Henri François Lambert (3 June 1760 – 7 September 1796) was a brigadier general of the French revolutionary army.
Early years
Henri François Lambert was born in
Haraucourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle
Haraucourt () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France.
The commune covers an area of 12.48 km2 (4.82 sq mi). Yannick Fagot-Revurat is the mayor for the 2020-2026 t ...
(then
Duchy of Lorraine
The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...
), on 3 June 1760 to a humble family. His parents were Antoine Lambert and Magdelaine Mangin, both in the service of the count of Chatenay. The count and his wife were his godparents. He was well educated by the standards of the time. On 5 August 1780, aged twenty, he volunteered for the regiment of Artois-Infanterie, and rose slowly through the ranks. He was named corporal on 2 December 1784 and quartermaster on 1 November 1785. The next year he married the daughter of the regiment's bandleader. He was given leave on 15 October 1788 and returned to his family, who were living in
Dijon
Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...
.
Revolutionary soldier
When the
French Revolution (1789–1799) broke out, Lambert supported it enthusiastically. On 18 May 1790 he was appointed adjutant in the national guard of
Burgundy
Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
, and in 1792 he was named second in command. On 5 September 1792 he was elected lieutenant colonel and second in command of the battalion of grenadiers of the
Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or () is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124. . He was attached to the
Army of the North
The Army of the North (), contemporaneously called Army of Peru (), was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest a ...
, which he joined soon after the
Battle of Jemappes
The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of the first major off ...
in November, and with whom he served in the Belgian campaign. His battalion was then assigned to the
Army of the Alps
The Army of the Alps (''Armée des Alpes'') was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It existed from 1792–1797 and from July to August 1799, and the name was also used on and off until 1939 for France's army on its border with Italy.
1792� ...
, which freed
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
from the royalists.
On 28 January 1794 he was promoted to brigadier general of the
Army of the Rhine and Moselle
The Army of the Rhine and Moselle () was one of the field units of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 20 April 1795 by the merger of elements of the Army of the Rhine and the Army of the Moselle.
The Army of the Rhine and Moselle ...
.
He played a distinguished role in the first wars of the revolution.
He served with distinction in several battles, notably in the recovery of
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern (; ) is a town in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, 666 kilometers (414 m ...
in the
Palatinate on 29 September 1794.
In June 1795, he was given command of a brigade of the Army of the Rhine and Moselle under General
Jean-Charles Pichegru
Jean-Charles Pichegru (; 16 February 1761 – 5 April 1804) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. His royalist positions led to h ...
.
The French army crossed the Rhine and took a position on the right bank, near
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...
, but was forced to recross the river by
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 ...
n troops.
Lambert fought valiantly during the retreat, and was mentioned in an order of the day on 25 November 1785.
After the replacement of Pichegru by General
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte rise to power, but later became his chief military and political rival and was banished to the United States. He is among the f ...
, in June 1796 the Army of the Rhine and Moselle recrossed the Rhine at Strasbourg and defeated the Austrians 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 ...
and at
Rastadt. Lambert again distinguished himself as the army advanced into
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
.
Death
Lambert was conducting a reconnaissance at Menstadt, a small town near
Nuremberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
, when he was mortally wounded by the explosion of a bomb.
He was taken back to Mauern, a village in
Neustadt an der Donau
Neustadt an der Donau (; ; ) is a town in Lower Bavaria on the Danube in Bavaria, Germany. Lying on the western border of Landkreis Kelheim, Neustadt is primarily known for the thermal spa Bad Gögging. Neustadt had a population of 12 ...
, behind the lines.
Lambert died on 7 September 1796.
Before dying he asked that the fragment of shrapnel that had wounded him be preserved in the church, where it remains today.
He was buried beside the Mountain Church of
Rottenegg, about to the southwest.
During his lifetime Lambert had chosen this as his final resting place if he should die in the region.
References
Citations
Sources
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Henri Francois
1760 births
1796 deaths
People from Meurthe-et-Moselle
French generals
French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Republican military leaders killed in the French Revolutionary Wars