Jean Victor Tharreau
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Jean Victor Tharreau or ''Jean Victor Thareau'' (15 January 1767 – 26 September 1812), was a
General of 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 co ...
in the Army of the French Empire. Tharreau enthusiastically adopted the revolutionary cause and joined the Maine-et-Loire volunteers in 1792. He quickly rose through the command ranks. By 1795, he was chief of staff of the
Army of the Ardennes The Army of the Ardennes (''armée des Ardennes'') was a French Revolutionary Army formed on the first of October 1792 by splitting off the right wing of the Army of the North, commanded from July to August that year by La Fayette. From July to ...
. He helped to defend Zurich in the French army's defeat at the
First Battle of Zurich The First Battle of Zurich, from 4 to 7 June 1799, forced French General André Masséna to yield the city of Zurich to the Austrians, under Archduke Charles, and to retreat beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his positions, whi ...
in 1799, and participated in the French
victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...
over the combined Austrian and Russian forces later that summer. After the successes of the 1809 campaign on the Danube, he was part of the jubilant force entering the Habsburg capital of
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. In the 1812 campaign in Russia, he assumed command of the Westphalian army, appointed by
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 ...
's brother Jérôme Bonaparte He died as the French Army took Moscow on 26 September 1812, of wounds suffered at the Battle of Borodino.


Family

The Tharreau family originated in the Upper
Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
region of France and after 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 ...
it divided into two branches. One lived in
Cholet Cholet (, , probably from Latin language, Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a Communes of France, commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous c ...
and the other in Châtillon-sur-Sèvre. The family in Cholet had five sons: François, who served in the legislature as a deputy from Maine-et-Loire from 1808 to 1812; Augustin, who was a doctor; and a third who died young... The Châtillon branch also had five sons: Pierre-Jean-François, born 1755, who became a legislative deputy, and a jurist; Jean-Victor, who became a general in
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 ...
's army; and a third who died young.


Career

At the outbreak 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, Tharreau enthusiastically adopted the revolutionary cause. In 1792, he joined the Maine-et-Loire volunteers and later that year he was an adjutant major of the 2nd battalion of volunteers of Mayence. In 1794, at the height of the French terror, he was a General of Brigade in the Army of the Ardennes. In 1799, Jean Victor Tharreau was a brigade commander in the French Army of the Danube, and fought at the battles of
Ostrach Ostrach is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Ostrach lies between the Danube and Lake Constance, about halfway between Sigmaringen and Ravensburg. It lies on the brook of the same name ...
and First Stockach. On 20 April, he was promoted to General of Division.
André Masséna André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli (born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Donald D. Horward, ed., trans, annotated, The Fre ...
placed him command of the forward line, for the defense of the Swiss city of Zurich, in 1799; the insubordination of
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 ...
at the
Battle of Winterthur The Battle of Winterthur (27 May 1799) was an important action between elements of the Army of the Danube and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the Frenc ...
in May 1799 contributed to Tharreau's inability to hold the forward line, forcing a French retreat on Zurich and the subsequent defeat of the French at the
First Battle of Zurich The First Battle of Zurich, from 4 to 7 June 1799, forced French General André Masséna to yield the city of Zurich to the Austrians, under Archduke Charles, and to retreat beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his positions, whi ...
on 4–7 June. In 1801, he was appointed commandant of the city of Strasbourg. A firm believer in the revolutionary principles, he was dismayed by Napoleon's acquisition of absolute power, although he admired the man's military talents. Napoleon made him a baron on 21 December 1808. In 1809, he commanded the First Division of the II Corps of the Grande Armée, under general command of Marshal Lannes at the battles of Aspern-Essling and
Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) northeas ...
, after which Napoleon made him an Officer of the Légion d’Honneur, on 10 August 1809. In 1812, he served as General of the 23rd Division, and later replaced
Dominique Vandamme General Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme, Count of Unseburg (5 November 1770, Cassel, Nord15 July 1830) was a French military officer, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was a dedicated career soldier with a reputation as an excellent divisio ...
who commanded the 8th Army, after Vandamme's recklessness and rudeness had strained his relationship with Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, beyond repair. He participated in the Battle of Borodino, where he was mortally wounded. He died of his wounds on 26 September 1812.


Memorials

Tharreau's name is inscribed on the 11th column of the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. There is also a granite stone at the cemetery in the village of
Orvault Orvault (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is the fourth-largest suburb of the city of Nantes, and is adjacent to it on the northwest. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique departmen ...
, in the Loire-Atlantique
department of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...
, on which is inscribed:
To the memory of General of Division Baron Jean-Victor Tharreau, officer of the Legion of Honor, who died of wounds from the Battle of Moscow 7 September 1812.
(''A la mémoire du Général de Division, Baron Jean-Victor Tharreau, officier de la Légion d'Honneur, tué à la bataille de la Moskova le 7 septembre 1812".'')
In 1810, Tharreau had purchased property in Orvault, the so-called ''House Plaisance''. His wife, Charlotte Martine, remained there until her death in 1850. He had a son, Pierre-André.Société polymathique du Morbihan, ''Bulletin de la Société polymathique du Morbihan'', Vannes: La Société, 1861-1959, p. 153; Auguste Dide. ''La Révolution française: Liste des Membres de la Noblesse Imperial.'' Paris: La Société, 1889. V 16, p. 363, states that Pierre André (propriétaire) became Baron of the Empire "avec dotation'', on 14 August 1813.


Sources


Notes and citations


Bibliography

* Broughton, Tony
''Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789- 1814: Taponier to Turreau de Garambouville.''
Robert Burnham, Editor in Chief. Placed on the Napoleon Series October 2007. Accessed 13 January 2010. * Dide, Auguste. ''La Révolution française: Liste des Membres de la Noblesse Impériale.'' Paris: La Société, 1889. V. 16. * Gallagher, John G., ''Napoleon's enfant terrible: General Dominique Vandamme'', Norman OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008. * Jomini, Antoine Henri, baron de, ''Mountain warfare illustrated by the campaign of 1799 in Switzerland: being a translation of the Swiss narrative, compiled from the works of the Archduke Charles, Jomini, and other...''London: Henry S. King, 1875. * Michaud, Joseph Fr. ''Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne'', Paris: Michaud frères, 1811–1862. V. 84 (1854). * Monnet, Émile . ''Archives politiques du département des Deux-Sèvres, 1789–1889.'' Niort, L. Clouzot, 1889. No page numbers. * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book'', London: Greenhill, 1998. * Société polymathique du Morbihan. ''Bulletin de la Société polymathique du Morbihan''. Vannes: La Société, 1861–1959. *
Village Orvault webpage
13 January 2010 version. Accessed 13 January 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tharreau, Jean Victor 1767 births 1812 deaths People from Maine-et-Loire French military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe