Charles Angélique François Huchet, Comte de la Bédoyère (17 April 1786 – 19 August 1815) was a French General during the reign of

Emperor Napoleon I 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 ...

who was executed in 1815.

Biography

Descended from an old Breton family, he entered the army in late 1806 as a Second Lieutenant, serving as an aide-de-camp to Marshal Lannes and then Prince Eugene. Comte de la Bédoyère saw active service in Spain, Italy, Germany, Russia and France, and was awarded the

Legion of Honour 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, ...

and the Iron Crown. He was a Colonel commanding the 7th Regiment of the Line at Grenoble when Napoleon returned from exile in Elba and marched north to Paris. On 8 March, la Bédoyère and his regiment went over to Napoleon en masse. During the

Waterloo campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by ...

de la Bédoyère, now promoted to ''General de Brigade'' and an aide-de-camp of the Emperor, was probably the officer sent with a message to d'Erlon's I Corps, then marching west to join

Ney The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...

Quatre Bras Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles-Namur road south of Genappe ...

, to turn east to support the Emperor at

Ligny Ligny ( wa, Lignè) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commune'' ...

. Ney was furious when he learned the corps was marching away from his battle and sent another order for it to return immediately to Quatre-Bras. As a result of these orders and counter-orders, d'Erlon's 20,000 men, which could have sealed the fate of the Anglo-Dutch at Quatre-Bras or the Prussians at Ligny, spent the entire day marching back and forth without firing a shot. Two days later 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 ...

, de la Bédoyère was one of the last to leave the battlefield. Afterward, finding that he was not eligible for amnesty as he believed, he secretly travelled to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in order to see his wife before heading to Switzerland and exile, but was recognized and arrested. La Bédoyère was tried by a military court and condemned to death by firing squad, and this was confirmed and carried out at the plain of

Grenelle Grenelle () is a neighbourhood in southwestern Paris, France. It is a part of the 15th arrondissement of the city. There is currently a Boulevard de Grenelle which runs along the North delimitation of the ''quartier'', and a Rue de Grenelle, a ...

on 19 August 1815. Charles Huchet de la Bédoyère rests in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Napoleon's will of 1815 left money for his children, later added to by a

codicil Codicil may refer to: * Codicil (will), subsequent change or modification of terms made and appended to an existing trust or will and testament * A modification of terms made and appended to an existing constitution, treaty, or standard form c ...

.Charles de la Bedoyere
File:Robert Lefevre 07.jpg, Portrait by Robert Lefèvre, 1803 File:Charles Angélique François Huchet, comte de La Bédoyère (1786-1815).jpg File:Tombe de Georges Huchet comte de La Bedoyere (division 16).jpg, Tomb at Père Lachaise Cemetery

References

External links

French Generals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labedoyere, Charles 1786 births 1815 deaths Military personnel from Paris French generals Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery People executed by France by firing squad People executed by the Bourbon dynasty of the Kingdom of France French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days Executed people from Île-de-France

Biography

See also

References

External links