Jacob Job Élie (26 November 1746 – 5 February 1825), or Jacques Job Élie was a French general of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Along with

Pierre-Augustin Hulin Pierre-Augustin Hulin (; 6 September 1758 – 9 January 1841) was a French general under Napoleon Bonaparte who took part in the storming of the Bastille, the trial of the Duke d'Enghien, and the foiling of the Malet coup. Early life P ...

, he took part in and led the

storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille ( ), which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison k ...

Early life

Élie was born in Wissembourg on 26 November 1746 to Mathias Élie, an officer in the regiment d'Alsace, and Marie Françoise Schaffhauser. He had a younger brother named François who was born on 13 July 1748 and later became a captain. Before officially beginning his career, he served in the same regiment as his father. He later fondly recalled his childhood "amidst the troops", and cited Chevert as a source of inspiration to pursue a military career.

Career

Élie entered into service on 2 December 1766, joining what was then known as the régiment d’Aquitaine. He participated in the Corsican campaign of 1769, during which he sustained a right knee injury while building a fascine bridge under the orders of General de Vaux. He was also present during the bombardments of

Sousse Sousse, Sūsah , or Soussa (, ), is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which ...

and

Bizerte Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the List of northernmost items, northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under Fr ...

during the campaign of Tunis and Algiers in 1770. Élie was later injured again by a pulley aboard the frigate '' la Topaze''. He was dismissed on 2 December 1774 (or 1777 according to other sources), then enrolled into the Queen's Regiment (later the 41st Infantry Regiment) the following year. He participated in two major events of the American Revolutionary War, the first being the 1778 campaign of Ushant under the command of the count du Chaffault and the second being the 1780 Siege of Savannah under the command of the count d'Estaing. He was promoted to sergeant on 1 November 1781, and tried unsuccessfully to be promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1787. He was later appointed standard-bearer on 1 August 1788. Condemned to remain a sub-officer in the Kingdom's army, his fortune soon changed with the dawn of the French Revolution. On 14 July 1789, Élie took part in the storming of the Bastille, was the first to enter and negotiated the surrender of the fortress. His participation in the event opened up new career opportunities: He was later named a captain of the 5th Battalion of the 5th Division of the

Paris National Guard Paris () is the capital and 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 fourth-most populous city in the European Union and the 30th most densely popul ...

on 1 September 1789, then a captain of the 103rd Infantry Regiment on 3 August 1791. Thereafter, he rose through the ranks rapidly. He was made a Knight of Saint Louis on 2 November 1791. He was named lieutenant colonel on 7 February 1793 and became a battalion chief commanding the vanguard of the

Army of the Moselle The Army of the Moselle (''Armée de la Moselle'') was a French Revolutionary Army from 1791 through 1795. It was first known as the '' Army of the Centre'' and it fought at Valmy. In October 1792 it was renamed and subsequently fought at Trier, ...

under General Houchard and General Sigueville. He was then promoted to brigadier general in the

Army of the Ardennes The Army of the Ardennes (''armée des Ardennes'') was a French Revolutionary Army formed on the first of October 1792 by splitting off the right wing of the Army of the North, commanded from July to August that year by La Fayette. From July to ...

on 30 July 1793, and assigned to the command of

Givet Givet () (; ) is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France surrounded on three sides by the Belgian border. It lies on the river Meuse where Emperor Charles V built the fortress of Charlemont. It borders the French municipali ...

and Charlemont. He was promoted to

divisional general 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 ...

on 3 September 1793, and he and his forces participated in the Battle of Wattignies as part of the larger

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 ...

. He was later transferred to the

Army of Sambre and Meuse The Army of Sambre and Meuse () was a field army of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining the Army of the Ardennes, the left wing of the Army of the Moselle and the right wing of the Army of the North. Its ...

on 2 July 1794. While serving in the Army of the Ardennes (later the Army of Sambre and Meuse), the people's representatives sent him to command Verdun in July 1794 and Mézières in 1795. Élie seems not to have been in active service in 1795, as his name wasn't included in the general staff organisation announced on 13 June 1795. He was recalled to active service on 28 February 1796 and took command of

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 ...

on 28 March 1796. On 19 August 1796, he was 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� ...

under General Kellermann, then assigned to the command of

Maurienne Maurienne (; ; ) is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Location The Maurienne val ...

and Tarentaise on 22 October 1796. He was discharged on 18 March 1797.

