Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière (5 September 1806 – 11 September 1865) was a French general.

Early life

Juchault de Lamoricière was born in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. He studied at the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

and the École d'Application.

Service

He was commissioned a sub-lieutenant in the Engineers in 1828.

In Algeria

He served in the

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n campaigns from 1830 onwards, being made a captain of

Zouave The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

s. By 1840, Juchault de Lamoricière had risen to the grade of '' maréchal-de-camp'' (major-general). Three years later he was made a

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 ...

. He was one of the most distinguished and efficient of Bugeaud's generals, rendering special service at Isly (14 August 1844). He acted temporarily as governor-general of Algeria, and finally effected the capture of Abd-el-Kader in 1847. Juchault de Lamoricière played a part in the political events of 1848, both as a member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

and as a military commander. Under the regime of General Cavaignac he was for a time

minister of war A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

(28 June – 20 December 1848).

In the
French Second Republic The French Second Republic (french: Deuxième République Française or ), officially the French Republic (), was the republican government of France that existed between 1848 and 1852. It was established in February 1848, with the February Revo ...

From 1848 to 1851 Juchault de Lamoricière was one of the most conspicuous opponents of the policies of

Louis Napoleon Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, and following the ''coup d'état'' of 2 December 1851 he was arrested and exiled. Juchault de Lamoricière refused to give his allegiance to the new Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

In service to the Pope

In 1860 he accepted command of the

papal army The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

, which he led in the Italian campaign of 1860. On 18 September that year, he was severely defeated by the Italian army at

Castelfidardo Castelfidardo ( Marchigiano: ''Castello'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ancona, in the Marche region of central-eastern Italy. It is remembered for a Piedmontese victory over an army composed of foreign volunteers defending the ...

Retirement

His last years were spent in complete retirement in France where he had been allowed to return in 1857.

Death and tomb

He died at

Prouzel Prouzel () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Prouzel is situated on the D8b road, some 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city an ...

(Somme) in 1865. His tomb at

Nantes Cathedral Nantes Cathedral, or the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul of Nantes (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Nantes), is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral located in Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France. Construction began in 1434, on t ...

, designed by

Paul Dubois Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, was completed in 1875.

References

Attribution: * * * E. Keller, ''Le General de Lamoricière'' (Paris, 1873). {{DEFAULTSORT:Juchault De Lamoriciere, Louis De 1806 births 1865 deaths Politicians from Nantes Moderate Republicans (France) French Ministers of War Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic French generals Ambassadors of France to the Russian Empire Governors general of Algeria Military personnel from Nantes