Antoine Marie Chamans,
comte de Lavalette (14 October 176915 February 1830) was a French politician and general.
Biography
Early life
Born in Paris the same year as
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
Bonaparte, he spent the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
in the
French Revolutionary Army
The French Revolutionary Army () was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1802. In the beginning, the French armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment and their great nu ...
, where he rose through the ranks to become an ''
aide-de-camp'' to General
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers (; 13 August 1764 – 6 January 1813) was a French Army general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, a Marshal of France, and the father-i ...
.
In 1796, after the
Battle of the Bridge of Arcole, Baraguey d'Hilliers introduced his ''aide-de-camp'' to Napoleon, who was impressed enough to take him onto his personal staff and to entrust him with diplomatic missions. On 22 April 1798, Lavalette was married to
Émilie de Beauharnais
Émilie de Beauharnais, comtesse de Lavalette (; 1781–1855), was a French court official, '' dame d'atour'' to Empress Joséphine of France.
Life
She was the daughter of François VI de Beauharnais and Françoise de Beauharnais and thus relat ...
(1781–1855), niece of Napoléon's wife
Joséphine and who had saved him.
Consulate and Empire
Lavalette returned to France with Napoleon, taking part in the latter's
18 Brumaire coup
The Coup of 18 Brumaire () brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the Fre ...
against the
French Directory
The Directory (also called Directorate; ) was the system of government established by the Constitution of the Year III, French Constitution of 1795. It takes its name from the committee of 5 men vested with executive power. The Directory gov ...
(1799). He occupied a number of offices in the
French Consulate
The Consulate () was the top-level government of the First French Republic from the fall of the French Directory, Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the First French Empire, French Empire on 18 May 1804.
...
and
First Empire, most notably eleven years as
Minister of Posts, during which he oversaw the covert monitoring of the mail of suspected
Royalists
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gover ...
. On 27 November 1808, he was created a
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
of the Empire.
Having rejected the opportunity to go into exile with Napoleon, because he had a pregnant wife and a 13-year-old daughter, he was arrested after the beginning of the
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to:
France under the House of Bourbon:
* Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815)
Spain under the Spanish Bourbons:
* Ab ...
. His wife had lost her pregnancy in October, and, on 21 November 1815, Lavalette was sentenced to execution by the ''
Ultras
Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...
''.
Flight and exile
One night before his scheduled execution, he was visited by his wife and daughter Josephine (later the Baronne de Forget, who became the long-time mistress of
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
) and managed to change clothes and places with his wife, a ruse that was not discovered until the next morning. Having escaped prison, Lavalette made his way to
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
with the assistance of a small group of British soldiers, amongst whom were
Robert Wilson and
John Hely-Hutchinson. He then made his way to the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...
, and finally to
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, where he had the support of
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French statesman and military officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marriage of his mother, Joséphine de Beauharnais, ...
of his wife's family and his father-in-law
Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria
Maximilian I Joseph (; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) from 1806 to 1825. He was ...
. Madame Lavalette remained in prison until 23 January 1816.
Lavalette was able to return to France and died in 1830, most likely of lung cancer. He was buried at
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world.
Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...
.
References
External links
*
Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavalette, Antoine Marie Chamans, Comte de
Counts of the First French Empire
Diplomats for France
French generals
Politicians from Paris
1769 births
1830 deaths
Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery