Louis André Bon (25 October 1758 in

Romans-sur-Isère Romans-sur-Isère (; Occitan: ''Rumans d'Isèra''; Old Occitan: ''Romans'') is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Geography Romans-sur-Isère is located on the Isère, northeast of Valence. There are more than 50,000 in ...

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

– 19 May 1799 in

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

) was a French general of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

, best known for his participation in the 1798

French invasion of Egypt 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 ...

Life

He first enrolled very young in the régiment Royal-Infanterie, and took part in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Commanding a battalion of national volunteers in 1792, he rejoined Dugommier on the frontier between France and Spain, soon becoming

chef de brigade Chef de brigade was a military rank in the French Royal Artillery and in the revolutionary French armies. Before the revolution ''Chef de brigade'' was equivalent to major in the French Royal Corps of Artillery. Each regiment of artillery was div ...

, fighting bravely at the siege of Bellegarde and being promoted to

général de brigade 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 to ...

. He fought under Bonaparte and Augereau in the Army of Italy and was wounded whilst urging on his men on the bridge at

Arcole Arcole (pronounced ), historically also known as Arcola, is a ''comune'' with 5,274 inhabitants in the province of Verona. It is known as the site of the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole. History Between 15–17 November 1796, the Battle of Arcol ...

. After the

peace of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treat ...

, he commanded the 8e division militaire (

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

), where he brought an end to the disorders caused by the

White Terror White Terror is the name of several episodes of mass violence in history, carried out against anarchists, communists, socialists, liberals, revolutionaries, or other opponents by conservative or nationalist groups. It is sometimes contrasted wit ...

, as he also did at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

. Promoted to

général de 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 corps ...

, he set out for

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, distinguishing himself before

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, making a vital contribution to the capture of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

(by attacking an important enemy position), acting as one of the commanders of the left wing at the

Battle of the Pyramids The Battle of the Pyramids, also known as the Battle of Embabeh, was a major engagement fought on 21 July 1798, during the French Invasion of Egypt. The battle took place near the village of Embabeh, across the Nile River from Cairo, but was ...

and contributing to the unexpected success at

Mont-Thabor The Battle of Mount Tabor was fought on 16 April 1799, between French forces commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte and General Jean-Baptiste Kléber, against an Ottoman Army under Abdullah Pasha al-Azm, ruler of Damascus. The battle was a consequ ...

(in attacking the rear of the enemy attacked from the front by Kléber). He also fought at the taking of El-Arich, the raising of the siege of Gaza and the capture of

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

. He was finally mortally wounded before the walls of

Saint-Jean-d'Acre Acre ( ), known locally as Akko ( he, עַכּוֹ, ''ʻAkō'') or Akka ( ar, عكّا, ''ʻAkkā''), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel. The city occupies an important location, sitting in a natural harb ...

, on 10 May 1799, at the head of his grenadiers, at the foot of the breach, in the last assault on the town.

Family

14 years later Napoleon (now emperor) visited the école militaire de Saint-Germain and asked for the name of one of the students he had just reviewed - it was general Bon's son. On being asked by Napoleon, "Where is your mother?", he replied "In Paris, on a fourth floor, where she is dying of hunger". Napoleon instantly granted the general's widow an allowance, and created her son baron de l'Empire, also granting him an allowance.

Distinctions

* He is one of the 558 officers whose names are engraved on the

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'' ...

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bon, Louis Andre 1758 births 1799 deaths People from Romans-sur-Isère French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders killed in the French Revolutionary Wars French generals French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe