Général François-Joseph d'Estienne Chaussegros de Léry (9 September 1754 - 5 September 1824) was the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Engineer-in-Chief of

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 ...

's Armies and Commander-in-Chief of

's Armies in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. On his death, his name was on the list of officers being considered to fill the position of

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

. He was created a

Baron d'Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles in a newly established ' (imperial nobility) to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both befo ...

and on the restoration of

Louis XVIII of France Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 ...

he was created

Vicomte A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is s ...

de Léry and given the

Grand Cross 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. He is one of the 660 personalities whose names are engraved on the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

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 ...

Early life

Born 1754 at

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, he was one of the eighteen children of The Hon. Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry (1721-1797) and his wife Louise, daughter of François Martel de Brouague (1692-1761), Commandant of the Coast of Labrador, and niece of Louis-Philippe Mariauchau d'Esgly, 8th Bishop of Quebec. In 1763, his parents were the first

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

couple to be presented to the English Court, drawing the compliment from

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

that if all Canadian ladies resembled his mother, Mme de Léry, then his father had made ''une belle conquete''. He came from a notable Québécois family: He was a grandson of Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry (1682-1756) and a nephew of the Marquis de Lotbinière. He was a brother of The Hon.

Louis-René Chaussegros de Léry Louis-René Chaussegros de Léry (October 13, 1762 – November 28, 1832) was a seigneur, soldier and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Paris in 1762, the son of seigneur Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry and Louise Martel de ...

, The Hon. Charles-Étienne Chaussegros de Léry and Mme.

Jacques-Philippe Saveuse de Beaujeu Jacques-Philippe Saveuse de Beaujeu (ca 1772 – June 19, 1832) was a seigneur and political figure in Lower Canada. He was baptized on May 5, 1772, the son of seigneur Louis Liénard de Beaujeu de Villemonde. In 1794, he was named Protonota ...

Career

In 1763, after the

British Conquest of New France The conquest of New France () was the military conquest of New France by Great Britain during the French and Indian War. It started with a British campaign in 1758 and ended with the region being put under a British military regime between 1760 ...

, accompanied by his parents he left

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and by way of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

came to

. He was educated by the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

s, where he learnt

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, the sciences, mathematics and physics. Following family tradition, in early 1773 he began his training as a military engineer at the Grande École Militaire at Mézières. From 1780 to 1790, his early military career as an engineer was passed at

La Fère La Fère () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in France. It was once famous for its military school (1720), one the oldest commissioned for instructing ordnance officers. History During World War II, Nazi Germany operat ...

and Brest before he was posted overseas to

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

and the Islands of Tobago. By 1790, he had been noticed by

. He was promoted to

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 made a

Chevalier de Saint-Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fir ...

. During the

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 ...

his career advanced rapidly as he was successively given a Bataillon; promoted to Brigade General (1795), Général des Armées du Roi (1805) and Inspector General of Fortifications. In 1811, he was created a

and given an estate in

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

made him Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the former

Kingdom of Holland The Kingdom of Holland ( (contemporary), (modern); ) was the successor state of the Batavian Republic. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1806 in order to strengthen control over the Netherlands by replacing the republican governmen ...

and he was given a division in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

that formed part of the army that fought at the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...

. He was made a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour as ''Commandant du Génie'' in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

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in 1813. In 1818, on the restoration of

, Chaussegros de Léry was created

de Léry and given the

. In 1801, he had married Marie Cécile (1773-1850), daughter of Général François Christophe de Kellermann, 1st Duc de Valmy;

. She was the sister of François Étienne de Kellermann, 2nd Duc de Valmy. In 1818, he retired with his wife to

Château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

d'Etry at

Annet-sur-Marne Annet-sur-Marne (, literally ''Annet on Marne'') is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Population The inhabitants are called ''Annetois'' in French. See also *Communes of the Sei ...

, where he was

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

from 1821 to 1824. In 1824, he died at the

des Bergeries,

Chartrettes Chartrettes () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. The commune is located to the west of the Seine and shares 2 bridges to the neighbouring Bois-Le-Roi. Weather During winter the ...

, while visiting his friend and relation, Le Comte de Marchais. He is buried at

. On his death, his name was on the list of officers being considered for the position of

.Notables of Annet-sur-Marne
He is one of the 660 personalities whose names are engraved on the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lery, Francois-Joseph Chaussegros de 1754 births 1824 deaths People of New France French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars French military engineers Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Viscounts of France Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe