Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova (; born 8 March 1778 in Corte; died 22 March 1853 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

), duc de

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, was a French diplomat and soldier of the

French Revolutionary 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 consider ...

and

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. In the late 1840s, Arrighi was also involved in politics and was elected Deputy and then Senator in the

French Parliament The French Parliament (french: Parlement français) is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate () and the National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris ...

. He was a

second cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...

of Napoleon I of France.Fierro, Alfredo; Palluel-Guillard, André; Tulard, Jean - ''"Histoire et Dictionnaire du Consulat et de l'Empire”'', Éditions Robert Laffont, , p. 494–495

Early life and Revolutionary Wars

Born in Corsica at Corte, Arrighi became a student of the military school of

Rebais Rebais () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Etymology Rebais has historically been attested in Latin as ''Rebascis'' in 635/636 and ''Rebascum'' in 1214. The toponym ''Rebais'' is ...

in 1787 and then a student of the university of Pisa, before returning to Corsica in 1796. Being the husband of one of

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 wh ...

's cousins, Arrighi became a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the Army of Italy and was directly attached to Bonaparte. He then became secretary of the French legation in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

while

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...

was the local French ambassador. Returning to military life, he joined Bonaparte for the

Egyptian campaign 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 pr ...

, was wounded at Salieh and also took part in the sieges of Jaffa and Acre and was promoted to captain. During the siege of Acre, a bullet clipped Bonaparte's hat and went on to strike Arrighi in the throat, cutting an artery. Surgeon

Dominique Jean Larrey Baron Dominique Jean Larrey (; 8 July 1766 – 25 July 1842) was a French surgeon and military doctor, who distinguished himself in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. An important innovator in battlefield medicine and triage, ...

believed the wound to be fatal. Nevertheless, the surgeon ministered to the wounded officer and saved his life. Arrighi returned to France just in time for the 1800 Italian campaign and fought in the

Battle of Marengo The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General Mich ...

Napoleonic Wars and Bourbon Restoration

Five years later, after the outbreak of the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

, Arrighi was named '' aide-de-camp'' to

Marshal of the Empire Marshal of the Empire (french: Maréchal d'Empire) was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was created by '' Sénatus-consulte'' on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. Ac ...

Louis Alexandre Berthier Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram, was a French Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minister ...

and received a wound at the battle of Wertingen but was nonetheless present at the

battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz i ...

two months later. In 1806 he was named ''Major-colonel'' of the

Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

dragoons and fought in the

War of the Fourth Coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, ...

throughout 1806 and 1807 and was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

on the field at the

Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen. Napoleon and the French obtai ...

. The next year, in 1808, Arrighi was made ''duc de Padoue'' (duke of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

) and was sent to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

with the cavalry of the Guard. Returning to France, he served in the newly assembled Army of Germany and fought the Austrians at the bloody battles of Aspern-Essling and

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) northeas ...

. In 1810 he became a general inspector of cavalry and two years later he was given the command of all French troops on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

coastline, from the Somme to the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

. Commanding the III Cavalry Corps, he fought in a number of battles between the Elbe and the

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

and was governor of

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

during the epic

Battle of Nations The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

. During the

1814 Campaign in France The 1814 campaign in north-east France was Napoleon's final campaign of the War of the Sixth Coalition. Following their victory at Leipzig in 1813, the Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and other German armies of the Sixth Coalition invaded France. ...

, Arrighi was given command of an infantry division and covered Marshal

Auguste de Marmont Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont (20 July 1774 – 22 March 1852) was a French general and nobleman who rose to the rank of Marshal of the Empire and was awarded the title (french: duc de Raguse). In the Peninsular War Marmont succeede ...

's retreat at the Battle of La Fère Champenoise and then took part in the Battle of Paris. During the Hundred Days Napoleon sent him to Corsica and after the Emperor's abdication, Arrighi sought exile in Italy. He was only allowed back in France in 1819 and in 1849 became a deputy of Corsica in the National Assembly of France, before being elected a senator. Arrighi's last position was

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

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 ...

Recognition

His name appears on the Arc de Triomphe in

. He was a Chevalier in the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and a Grand Cross in the

Order of the Reunion The Order of the Reunion (french: link=no, Ordre de la Réunion) was an order of merit of the First French Empire, set up to be awarded to Frenchmen and foreigners to reward services in the civil service, magistracy and army, particularly those fro ...

. Bavaria made him a Knight in the

Military Order of Max Joseph The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in th ...

Ancestry

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arrighi De Casanova, Jean-Toussaint 1778 births 1853 deaths People from Corte, Haute-Corse 1 Bonapartists Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic French Senators of the Second Empire Corsican politicians French generals French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Cavalry commanders Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe