Charles Angélique François Huchet, Comte de la Bédoyère (17 April 1786 – 19 August 1815) was a French General during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I. He was executed in 1815.

Biography

Descended from an old Breton family, he entered the army in late 1806 as a second lieutenant, serving as an aide-de-camp to Marshal Lannes and then Prince Eugene. Comte de la Bédoyère saw active service in Spain, Italy, Germany, Russia and France, and was awarded 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 ...

and the

Iron Crown The Iron Crown (in Italian, Latin, and Lombard: ''Corona Ferrea''; ) is a reliquary votive crown, traditionally considered one of the oldest royal insignia of Christendom. It was made in the Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and j ...

. He was a colonel commanding the 7th Regiment of the Line at

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

when Napoleon returned from exile in

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

and marched north to Paris. On 8 March, Bédoyère and his regiment went over to Napoleon en masse. During the

Waterloo campaign The Waterloo campaign, also known as the Belgian campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two War of the Seventh Coalition, Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied arm ...

Bédoyère, now promoted to ''Général de Brigade'' and an aide-de-camp of the Emperor, was probably the officer sent with a message to

d'Erlon Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon (; 29 July 176525 January 1844) was a Marshal of France and a soldier in the Grande Armée during the Napoleonic Wars. He notably commanded the I Corps of the ''Army of the North'' at the Battle of Waterloo. ...

's I Corps, then marching west to join

Ney The ney ( ; ) is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in traditional Persian, Turkish, Jewish, Arab, and Egyptian music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played for over 4,500 ye ...

Quatre Bras Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi–Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles–Namur road south of G ...

, ordering him to turn east to support the Emperor at

Ligny Ligny (; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commune'' of So ...

. Ney was furious when he learned the corps was marching away from his battle and sent another order for it to return immediately to Quatre-Bras. As a result of these orders and counter-orders, d'Erlon's 20,000 men, which could have sealed the fate of the Anglo-Dutch at Quatre-Bras or the Prussians at Ligny, spent the entire day marching back and forth without firing a shot. Two days later at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

, Bédoyère was one of the last to leave the battlefield. Afterwards, finding that he was not eligible for

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

as he believed, he secretly travelled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to see his wife before heading to Switzerland and exile. However, he was recognized and arrested, tried by a military court and condemned to death by firing squad, carried out at

Grenelle Grenelle () is a neighbourhood in southwestern Paris, France. It is a part of the 15th arrondissement of the city. There is currently a Boulevard de Grenelle which runs along the North delimitation of the ''quartier'', and a Rue de Grenelle, ...

on 19 August 1815. Charles Huchet de la Bédoyère rests in the

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 ...

in Paris. Napoleon's will of 1815 left money for his children, later added to by a

codicil Codicil may refer to: * Codicil (will), subsequent change or modification of terms made and appended to an existing trust or will and testament * A modification of terms made and appended to an existing constitution, treaty, or standard form con ...

.Charles de la Bedoyere
File:Robert Lefevre 07.jpg, Portrait by Robert Lefèvre, 1803 File:Charles Angélique François Huchet, comte de La Bédoyère (1786-1815).jpg File:Tombe de Georges Huchet comte de La Bedoyere (division 16).jpg, Tomb at

References

External links

French Generals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labedoyere, Charles 1786 births 1815 deaths Military personnel from Paris Generals of the First French Empire Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery People of the Battle of Waterloo French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People executed by the French military by firing squad Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days Executed French people Officers of the Legion of Honour

Biography

See also

References

External links