Louis Fursy Henri Compère (16 January 1768 – 27 March 1833) was a French general of artillery in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Compère was born in

Péronne, Somme Péronne () is a Commune in France, commune of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is the former site of the Péronne monastery, founded by the Anglo-Saxon Eorcenwald. Its site ...

. In 1794, he was promoted to ''chef de brigade'', the equivalent of colonel. On 1 May 1794, he was promoted to general of brigade. He was part of the

Army of the Danube The Army of the Danube () was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army of Observation, which had been obs ...

crossing into the southwest German states in 1799, and participated in the

Battle of Ostrach The Battle of Ostrach, also called the Battle by Ostrach, occurred on 20–21 March 1799. It was the first non-Italy-based battle of the War of the Second Coalition. The battle resulted in the victory of the Austrian forces, under the command of ...

and the Battle of Stockach. He was the brother of the General

Claude Antoine Compère Claude Antoine Compère (; 21 May 1774 – 7 September 1812) was a French army officer and later general who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was killed at the Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or B ...

(1774–1812).

Career

He fought at the Battle of Verona on 18 October 1805 where his brigade of

Gaspard Amédée Gardanne Gaspard Amédée Gardanne (; 24 April 1758 – 14 August 1807) was a French general who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Biography Born in Solliès-Pont on 24 April 1758, Gardanne joined the French royal army in 1779. After the French Revolution he ...

's division supported the initial attack of

André Masséna André Masséna, prince d'Essling, duc de Rivoli (; born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817), was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original eighteen Marshal of the ...

's converged ''voltiguers''. Later his soldiers formed squares to drive off a counterattack by Austrian hussars. He also led his troops at the Battle of Caldiero on 29 to 31 October in the same year. He commanded one of

Jean Reynier Divisional general, Divisional-General Jean Louis Ébénézer Reynier (14 January 1771 – 27 February 1814) was a French Army officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He rose in rank to become a general officer during ...

's brigades at the

Battle of Maida The Battle of Maida, fought on 4 July 1806 was a battle between the British expeditionary force and a French force outside the town of Maida in Calabria, Italy during the Napoleonic Wars. John Stuart led 5,236 British troops to victory over a ...

on 4 July 1806. He personally led the 1st Light Infantry Regiment in an attack against the British. Hit by a bullet, he continued to urge his troops forward and rode literally among British troops, who captured him.Schneid, 53 He was promoted to

general of 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 ...

on 1 March 1807.

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 ...

awarded him the Commander's Cross of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

Notes

References

* Schneid, Frederick C. ''Napoleon's Italian Campaigns: 1805-1815''. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2002. * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill Books, 1998. 1768 births 1833 deaths People from Somme (department) Generals of the First French Empire French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars {{France-mil-bio-stub