Storming of the Bastille

On 14 July 1789, Élie took part in the storming of the Bastille, was the first to enter and negotiated the surrender of the fortress. He was awarded a sword and a laurel wreath for the accomplishment, a scene immortalised in

Paul Delaroche Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (; Paris, 17 July 1797 – Paris, 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subje ...

's '' The Victors of the Bastille in Front of the Hôtel de Ville''. Élie was also reportedly offered the silverware of the Bastille, but refused it. He and Hulin attempted in vain to protect de Launay, the governor of the Bastille, from the violent crowds but were unable to. When the French guards asked for mercy for the remaining prisoners as a reward for their services, he added that this mercy would be more precious to him than all honours. A voice shouted: "Grace!", a cry repeated by the surrounding crowd. The prisoners, thirty-five invalid cannoneers, were accordingly saved and taken away.

Later years

Following his discharge, he unsuccessfully sought a return to active service during the Consulate and First Empire and also applied for the position of prefect. He retired on 21 June 1811 with a pension of 3434 francs and moved to a house on the rue du Château at

Varennes-en-Argonne Varennes-en-Argonne (, literally ''Varennes in Argonne'') or simply Varennes (German: Wöringen) is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 639. Geography Varennes-en-A ...

. His brother died on 25 September 1815 in Meuse. He died in 1825 at Varennes.

Legacy and quotations

Jacob Job is the central figure of '' The Victors of the Bastille in Front of the Hôtel de Ville'' by

, seen brandishing in his right hand a sword and in his left hand the key to the Bastille and a letter signed by the marquis de Launay, its governor. As recently as 1891, the Colmar Museum (known today as the

Unterlinden Museum The Unterlinden Museum () is located in Colmar, in the Alsace region of France. The museum, housed in a 13th-century Dominican religious sisters' convent and a 1906 former public baths building, is home to the Isenheim Altarpiece by the German R ...

) had two oil portraits of Jacob Job and his brother François in its possession. The two men were depicted in uniform, and two swords were placed under their portraits. François's sword had no inscription, while Jacob Job's sword bore two inscriptions, one on the hilt and one on the blade itself. The hilt inscription read: "''The elected representatives of Paris, meeting at the Hôtel de Ville, gave this sword to the brave Élie.''" The blade inscription read: "''I stand as firm as a rock for the salvation of my country.''" They had been donated by Étienne-François Élie, François's son and Jacob Job's nephew. According to John A. Flynn, Élie reportedly said the following to the Minister of War: "''I marched persuaded of victory, hoping that the love of the Patrie, the character of the republican soldier, and the desire to defeat the tyrants would at least be the equal of experience and would prove disastrous to our enemies.''" This was after he and the levies he led as general had been defeated, though the timeframe is unclear. According to Charles d'Hericault, Élie also said in 1793 that he "''hopes to retire to Paris when there are no longer any despots to fight''". In his retelling of the storming of the Bastille, d'Hericault paints a two-sided picture of the future general: on one hand, the man is a mythical hero who he nicknames the 'Prince of Conquerors', and whom Dusaulx describes as "''reigning supreme, his eyes breathing carnage, his bristly hair and forehead covered in sweat throwing us back into heroic times''". On the other, he's a potential opportunist whose military history is unclear and who seemingly continues to rest on his laurels many years after the events of the 14th of July. According to Alphonse Halter, Élie is said to have proclaimed to the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...

that "''the same arm that was fortunate enough to help overthrow the Bastille may perhaps teach the satellites of despots what republican valour is capable of''". He also mentioned that he had "''always professed the principles of a true

sans-culotte The (; ) were the common people of the lower classes in late 18th-century France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the . The word , which is o ...

''".

References

Bibliography

* * * * * , vol. 9, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Élie, Jacob Job 1746 births 1825 deaths French generals