Pierre David Édouard de Colbert-Chabanais (Paris, 18 October 1774 – 1853) was a 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 ...
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 ...
, noted for his unbreakable loyalty to
Napoleon
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 ...
.
Life
Revolution
Born into a noble family descended from the prestigious
Colbert line, he was the son of the comte de Colbert, a rich landowner. On 23 August 1793, Pierre followed the traditional family route into the army, which was now the
Republican army, although he was suspicious of the
French Revolution
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 considere ...
. He fought in the 1793 campaigns in the
Army of the Rhine, as a member of the bataillon de Paris, also known as the ''bataillon Guillaume-Tell'' after
William Tell
William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland.
According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...
. He moved to the
11th Hussar Regiment, gaining promotion to
maréchal-des-logis in September 1793 and to
sous-lieutenant the following month.
After three years in the Army of the Rhine and in the armies suppressing the
Vendéan Revolt, he was dismissed by
Lazare Hoche in 1796. He left the
7th Hussars to become a
commissaire des guerres
Commissaire may refer to:
*Commissary, a state official in the police or armed forces
**Commissaire de police, in the French National Police
** Commissaire des guerres, in the French Army
*Commissaire (cycling), an official in competitive cycling
...
to the
armée d'Orient, with the job of guaranteeing
Bonaparte's supply lines to Egypt. During that time Bonaparte took him under his wing.
First Empire
Returning to the army after Egypt, he was wounded and made a captain in the
3rd Dragoon Regiment
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
, before finally rising to become
aide-de-camp to
Damas. He then became
adjudant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned ...
-
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
to the
Mamelukes
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...
and aide-de-camp to
Junot in 1803. He then followed Junot to become part of the
armée des côtes The Army of the Coasts (''Armée des côtes'') was a French Revolutionary Army created in 1792 under the command of Anne François Augustin de La Bourdonnaye. In April 1793 it was split into the ''Army of the Coasts of Cherbourg'' and the ''Army of ...
.
Colbert left Junot in 1805 and followed
major général
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Maréchal 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 ...
as his aide de camp. He assisted at
Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to:
History
* Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte
Places
* Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz an ...
, where he was wounded and made a
chef d'escadron. He fought bravely at
Iena
Iena may refer to:
* Jena, city in Germany (French: ''Iéna'', Greek: ''Ιένα'', Latin: ''Iena'')
* Pont d'Iéna, a Parisian bridge spanning the River Seine
* French ship ''Iéna'', various ships
* Iéna (Paris Métro), a Paris Métro station ...
and
Pułtusk
Pułtusk (pronounced ) is a town in northeast Poland, by the river Narew. Located north of Warsaw in the Masovian Voivodeship, it had a population of about 19,000 . Known for its historic architecture and Europe's longest paved marketplace ( in ...
. In 1807 he was made a colonel and head of his old regiment, the 7th Hussars. This unit was now part of
Lassalle's brigade, nicknamed the "infernal" brigade due to its passion. Napoleon made him a knight of the
Légion d'honneur
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 ...
in 1808 and
baron de Chabanais et de l'Empire in 1809
Colbert was promoted to
général de brigade on 9 March 1809 and put under the orders of
Oudinot
Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 1st Count Oudinot, 1st Duke of Reggio (25 April 1767 in Bar-le-Duc – 13 September 1847 in Paris), was a Marshal of the Empire. He is known to have been wounded 34 times in battle, being hit by artillery shells, sabers, ...
. He won glory at the
Battle of Raab
The Battle of Raab or Battle of Győr ( Hungarian: ''győri csata'') was fought on 14 June 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars, between Franco-Italian forces and Habsburg forces. The battle was fought near Győr (Raab), Kingdom of Hungary, and en ...
by charging and defeating
Ott
Ott, OTT or O.T.T. may refer to:
Entertainment
* OTT (group), a pop band from the late 1990s
* Ott (record producer), British record producer and musician
* "O.T.T" (song), a song by Fugative
* ''O.T.T.'' (television series), a UK TV programme f ...
