Henri François Lambert (3 June 1760 – 7 September 1796) was a brigadier general of the French revolutionary army.

Early years

Henri François Lambert was born in

Haraucourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle Haraucourt () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. The commune covers an area of 12.48 km2 (4.82 sq mi). Yannick Fagot-Revurat is the mayor for the 2020-2026 t ...

, on 3 June 1760 to a humble family. His parents were Antoine Lambert and Magdelaine Mangin, both in the service of the count of Chatenay. The count and his wife were his godparents. He was well educated by the standards of the time. On 5 August 1780, aged twenty, he volunteered for the regiment of Artois-Infanterie, and rose slowly through the ranks. He was named corporal on 2 December 1784 and quartermaster on 1 November 1785. The next year he married the daughter of the regiment's bandleader. He was given leave on 15 October 1788 and returned to his family, who were living in

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

Revolutionary soldier

When the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

(1789–1799) broke out, Lambert supported it enthusiastically. On 18 May 1790 he was appointed adjutant in the national guard of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

, and in 1792 he was named second in command. On 5 September 1792 he was elected lieutenant colonel and second in command of the battalion of grenadiers of the

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.Army of the North, which he joined soon after the

Battle of Jemappes The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of the first major off ...

in November, and with whom he served in the Belgian campaign. His battalion was then assigned to the

Army of the Alps The Army of the Alps (''Armée des Alpes'') was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It existed from 1792–1797 and from July to August 1799, and the name was also used on and off until 1939 for France's army on its border with Italy. 1792� ...

, which freed

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

from the royalists. On 28 January 1794 he was promoted to brigadier general of the Army of the Rhine and Moselle. He played a distinguished role in the first wars of the revolution. He served with distinction in several battles, notably in the recovery of

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 ...

in the Palatinate on 29 September 1794. In June 1795, he was given command of a brigade of the Army of the Rhine and Moselle under General

Jean-Charles Pichegru Jean-Charles Pichegru (, 16 February 1761 – 5 April 1804) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. His royalist positions led to h ...

. The French army crossed the Rhine and took a position on the right bank, near

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

, but was forced to recross the river by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n troops. Lambert fought valiantly during the retreat, and was mentioned in an order of the day on 25 November 1785. After the replacement of Pichegru by General

Jean Victor Marie Moreau Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States. Biography Rise to fame Moreau was born at Morla ...

, in June 1796 the Army of the Rhine and Moselle recrossed the Rhine at Strasbourg and defeated the Austrians at

Renchen Renchen ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Renche) is a small town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, part of the district of Ortenau. Geography Renchen is located in the foothills of the northern Black Forest at the entrance to the Rench valley at the ed ...

and at

Rastadt Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was an ...

. Lambert again distinguished himself as the army advanced into

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Death

Rottenegg(Geisenfeld) General Lampert Grabstätte

Lambert was conducting a reconnaissance at Menstadt, a small town near

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, when he was mortally wounded by the explosion of a bomb. He was taken back to Mauern, a village in Neustadt an der Donau, behind the lines. Lambert died on 7 September 1796. Before dying he asked that the fragment of shrapnel that had wounded him be preserved in the church, where it remains today. He was buried beside the Mountain Church of Rottenegg, about to the southwest. During his lifetime Lambert had chosen this as his final resting place if he should die in the region.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * Further reading * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Henri Francois 1760 births 1796 deaths French generals People from Meurthe-et-Moselle French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Military personnel killed in the French Revolutionary Wars