Joseph Louis Corbin (2 February 1797 – November 1859) was a French general who took command of the successful attack that closed the

Siege of Constantine The 1837 siege of Constantine was decided by Louis Philippe I and the head of his government, Count Molé in the summer of 1837. At the time, during the consolidation of the July Monarchy and recovery economic prosperity, the king was considerin ...

in 1837. He also served in the 1849 expedition to Rome, and helped restore calm 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 ...

after the coup of 2 December 1851.

Early years

Joseph-Louis Corbin was born in

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

, Ille-et-Vilaine, on 2 February 1792, son of a naval lieutenant. His father continued to serve in the navy under the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

and the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

. He died of wounds received during the Battle of Bautzen. Joseph-Louis Corbin studied at the Lycée Napoleon. He graduated in 1810 at the age of seventeen and joined the imperial guard. With little money or connections he had little chance of advancement in the cavalry, so he left and joined the infantry. On 20 June 1813 he was named sub-lieutenant in the 132nd line infantry.

North Africa

Corbin advanced through the ranks and on 18 May 1833 was promoted to colonel of the 17th regiment of light infantry. He spent six years in North Africa engaged in constant campaigns against the Arabs. At the

in 1837 he commanded one of the assault columns. Since two other colonels had died in the combat, Marshall

Sylvain Charles Valée Sylvain-Charles, comte Valée (17 December 1773 – 16 August 1846), born in Brienne-le-Château, was a Marshal of France. Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution, Valée enlisted in the French revolutionary army and was sent to serve in ...

gave Corbin command of the troops that stormed the breach and took the city after an hour and a half of combat. For his success it was proposed to promote him to the rank of brigadier, but this was refused on the grounds that he was too young. He was awarded the cross of Commander of 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, ...

Later career

Corbin was named brigadier general on 22 November 1839. He commanded a brigade during the expedition to Rome in 1849. He assisted in suppressing the insurrection that followed the French coup d'état of 2 December 1851. On 22 December he was promoted to commander of the Limoges Division. He was placed in the reserve in 1857. He was made a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour on 28 January 1857. He died in November 1859, aged 62.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corbin, Joseph Louis 1797 births 1859 deaths French generals