's hussars, cutting several squadrons of the enemy Hungarian cavalry to pieces and nearly coming to the aid of the
9th Hussar Regiment
The 9th Hussar Regiment (''9e régiment de hussards'') was a hussar regiment of the French Army. The 9th Hussar Regiment fought in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I and the Algerian War before finally being disbanded in 1979.
History
The regiment ...
, which the Austrians were on the point of overwhelming. At
Wagram
Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the states of Austria, state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Morava (river), Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city ...
Colbert was shot in the head three times and was made a commander of the Légion d'honneur.
Attached to the
Imperial Guard
An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...
in 1811, he re-formed and commanded the 2e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers de la Garde impériale (better known as the
Red Lancers, they were also nicknamed the ''écrevisses'' or crayfish, after their red uniforms). He also led the brigade for the whole of the
Russian campaign under the orders of the
duc d'Istrie. He and the Lancers then bravely covered the Grande Armée's retreat. During the German campaign of 1813 at
Bautzen he broke and routed the Russians and cut them to pieces. On 25 November 1813 he was promoted to
général de division during the retreat back through Germany .
1814–1817
General Colbert fought bravely at
Montmirail,
Champaubert and
Nangis
Nangis () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Nangis station has rail connections to Provins, Longueville and Paris.
Coat of arms
Azure with six argent roundels.
Demographics
The i ...
, but finally defected to the Bourbons, who made him a
chevalier de Saint-Louis
The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewar ...
and commander of the lancers corps in the royal guard. On
Napoleon's return, general Colbert dithered until 23 March 1815. When Colbert came to the
Tuileries, Napoleon said to him icily "General Colbert, I've been waiting for you for three days", to which Colbert replied "I have been waiting for you for a year" and Napoleon put him in command of his personal guard. Colbert was wounded fighting at
Waterloo
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat
* Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place.
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Antarctica
*King George Island (S ...
and after the armée de la Loire was disbanded the Bourbons held a grudge against Colbert. He thus returned home, only for his loyalty to turn against him – in 1816 he was arrested without charge, held in the
Prison de l'Abbaye
The Prison de l’Abbaye was a Paris prison in use from 1522 to 1854. The final building was built by Christophe Gamard in 1631 and made up of three floors, flanked by two turrets (or more exactly, '' échauguettes''). It was the scene of a portio ...
for two months and exiled on his release. In 1817, however, he was recalled.
1826–1853
After ten years' inactivity, his military career only resumed in 1826. However, he had lost the brilliance he had shown during the Napoleonic Wars and instead became inspector general of cavalry and commander of a division of the camp de Lunéville. After the
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
in 1830, he was put in charge of disbanding the eight cavalry regiments of the former royal guard. In 1834, general Colbert became aide-de-camp to
Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours, accompanying the prince to Africa and taking part in the first expedition to
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
* Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...
in 1836. He was 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 1838 and Grand Cross of the
Légion d'honneur
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 ...
in 1839.
He was standing next to
Louis Philippe I during
Giuseppe Marco Fieschi's assassination attempt and was wounded by Fieschi's gun. He died in 1853.
Coat of arms
''D'or, à la couleuvre ondoyante en pal d'azur surmontée d'un lambel du second; au canton des
Barons militaires de l'Empire brochant.''
[Source: ''Armorial du Premier Empire'', Vicomte Albert Révérend, Comte E. Villeroy](_blank)
/ref>
References
Sources
* Marie-Nicolas Bouillet and Alexis Chassang (ed.), "Pierre David de Colbert-Chabanais" in ''Dictionnaire universel d’histoire et de géographie'', 1878
* "Pierre David de Colbert-Chabanais", in Charles Mullié, ''Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850'', 1852
* P Louis Lainé
''Archives généalogiques et historiques de la noblesse de France, ou, Recueil de preuves, mémoires et notices généalogiques, servant à constater l'origine, la filiation, les alliances et lés illustrations religieuses, civiles et militaires de diverses maisons et familles nobles du royaume''
1830;
*http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/commanders/c_colbert.html
*http://www.virtualarc.com/officers/colbert1/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colbert-Chabanais, Pierre David
1774 births
1853 deaths
French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
Commanders in the French Imperial Guard
Peers of France
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe