Louis André Bon (; 25 October 1758 in

Romans-sur-Isère Romans-sur-Isère (; ; Old Occitan: ''Romans'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Drôme Departments of France, department in southeastern France. Geography Romans-sur-Isère is located on the Isère (river), Isère, northeast of Valence, ...

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

– 19 May 1799 in

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

) was a French general 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 ...

, best known for his participation in the 1798 Invasion of Egypt and Syria.

Life

He first enrolled very young in the régiment Royal-Infanterie, and took part 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 a battalion of national volunteers in 1792, he rejoined Dugommier on the frontier between France and Spain, soon becoming chef de brigade, fighting bravely at the siege of Bellegarde and being promoted to général de brigade. He fought under

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 ...

and Charles-Pierre Augereau in the Army of Italy and was wounded whilst urging on his men on the bridge at Arcole. After the peace of Campo Formio, he commanded the 8e division militaire (

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

), where he brought an end to the disorders caused by the White Terror, as he also did at

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

. Promoted to général de division, he set out for

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, distinguishing himself before

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, making a vital contribution to the capture of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

(by attacking an important enemy position), acting as one of the commanders of the left wing at the Battle of the Pyramids and contributing to the unexpected success at Mont-Thabor (in attacking the rear of the enemy attacked from the front by Jean-Baptiste Kléber). He also fought at the taking of El-Arish, the raising of the siege of Gaza and the capture of Jaffa. He was finally mortally wounded before the walls of Acre, on 10 May 1799, at the head of his grenadiers, at the foot of the breach, in the last assault on the town.

Family

14 years later Napoleon (now emperor) visited the école militaire de Saint-Germain and asked for the name of one of the students he had just reviewed – it was general Bon's son. On being asked by Napoleon, "Where is your mother?", he replied "In Paris, on a fourth floor, where she is dying of hunger". Napoleon instantly granted the general's widow an allowance, and created her son baron de l'Empire, also granting him an allowance.

Distinctions

* He is one of the 558 officers whose names are engraved on the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bon, Louis Andre 1758 births 1799 deaths People from Romans-sur-Isère French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders killed in the French Revolutionary Wars French generals French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe