François-Joseph d'Offenstein (27 July 1760 – 27 September 1837),

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

of the Ist Empire, was a French general and military commander during the

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

and

Napoleonic 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 a series of mi ...

Wars.

Biography

Early life

Offenstein was born in

Erstein Erstein (, ; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department, in the region of Grand Est, France. History An important necropolis from the Merovingian era (6th-7th century) has been excavated near Erstein in 1999–2000. Erstein was known in Alsa ...

, France on 27 July 1760 to François-Joseph Offenstein and Catherine Reibel. He grew up in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

during the French

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

before joining the Regiment of Royal Dragoons in Deux-Pont in the French army in 1777 at age 16. He left the regiment in 1786 and reenlisted as a

grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

in the Infantry Regiment of Alsace at the beginning of 1787.

Military career

Offenstein became a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the National Guard in 1790 and a lieutenant colonel of the 1st Battalion of Volunteers of

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

in 1971. In 1972 and 1973, respectively, he became the lieutenant colonel of the 1st Battalion of Volunteers of

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

and

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. By July 1973, he had been nominated as a brigadier-general; in September, he became a major general. Within weeks, Offenstein was commander-in-chief of

Neuf-Brisach Neuf-Brisach ( or , ; , , in contrast to " Old Breisach"; ) is a fortified town and commune of the department of Haut-Rhin in the French region of Alsace. The fortified town was intended to guard the border between France and the Holy Roman E ...

. He served in Germany in

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; , ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis (district), Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis is located on the river Saar (river), Saar. ...

and

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

. He was later relieved of his command by Nicolas Hentz and

Jean-Marie Claude Alexandre Goujon Jean Marie Claude Alexandre Goujon (13 April 1766, Bourg-en-Bresse – 17 June 1795, Paris) was a politician of the French Revolution. He was a member of the National Convention from 1793 to 1795, was sentenced to death after the Revolt of 1 Prai ...

after he allegedly misread a map and led troops to what he thought was a road but was actually a river. He left the army following his demotion but returned in 1796, this time as a brigadier chief in the 10th Infantry Regiment. With this regiment, he fought at

Renchen Renchen () is a small city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, part of the district of Ortenau. Geography Renchen is located in the foothills of the northern Black Forest at the entrance to the Rench valley at the edge of the Upper Rhine River Plains ...

, Rastadt,

Neresheim Neresheim is a town in the Ostalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated northeast of Heidenheim an der Brenz, Heidenheim, and southeast of Aalen. It's the home of the Neresheim Abbey, which still hosts monks, was ''Reich ...

, Dillingen,

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

Kehl Kehl (; ) is a city with around 38,000 inhabitants in the southwestern Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg. It lies in the region of Baden on the Rhine River, at the confluence with the smaller Kinzig (Rhine), Kinzig River, directly oppo ...

, and Geisenfeld. A year later, he was transferred to the 77th Infantry Regiment. During the

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

, he was brigadier chief of the 44th Infantry Regiment, the 12th Chasseur Regiment, and the 7th Cuirassier Regiment. In 1804, Offstein received a

Legion of Honor 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 ...

from

Napoleon I of France 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 ...

during its first award ceremony at the

Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old sold ...

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 ...

for fighting in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and during the Consulate. In 1805, Charles Joseph de Pully made him a colonel of the 2nd Brigade of his division in the Army of Italy. The following year, he held this role in 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 ...

. He was wounded during the

Battle of Heilsberg The Battle of Heilsberg took place on 10 June 1807 off the town of Heilsberg (now Lidzbark Warmiński), during the Napoleonic Wars. Overview On 24 May 1807, the Siege of Danzig ended when Prussian General Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckre ...

and was made a brigadier general by Napoleon, after which he worked with

Guillaume Marie-Anne Brune Guillaume Brune, 1st Count Brune (, 13 March 1764 – 2 August 1815) was a French military commander, Marshal of the Empire, and political figure who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Early life Brune was b ...

general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

. In 1809, he was made commander-in-chief of

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

. In June 1809, Napoleon gave him the title of

of the first Empire; as such, his last name became ''d'Offenstein.'' He served in Napoleon's military attaché at 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 ...

but decided to retire temporarily ten months later. He returned to the army in 1815 for the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

and became commander of two lancer regiments from the National Guards of Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin. He was relieved from his command after only ten days when he reportedly scoffed at Napoleon. At the end of the year, he was sent to

Sélestat Sélestat (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Schlettstàdt''; German: ''Schlettstadt'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (Subprefectures in France, sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin Depa ...

before retiring permanently in June 1816.

Death

Offenstein died in 1837 in Mouzay, France, at age 77.

Personal life

Offenstein married Marie Barbe Lamarcq in 1803. They had two sons: Guillaume François (1804–1865) and Eugène Auguste (1808–1863). He is distantly related to French physician Paul Rohmer. A street in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

is called François-Joseph d'Offenstein in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Offenstein, Francois-Joseph 1760 births 1837 deaths People from Bas-Rhin French generals Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Officers of the Legion of Honour Barons Offenstein