James or Jacques O'Moran (1 May 1735, Elphin – 6 March 1794, Paris) was an Irish

général de 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 ...

in French service.

Life

The son of a shoemaker, O'Moran left Ireland at a young age for France, where he grew up in Morin-la-Montagne before joining up as a cadet on 15 November 1752 in the Irish brigade de Dillon. His services were so valued that he rose to lieutenant-en-second on 14 January 1759. He served in Germany in the campaigns of 1760-61 and rose to sous-lieutenant on 1 March 1763, sous-aide-major on 4 February 1769, captain on 16 April 1771, capitaine-en-second on 5 June 1776, capitaine-commandant on 30 January 1778, major on 20 October 1779, mestre-de-camp on 24 June 1780, lieutenant-colonel to Dillon on 9 June 1785 and colonel of the regiment on 25 August 1791. He fought in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, commanding in the trenches, being wounded at the siege of Savannah in September 1779 and joining the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

. From 1779 to 1782 he was in

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

, then in America in 1783. On the French Revolution he was promoted to colonel on 25 July 1791, maréchal de camp on 6 February 1792, lieutenant général then général de division. Serving under Dumouriez in

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, capturing

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

. On 3 October 1792 he rose to

lieutenant général Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

and in 1793 received command of the camp at Cassel, where he found the armée du Nord defending

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

against the British and Prussians. Arriving at his post in April, O'Moran toured the strongholds placed under him (Cassel,

Bergues Bergues (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated to the south of Dunkirk and from the Belgium, Belgian border. Locally it is referred to ...

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

and Bailleul) to put them into a state of readiness and defence. At the end of 1793 he was the commander of the camp at

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

then commander-in-chief of the troops from

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

at Dunkirk. On representations from the Ferrières division and suspected of having received English bribes, he was suspended, arrested and imprisoned (as was Richardot) by delegates Le Bas and Duquesnoy in August 1793. He was brought before the

Revolutionary Tribunal The Revolutionary Tribunal (; unofficially Popular Tribunal) was a court instituted by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders. In October 1793, it became one of the most powerful engines of ...

in Paris under the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

and it condemned him to the guillotine for treason "in opposing plans at the moment of their execution". He was guillotined in Place du Trône renversé on 6 March 1794.

References

* John Cornelius O’Callaghan, ''History of the Irish brigades in the service of France, from the revolution in Great Britain and Ireland under James II., to the revolution in France under Louis XVI'', Glasgow, Cameron and Ferguson ; New York, P.N. Haverty, 1870. * Louis Marie Prudhomme, ''Histoire générale et impartiale des erreurs, des fautes et des crimes commis pendant la révolution française, à dater du 24 août 1787'', Paris, .n. 1796-1797.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omoran, James 1735 births 1794 deaths People from County Roscommon French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War French people of Irish descent French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution French military personnel of the Seven Years' War Executed people from County Roscommon Irish emigrants to France