Jean Isidore Harispe, 1st Comte Harispe (7 December 1768 – 26 May 1855) was a distinguished French soldier of the

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

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 ...

, as well as of the following period. Harispe was created a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

in 1851.

Early life

Harispe was born in

Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry (; eu, Baigorri)BAIGORRI
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

landowner who wanted his son to become a priest. When the French Revolutionary Wars started in 1792, Harispe enlisted as a volunteer in the French army. In 1793, Harispe was elected commanding officer of a company organizing at

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (literally "Saint John t theFoot of hePass"; eu, Donibane Garazi; es, San Juan Pie de Puerto) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It is close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean footh ...

. Harispe distinguished himself in

War of the Pyrenees The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portug ...

against Spain. After peace was made with Spain in 1795, Harispe was assigned garrison duty in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, where he fought insurgents in the

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's ...

. In 1799, he took part in the campaign in the

Grisons The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include: *german: (Kanton) Graubünden ; * Romansh: ** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...

under MacDonald. Transferred to the Army of Italy, he fought under Moncey and Brune. In May 1802, he was given command of the chasseurs basque, which became the 16th demi-brigade garrisoned in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

Napoleonic Wars

When the War of the Third Coalition broke out, Harispe served under Marshal Augereau in the Army of the Ocean Coast. In the campaigns of 1805 and 1806, he fought in the Division

Desjardin Desjardin is one of the longest-running French metal packaging manufacturers, founded in 1848. The company produces and exports packaging for multiple industries, including the pharmaceutical industry, the cosmetic industry or the food indust ...

. Harispe was wounded at

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

and in January 1807, he was promoted to general de brigade. Transferred to the corps of

Marshal Soult Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Fren ...

, Harispe was given command of a brigade of the division Verdier. Harispe distinguished himself in fighting at Guttstadt and in the battles of Heilsberg and Friedland, where he was wounded again. In December 1807, Harispe was made chief of staff of the Corps of Observation of the Ocean Coast under the orders of Marshal Moncey. With this corps, he partook in the Spanish campaign of 1808. In November 1808, Harispe fought under Marshal Lannes at the Battle of Tudela and in the siege of Saragossa. After Lannes returned to France on the outbreak of the

War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis ...

, Harispe became chief of staff to general Suchet. After being wounded in the

Battle of María The Battle of María (15 June 1809) saw a small Spanish army led by Joaquín Blake y Joyes face an Imperial French corps under Louis Gabriel Suchet. Background The Spanish campaign in early 1809 started with the Battle of Uclés. Battle ...

, where Suchet with 10,000 men beat a larger Spanish force, Harispe was promoted to

general of division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...

. From 1810 to 1812, he distinguished himself further in the sieges of

Lérida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. He defeated an army twice the size of his own force in the First Battle of Castalla on 21 July 1812. Harispe was made a Grand Officer 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 created a

Count of the Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that t ...

. Harispe served in the Army of Aragon until 1813. In 1814, he was sent to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

to serve as reinforcements to Soult, who after

Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...

was tasked with preventing the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

from invading southern France. During the retreat into France, he was forced to burn his own castle in his native town to prevent it being used by the Spanish. After the

Battle of Orthez The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...

, he covered the retreat of the army. After having fought a Portuguese division at

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba ...

on 20 March 1814, Harispe served in the Battle of Toulouse, fought after

Napoléon 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 ...

had already abdicated. Tasked with defending the heights at Calvinet, he defended these redoubts to the utmost. His leg had to be amputated after it was shattered by a cannonball.

Later life

During the Bourbon Restoration, Harispe was made a knight of Saint Louis and given command of the 15th military division. Upon Napoléon's return from

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...

, Harispe rallied to the emperor 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 ...

and served on the Spanish border. After the second abdication, Harispe tried to prevent the Spanish invading southern France. The Second Bourbon Restoration caused Harispe to retire to his chateau until the 1830 Revolution. During this revolution, Harispe was elected a deputy. As a supporter of the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...

, he was recalled to active duty and given command of the Hautes and Basses-Pyrénées (1830–1833), of the division of the Pyrénées occidentales (1833–1840) and of the 20th military division (1840–1850). Harispe served as a deputy for the Basses-Pyrénées (1831–1835) and was made Grand Cross in the Légion d'honneur. Having been made a

Peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

in 1835, he was created a Marshal of France by President Bonaparte. After the establishment of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

he was made a senator. Harispe died in 1855 in

Lacarre Lacarre (; eu, Lakarra)LAKARRA

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harispe, Jean Isidore Marshals of France French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars French-Basque people 1768 births 1855 deaths Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe