Marc Armand Elisée Scherb (25 April 1747 in

Westhoffen Westhoffen (; ; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. History From 1236 Westhofen was a fief of the Holy Roman Empire to the Lords of Lichtenberg, who with their successors Hanau-Lichtenberg ...

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

– 2 July 1838 in Westhoffen), was a brigadier general in 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 ...

Family

He was the son of John Scherb, a notary, born 6 July 1712. His brother Leopold (31 May 1776 – 24 May 1842) was a colonel of

cuirassier A cuirassier ( ; ; ) was a cavalryman equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as man-at-arms, men-at-arms and demi-lancers discarding their ...

s; Revue d'Alsace
''Scherb''
Fédération des sociétés d'histoire et d'archéologie d'Alsace, 1876. Volume 27, p. 142. Leopold ended his career as a ''chef d'escadron''.Leopold-Elisee Scherb, chef d'scadron, d 24 May 1842. Upon his death, his widow and children obtained rights to his military pension of 500 francs: Widow, Marie-Antoinette-Reine Kein, b. 13 August 1787, Strasbourg. Children: Raymond Leopold b. 27 Jan 1811, Neuviller, Victoire-Marie-Josephine-Francoise, Marie-Elise-Marguerite born 18 June 1817,

Saverne Saverne (, ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a mountain pass, pass ...

; Caroline Victoire-Leopoldine, b. 4 Nov 1827, Saverne. Ancestry.com. ''France, Civil and Military Pensions, 1836–1862''. (Bulletin des Lois) atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012. Série 9, Vol. 24, N° 673–696

Service

Scherb was a cadet in the Infantry Regiment Anhalt on 20 October 1766 and lieutenant on 16 October 1768. In 1769, Scherb served in military during the

French conquest of Corsica The French conquest of Corsica was a successful Expeditionary warfare, expedition by French Army, French forces of the Kingdom of France under the Noël Jourda de Vaux, Comte de Vaux, against Corsican forces under Pasquale Paoli of the Corsican R ...

. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 14 January 1777, and to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 16 September 1778. As lieutenant colonel, he commanded a battalion of

grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

s under General Adam Philippe Custine on 20 October 1792. As adjutant general, he was brigade leader on 8 March 1793. He was wounded in his right foot by shrapnel and a shot broke his left leg, and subsequently served at the headquarters in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

in 1793. He also commanded the second column of the

garrison on 22 July 1793; subsequently he commanded the garrison at Brest on 17 August 1793. He was charged with suppressing the revolt in the

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Battle of Savenay The Battle of Savenay took place on 23 December 1793, and marks the end of the Virée de Galerne operational phase of the War in the Vendée, first war in the Vendée after the French Revolution. A Republican force of approximately 18,000 deci ...

, on 13 July 1794. 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 ...

of the

Army of the Rhine and Moselle The Army of the Rhine and Moselle () was one of the field units of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 20 April 1795 by the merger of elements of the Army of the Rhine and the Army of the Moselle. The Army of the Rhine and Moselle ...

appointed him provisionally as brigadier general on 6 December 1794. He commanded the Second Brigade, in the division of

Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, 1st Marquis of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr (; 13 April 1764 – 17 March 1830) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was a made a Marshal of the Empire in 1812 by Empero ...

, at Mainz on 4 January 1795. His appointment as brigadier was confirmed by the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...

on 13 June 1795. Eugène Fieffé
Histoire des troupes étrangères au service de la France: ''Scherb''
Dumaine, 1854. Volume 2, p. 348. As part of Pierre Anton Courtot's eighth division at

on 29 October 1795, he was under the command of

Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino, (23 August 1747, Craveggia – 28 June 1816, Paris), was a general and politician of France. Born in the Savoy, he was the son of a low-ranking officer in the Habsburg military. In 1789, during the French Revolu ...

in the Army of the Rhine and Moselle on 30 December 1795 and

Guillaume Philibert Duhesme Guillaume Philibert, 1st Count Duhesme, () born on 7 July 1766 in Mercurey (formerly ''Bourgneuf''), Burgundy, killed on the 20th June 1815 near Waterloo, was a French general, politician and writer during the French Revolution and Napoleonic ...

's sixth division in April 1796. As commander at

Landau Landau (), officially Landau in der Pfalz (, ), is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990), a long ...

on 27 April 1796, he crossed the Rhine to watch

Philippsburg Philippsburg () is a town in the district of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Before 1623, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim". The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1316 to 1803. The town is named after P ...

on 19 July 1796. Throughout the summer of 1796 he remained at Bruchsal, responsible for observation of the garrisons of

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

and Philippsburg. In September 1796, it appeared that he would be cut off from the corps of

Jean-Baptiste Jourdan Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Count Jourdan (; 29 April 1762 – 23 November 1833), was a French military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire by Emperor Napoleon I i ...

, which was retreating toward France north of the Mainz, and

Jean Victor Marie Moreau Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte rise to power, but later became his chief military and political rival and was banished to the United States. He is among the f ...

, who was retreating through the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

; he withdrew toward

Kehl Kehl (; ) is a city with around 38,000 inhabitants in the southwestern Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg. It lies in the region of Baden on the Rhine River, at the confluence with the smaller Kinzig (Rhine), Kinzig River, directly oppo ...

. During the withdrawal he skirmished with Franz Petrasch until he was cut off from Kehl by the Austrian corps. He was named Chevalier of

Order of Saint-Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fir ...

on 10 April 1791 and Officer of the

Légion d'honneur 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 society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

on 15 June 1804.

Citations, notes and references

Citations

Notes

References

* Revue d'Alsace
''Sherb''
Fédération des sociétés d'histoire et d'archéologie d'Alsace, 1876. * Eugène Fieffé
''Histoire des troupes étrangères au service de la France: Scherb''
Dumaine, 1854. Volume 2, p. 348 {{DEFAULTSORT:Scherb, Marc Amand Elisee 1747 births 1838 deaths People from Bas-Rhin French generals French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars