Jean-Baptiste Muiron (10 January 1774 – 15 November 1796) was a French Army officer. He rose to fame by allegedly sacrificing himself to save the life of General Bonaparte at the

Battle of the Bridge of Arcole The Battle of Arcole or Battle of Arcola (15–17 November 1796) was fought between French and Austrian forces southeast of Verona during the War of the First Coalition, a part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle saw a bold maneuver b ...

. A frigate captured in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, the ''Muiron'', was renamed in his honour.

Career

He was born in

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 ...

to the family of a fermier général du roi. In 1793, he served as an artillery captain 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 ...

, where he met and befriended Bonaparte. He was later promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and served as Bonaparte's aide-de-camp during the Campaign of Italy. Muiron was killed at the

, allegedly covering Bonaparte with his body to protect him. Bonaparte wrote highly of him in his subsequent letters.

Legacy

After Venice was captured by Bonaparte in retaliation for the massacre of crew of the lugger ''Libérateur d'Italie'', the peace treaty comprised secret articles stipulating that three ships of the line and two frigates would be surrendered to the French. These ships were incorporated in the French Navy as ''Laharpe'', ''Stengel'', ''Béraud'', ''Carrère'' and ''Muiron''. Late in his life, Napoléon is reported to have considered to use "Colonel Muiron" as a pseudonym.Napoleon: General or Emperor?
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Bibliography

* Jean-Luc Gourdin, ''L'Ange gardien de Bonaparte, le colonel Muiron'', Pygmalion, 1996. Grand Prix d'Histoire de la Fondation Napoléon 1996.
La frégate La Muiron.
''Trois-Ponts'', Nicolas MIOQUE {{DEFAULTSORT:Muiron, Jean-Baptiste 1774 births 1796 deaths French Army officers