Antoine Étienne de Tousard (9 December 1752 – 15 September 1813) was a French general and military engineer during the French Revolutionary and

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He was also the last military engineer of the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (religious society), military order. It was founded in the Crusader states, crusader K ...

. He is the brother of

Louis de Tousard Louis de Tousard (1749–1817) was a French artillerist who served in the American Continental Army under La Fayette, and later was given a US commission. Tousard wrote two very influential books: one was a proposal for a school for officers that ...

Biography

Tousard was educated at the Royal Engineering School of Mézières. In 1770 he became a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, and was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

fourteen years later in 1784. In 1792, he was sent to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, which was ruled by the

. During his stay in Malta, he made several alterations to Fort Ricasoli, converted St. Lucian Tower and Battery into Fort Rohan, and designed Fort Tigné. Grand Master

Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc Fra' Emmanuel Marie des Neiges de Rohan-Polduc (18 April 1725, in La Mancha, Spain – 14 July 1797, in Valletta, Malta) was a member of the wealthy and influential Rohan family of France, and Prince and 70th Grand Master of the Order of St. J ...

promoted Tousard from servant-at-arms to Knight of Grace, and later Knight of Justice. After the

French occupation of Malta The island of Malta was occupied by France from 1798 to 1800. The Knights Hospitaller surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte following the French landing in June 1798. In Malta, the French established a constitutional tradition in Maltese history (as ...

in 1798, Tousard left with

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 ...

to the Egyptian campaign. After the capture of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, he was appointed deputy director of the fortifications, and was wounded during the Battle of Aboukir Bay on 2 August 1798. In 1799, he took part in the expedition into

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, and was responsible for various works in Gaza and

Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ' ) is the capital and largest city of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediterranean coast northeast of Cairo and west of the Egypt–Gaza border ...

. He was appointed Chef de Brigade on 5 February 1801 by General Menou. This rank was confirmed in France on 7 February 1802. On 11 December of the same year, he became director of fortifications. In 1803, he joined the ''Armée d'Angleterre'' for the planned invasion of England. He became a Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

on 11 December 1803, and became an Officer on 14 June 1804. From 1803 to 1805 he was deployed as an engineer at

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

and

Ambleteuse Ambleteuse (; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Imbelteuse'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in northern France. History Ambleteuse began as a hamlet of a few huts in the middle of the dunes, f ...

. Tousard was assigned to the 3rd Corps of the

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...

on 30 August 1805. He was captured in Neuburg in October 1805. In 1806 and 1807 he took part in the campaigns of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, including the Battles of

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

, Eylau, Heilsberg and Friedland. He was promoted to brigadier general on 5 July 1807, and was in control of the engineering of the 3rd Corps stationed in the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

between 1808 and 1809. He became Baron of the Empire on 16 September 1808. Tousard was seriously wounded on 3 June 1809 while repairing a bridge in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

. On 3 August 1810, he became a member of the fortifications committee, and was responsible for an inspection tour of the fortifications in the 32nd military division. In January 1813, he assumed the same functions in the 31st and 32nd military divisions. He was sent to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

on 15 August 1813, and he died there on 15 September, at the age of 60.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tousard, Antoine Etienne de 1752 births 1813 deaths Military personnel from Paris French generals French military engineers French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Knights of Malta Barons of the First French Empire Officers of the Legion of Honour Engineers from Paris