Charles-Étienne-François de Ruty (1774–1828), count, was a French artillery officer during 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 ...

, who rose to the rank of general of division, state counsellor (1818) and Peer of France from 1819. Fierro, Palluel-Guillard, Tulard, p. 1069–1070.

Early career

A graduate of the

Châlons-en-Champagne Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the department of Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renam ...

artillery school in 1793, Charles-Etienne de Ruty is at once incorporated in the Army of the North, then in the Army of the Rhine, participating in major battles during the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...

. In 1798, he joined general

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 wh ...

French Campaign in Egypt and Syria 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 ...

, and from 1799 held the position of director of the artillery park of the Army of Egypt, with the rank of ''

Chef de bataillon 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 ...

''.

Napoleonic Wars

From 1805 onwards, Ruty took part to the campaigns of the '' Grande Armée'' during the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

and

War of the Fourth Coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, ...

, serving as artillery park director for the Army Corps of Marshal

Michel Ney Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...

, then Marshal

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

. A

brigadier general 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 ...

from 1807, he served with distinction at the

battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen. Napoleon and the French obtai ...

. In 1808 he was created a baron of the Empire, serving as commander of the artillery school in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

, before being sent to serve in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, towards the end of that year.Choffat, Thierry and Jean-Marie Thiébaud, Gérard Tissot-Robbe (2006)
''Les Comtois de Napoléon: cent destins au service de l'Empire''. Editions Cabedita.
At Google Books. Retrieved 2 September 2013. He contributed significantly to the successful sieges of

Ciudad Rodrigo Ciudad Rodrigo () is a small cathedral city in the province of Salamanca, in western Spain, with a population in 2016 of 12,896. It is also the seat of a judicial district. The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky rise on the right ban ...

and Almeida, before taking command of Marshal

Jean-de-Dieu 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 Frenc ...

's artillery in the armies of the South and of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

. During this campaign he invented a type of howitzer that bears his name. In 1813, Ruty was recalled to France, and promoted to general of division, before being named commander of Marshal Nicolas Oudinot's Corps artillery during the Saxon campaign of the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

. In November 1813, Ruty was created a count of the Empire. After Napoleon's abdication in 1814, Ruty served the Bourbon Restoration, but during the Hundred Days he joined the Emperor, who named him commander of the artillery of the Army of the North, with Ruty playing a significant role at the

battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

. General count de Ruty finished his military career as general inspector for artillery during the Second Restoration, subsequently serving as general director for gunpowders and saltpeter (1817), state counsellor (1818) and Peer of France from 1819.Tulard, p. 681.

Recognition

His name is inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

References

Sources

* Fierro, Alfredo; Palluel-Guillard, André; Tulard, Jean – ''"Histoire et Dictionnaire du Consulat et de l'Empire"'', Éditions Robert Laffont, * Tulard, Jean – ''"Dictionnaire Napoléon"''; Librairie Artème Fayard, 1999, {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruty, Charles-Etienne-Francois 1774 births 1828 deaths Military personnel from Besançon French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Peers of France Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery