Pierre Quantin (born 19 June 1759 in Fervaques,

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...

– died 7 February 1824) was a French general. Quantin attained the rank of

general 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 ...

in July 1796 and was promoted to

general 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 ...

the next month. He retired in 1811 after service in 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 France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

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 ...

Life

Before 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

he served in the naval artillery, abandoning it for the army artillery. In 1792 he was made captain of the canonniers of the 3rd bataillon du Calvados and rapidly rose through the ranks. In 1795 he had already become a

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 ...

and served under general Gabriel Marie Joseph d'Hédouville, chef d’état-major général of the armée des côtes de Brest, then under general

Lazare Hoche Louis Lazare Hoche (; 24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars. He won a victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on ...

in the

War in the Vendée The war in the Vendée (french: link=no, Guerre de Vendée) was a counter-revolution from 1793 to 1796 in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately south of the river Loir ...

. His principles were shared with those two generals - to shed as little French blood as much as possible, to employ persuasion to reconcile hostile figures and to intimidate by examples of severity. General Quantin left the Véndée in 1797 to take up command of the 9th division at Nîmes. A year later he passed to the 8th division and moved to

Aix Aix or AIX may refer to: Computing * AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems *An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set * Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point Places Belgi ...

, the main town in the area. Most citizens abstained from attending the primaries and for some there was a disgust for assisting in these assemblies, which were always live discussions that degenerated into acts of violence, whereas others were indifferent or convinced these elections were useless as the executive could override them at will. General Quantin addressed the subject, in the name of the French Directory, in a proclamation instructing the province's inhabitants to come to all these assemblies and to contribute their votes. Even so, what was done at these meetings continued to seem pointless to the Directory and it annulled electoral operations that same year, despite the most scrupulous observation of its regulatory decisions. In year 10 (1801–02) he was called to join the

Saint-Domingue expedition The Saint-Domingue expedition was a French military expedition sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc in an attempt to regain French control of the Caribbean colony of Saint-Domin ...

, commanded by general Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc, but returned to France in year 11 (1802–03) after Leclerc's death. He was given the 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 year 12 (1804) and was made a commander of the order on 14 June 1804. He then held the command of Belle-Île-en-Mer for many years, heading several public works which made that port almost impregnable, but was removed from it in disgrace (though the causes of that disgrace remain unclear). He thus successfully requested to retire in 1811.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quantin, Pierre 1759 births 1824 deaths People from Livarot-Pays-d'Auge French generals Republican military leaders of the War in the Vendée Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe