François Bontemps, later baron d'Abaumont, a noted brigadier general 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 French First Republic, France against Ki ...

and the

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 ...

. He was born 1 June 1753 at

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur statio ...

, and died 29 October 1811 at Saumur (

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indre-e ...

Family and education

François Bontemps was born into a family of craftsmen, workers of copper and bronze, in

. As a boy, his parents hoped he would become a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and he was sent to study at the College of Saumur, and later Seminary of Angers. Lacking a vocation, however, Bontemps enlisted in an infantry regiment of the Royal Army. In 1784, having reached the rank of company clerk, and remained there for two years, he realized that he could not advance. He accepted a discharge the 4 May and returned to study the priesthood. In 1789, François Bontemps embraced the principles of the French Revolution, and in 1792 enlisted as a chaplain in the volunteer battalion of the

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Bayard Bayard may refer to: People * Bayard (given name) *Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places * Bayard, Delaware, an unincorporated community *Bayard (Jacksonville), Florida, a neighborhood *Bayard, ...

, after the famous medieval French knight. This same intrepidity, and his tendency to lead from the front, caused a serious wound from a musket ball on 3 May 1800 at the Stockach, by Engen. Despite this, he continued to fight and two days later participated in the

Battle of Messkirch The Battle of Meßkirch was fought on 4 May 1800 and 5 May 1800 and resulted the victory of French army against the Austrians.The battle is referred to in some sources as the Battle of Moeskirch and as the Battle of Möskirch. Overview ''Se ...

. Over the summer, though, his injury worsened and he was discharged from the army in 1801. After his release from active service, Bontemps retired to Saumur, where he died on 29 October 1811. He is buried in the cemetery of

Varrains Varrains () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. See also *Communes of the Maine-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 177 communes of the Maine-et-Loire department of France. The communes cooperate in ...

Dates of Service

*21 Sept 1773: Regimental Corporal *1 Oct 1774 : Sergeant *13 May 1778: Sergeant of Chasseurs *4 May 1784: Decommissioned *Early 1792 : Enlisted *1792 : elected Lieutenant of battalion, as part of the Armée du Nord *April 1793: Lieutenant-colonel of 11th battalion of the Vosges *12 Mar 1794: Chef of Brigade, 175th

Demi-Brigade A ''demi-brigade'' ( en, Half-brigade) is a military formation used by the French Army since the French Revolutionary Wars. The ''Demi-brigade'' amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single ...

, ( Army of Sambre-et-Meuse) *5 May 1796: Chef of Brigade, 67th Demi-Brigade *Sept 1797 : Transferred to the Army of Germany *1798 : Armée de Mayence *1799 :

Army of the Danube The Army of the Danube (french: Armée du Danube, links=no) was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army ...

*March 1799: Général de brigade (promoted in the field at the Battle of Stockach, 26 March and officialized on 20 April). *End of 1799 : attached to the Armée du Rhin *1801: released from service with serious injuries.

Awards and honors

*14 Jun 1804: Commander,

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 ...

*August 1809 : Napoleon gave him a silver snuff box and gave created

Baron d'Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that th ...

title Baron d'Abaumont. *August 1809 : Created

with the title of Baron d'Abaumont. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bontemps, Francois 1753 births 1811 deaths People from Saumur French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Barons of the First French Empire Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur