Jean-Étienne Vachier Championnet (; 13 April 1762 – 9 January 1800) was a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

officer who led a Republican French division in several important battles of 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 commander-in-chief of the Army of Rome in 1798 and of the Army of Italy in 1799. He died in early 1800 of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

. His name is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 3.

Career

Championnet joined the

at an early age and served in the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Enlightenment in Spain, Spain and Kingdom of France, France to capture Gibraltar from the Kingdom of Great Britain, British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the largest ba ...

. During the French Revolution, he took a prominent part in the movement and was elected by the men of a battalion to command them. In May 1793 he was charged with the suppression of the civil disturbances in the Jura, which he quelled without bloodshed. Under Charles Pichegru he took part in the Rhine campaign of 1793 as a brigade commander, and at Weissenburg and in the Palatinate won the commendation of

Lazare Hoche Louis Lazare Hoche (; 24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars. He won a victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on ...

. At Fleurus his stubborn fighting in the centre of the field contributed greatly to

Jourdan Jourdan may refer to: *Adolphe Jourdan, French painter (1825-1889) *Camila Jourdan, Brazilian philosopher *Carolyn Jourdan, American author *Claude Jourdan (1803–1873), French zoologist and paleontologist *David W. Jourdan, businessman *Jean-Bapt ...

's victory. In the subsequent campaigns he commanded the left wing ‘of the French armies on the

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 ...

between

Neuwied Neuwied (, ) is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the Neuwied (district), District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt ...

and

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, and took a part in expeditions to the

Lahn The Lahn () is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the States of Germany, federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). ...

and the Main rivers. At the conclusion of the

Rhine Campaign of 1796 In the Rhine campaign of 1796 (June 1796 to February 1797), two First Coalition armies under the overall command of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, Archduke Charles outmaneuvered and defeated two First French Republic, French Republican ...

, he briefly commanded the Army of Sambre and Meuse from 24 January–31 January 1797. In 1798 Championnet was named commander-in-chief of the Army of Rome which was tasked with protecting the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

against attacks by the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. Nominally 32,000 strong, the army scarcely numbered 8000 effectives, with a bare fifteen cartridges per man. Leading the Neapolitan army, the Austrian general Karl Mack von Leiberich had a tenfold superiority in numbers, but Championnet held his own and captured

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

itself, and there established the Parthenopaean Republic. His intense earnestness and intolerance of opposition, plus his penchant for looting and an unwillingness to curb atrocities by his troops, soon embroiled him with the civil population. He became involved in a quarrel with Guillaume-Charles Faipoult, one of the "

Representatives on mission Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

" (political commissar), was relieved with the accusation of graft, and subsequently imprisoned for a short time. The following year, however, saw him again in the field as commander-in-chief of the Army of the Alps. This, too, was at first a mere paper force, but after three months' hard work it was able to take the field. After Barthélemy Catherine Joubert was killed at the Battle of Novi, Championnet assumed control over the Army of Italy. The campaign which followed was uniformly unsuccessful and, worn out by the unequal struggle, Championnet died at

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

in the French Maritime Alps. In 1848 a statue was erected in his honour at Valence. According to

Napoleon 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 ...

, Championette "was brave, full of zeal, active, devoted to his country; he was a good General of Division, an indifferent Commander-in-Chief." The figure of General Championnet is linked to the traditional carnival of

Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

, which had been part of the short-lived Parthenopaean Republic, during which a puppet representing the general is carried around the streets of the city and then given to the flames.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Championnet, Jean Etienne 1762 births 1800 deaths People from Drôme French generals Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe Deaths from typhus in France Roman Republic (18th century)

Career

Further reading

References