Jean Ernest Ducos de La Hitte, Viscount, was born on 5 September 1789 in Bessières (

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...

), and died on 22 September 1878 in Gragnague (

). He was a French major general, Senator, Foreign Minister, and the implementer of the

La Hitte system The La Hitte system (), named after the French general Ducos, Count de La Hitte, was an artillery system designed in March 1858 to implement rifled muzzle-loading guns in the French Army. Conception The La Hitte system was developed through the ...

of rifled guns in 1858. He entered the Ecole Polytechnique in 1807. He fought in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

as an artillery lieutenant, in the campaigns of 1810, 1811, 1812, 1813 and 1814. He was in particular noticed at the siege of Cadiz. He became Brigadier general on 22 February 1829, at 39 years of age. One year after (1830), he commanded the artillery in Africa during the capture of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. He was President of the Artillery committee during the Revolution of 1848. He became Minister for Foreign Affairs from November 1849 until 9 January 1851. He created the

of rifled

muzzle-loading A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading fire ...

guns in 1858:Franck Taylor
'' Rifled Field Pieces: A Short Compilation of what is Known of the New Field''
1862, p. 32

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducos de La Hitte, Jean-Ernest 19th-century French diplomats French Army officers 1789 births 1878 deaths Foreign ministers of France 19th-century French military personnel French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars École Polytechnique alumni