Barthélémy Louis Joseph Lebrun (22 October 1809, Landrecies – 6 October 1889, Paris) was a French Army officer of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

Life

Entering the école spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1829, he left it as a sous-lieutenant in 1831. Promoted to lieutenant in 1834, then to captain, he served in the 5th Dragoon Regiment. A chef d'escadron during the

1848 Revolution The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, he was beside general Négrier when the latter was wounded. He then participated in the siege of Rome in 1849 as chef d'état-major of the second division of the French expeditionary corps in the Mediterranean. Promoted to lieutenant-colonel, he was attached to the Constantine division as chef d'état major in 1852. Rising to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in January 1855, he fought in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

as chef d'état-major of the 2nd and then the 1st division of II Corps. Chef d'état-major to general Mac Mahon in 1855 in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, he was then given the same post in the Paris division two years later. Made a general in 1858 he fought in the battles of Turbigo,

Magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...

and

Solferino Solferino ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a small town and municipality in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately south of Lake Garda. It is best known as being close to the site of the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, part ...

. Chef d'état-major of the

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in 1860, he was promoted to général de division in 1866 before becoming emperor's aide-de-camp in 1868. In 1870, he was given a diplomatic mission to Vienna before becoming chief aide-major-général of the armée du Rhin in 1870. He then commanded XII Corps in 1870, heading it in the battles of Beaumont, Mouzon, Bazeilles (where he commanded the Blue Division) and finally Sedan. He was held as a prisoner of war on the Iges peninsula (wishing to remain with his men) then in Germany at

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

then Aix-la-Chapelle. On his release he served in several roles, such as member of the Mixed Commission on Public Works, inspector general to the staff training school, president of the commission de révision du règlement sur le service des places, member of the defence committee and president of the commission on reorganisation of the army staff. He was also the author of several documents and books. He took command of III Corps from 1873 to 1879, when he retired, dying ten years later and being buried at the cemetery in his birthplace.

References

*Biography - ''De Landrecies à Sedan, Hommage au général Lebrun'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebrun 1809 births 1889 deaths People from Nord (French department) French generals People of the Second French Empire French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War French military personnel of the Crimean War