chamber of Peers. After the July Revolution, Molitor was allowed to keep all his functions and he later served as Governor of

Les Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...

and as Grand Chancellor of the Legion d'Honneur. He died in 1849 in Paris. A statue of Molitor was later erected in Nancy.

Stradivarius

The 1697

Molitor Stradivarius The Molitor Stradivarius is an antique violin made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona in 1697, the very beginning of the maker's celebrated "Golden" period. It bears the label "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1697" an ...

, rumored to have once been owned by Napoleon Bonaparte, belonged to Molitor beginning in 1804. It was sold by Tarisio Auctions in October 2010 for a world record $3.6M.

Bibliography

* Clausewitz, Carl von (2021). ''The Coalition Crumbles, Napoleon Returns: The 1799 Campaign in Italy and Switzerland, Volume 2.'' Trans and ed. Nicholas Murray and Christopher Pringle. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molitor, Gabriel Jean Joseph 1770 births 1849 deaths People from Hayange Marshals of France Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Counts of the First French Empire French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Generals of the First French Empire Grand Chancellors of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Order of Saint Louis Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis