François Macquard or François Macquart (18 October 1738 – 29 November 1801) joined the French royal army as an infantryman, fought in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, and rose slowly from the ranks to become an officer in the 1780s. While serving in Italy during 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 ...

, he became a

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. In the

Italian campaign of 1796 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, he fought in several actions under the orders of

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

Early career

Macquard joined the French royal army in 1755 as a foot soldier. Wounded four times at the

Battle of Minden The Battle of Minden was a major engagement during the Seven Years' War, fought on 1 August 1759. An Anglo-German army under the overall command of Prussian Field Marshal Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of F ...

on 1 August 1759, he later entered the cavalry in a

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

regiment. In 1785 he received his officer's commission. During the

he served in Army of Italy beginning in 1792 and gained rapid promotion. In 1794 he became a general of brigade and in 1795 he rose to

general of division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

after winning an action at Saorge (Saorgio).

Under Bonaparte

When Bonaparte took over command of the army, Macquard led a small 3,700-man division that guarded the

Col de Tende Col de Tende (; elevation 1870 m) is a high mountain pass in the Alps, close to the border between France and Italy, although the highest section of the pass is wholly within France. Pass It separates the Maritime Alps from the Ligurian Alps. I ...

together with Pierre Dominique Garnier's 3,400-strong division. His command included the brigades of Jean David and

Claude Dallemagne Claude Dallemagne (; 8 November 1754, Peyrieu, Ain – 12 June 1813) started his career in the French army under the Bourbons, fought in the American Revolutionary War, rose in rank to become a general officer during the French Revolutionar ...

. During the Montenotte Campaign which ended with the

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suing for peace, Macquard's division was not engaged. After this event, Bonaparte brought Dallemagne's brigade to the front. Macquard's division is listed in the orders of battle for the July 1796 Siege of Mantua. He led a 2,700-strong infantry reserve during the third Austrian relief of Mantua. His reserve was present at the

Second Battle of Bassano The Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November 1796, saw a Habsburg army commanded by József Alvinczi fight Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army of Italy. The Austrians repulsed persistent French attacks in a struggle in which both sides suffered ...

on 6 November. During the Battle of Arcola his 3,000-man force held Verona and neutralized Austrian General Jozsef Alvinczi's advance guard. Macquard retired from the army in 1797 and died in 1801. On 14 August 1796, Bonaparte tersely summed up his qualities, "Brave man, no talent, lively."Boycott-Brown, p 412

Footnotes

References

Printed materials

* Boycott-Brown, Martin. ''The Road to Rivoli.'' London: Cassell & Co., 2001. * Chandler, David. ''The Campaigns of Napoleon.'' New York: Macmillan, 1966. * Chandler, David. ''Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars.'' New York: Macmillan, 1979. * * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Macquard, Francois 1738 births 1801 deaths French generals Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars