Pietro Teulié (3 February 1769 – 18 June 1807) was an Italian

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who served in the

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during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He was killed during the siege of the

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n fortress of Kolberg.

Biography

He was born in Milan, the son of Filippo and Teresa Crippa. His father, a state officer, was the last descendant of a medium-class family from

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

, and tried to make him a lawyer, with scarce results.

Early Service, 1796-1800

In 1796, when the French with

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

entered Milan, he joined the

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of the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic (; ) was a sister republic or a client state of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized two ...

, as the second-in-command of Duke Gian Galeazzo Serbelloni. On 15 October he was moved to the

Lombard Legion The Lombard Legion (''Legione Lombarda''; ) was a military unit of the Cisalpine Republic which existed from 1796 until the Republic's fall in 1799; but despite the downfall of this sister republic, the Cisalpine troops continued to serve the First ...

as head of battalion and ''aide-de-camp'' to the Mantuan general Giuseppe Lahoz Ortiz, and in this capacity served during the French invasion of the

Papal State The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct Sovereignty, sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy fro ...

. At the Battle of Senio General Lahoz was wounded and he took command of the entire Legion, defeating the far more numerous Pontificians and capturing over one thousand prisoners, four banners and fourteen guns. He then conquered the fort of San Leo. In February 1799 he commanded the territorial division of

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, and later served under General Garnier as his chief of staff, during the disastrous campaign against the Austro-Russian forces. Besieged with a handful of men in

Castel Sant'Angelo Castel Sant'Angelo ( ), also known as Mausoleum of Hadrian (), is a towering rotunda (cylindrical building) in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. ...

, he surrendered only on the guarantee of military honours and a safeconduct, taking a ship that brought him in France. He then started to reorganise the troops of the collapsed Cisalpine Republic in the new Italian Legion, commanded by general Giuseppe Lechi, in which many officers and petty officers, due to the lack of recruits, served as simple soldiers. He distinguished himself during the

Battle of Marengo The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General ...

, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In December 1800 the nicknamed "Teulié Brigade" was attached to the division of General Brune, who was ordered to attack in the

Tirol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

to cut the Austrian communication lines. The short campaign was a complete success, and Brune later write on him: "We due every praise to the unshackable courage and capable direction of General Teulié".

The Italian Kingdom, 1800-1806

He was nominated

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of the

in April 1802, but left the position shortly after, possibly for his contrast with the Frenchmen that opposed his project of an independent Italian Army in an independent Italian state. In 1803 his brigade was part of the 2nd Italian Division of general

Domenico Pino Domenico Pino (8 September 1760 – 29 March 1826) was an Italian army officer. He served as General of Division in the Kingdom of Italy and in Napoleon's Grande Armée. Biography Pino was born in Milan, to Francesco and Margherita Lonati, a s ...

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, and, the following year, received the cross of the

Legion 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

by the

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himself. After a false accuse, he was subsequently removed and imprisoned, but

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 ...

eventually restored him in his position and honours, giving him the rank of

division general 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 ...

and the command of the Pino's Division. He was awarded, in 1806, with the just instituted

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown () was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombard ...

The War of the Fourth Coalition

After a brief service in the quarters of

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

, he distinguished himself leading his division in the

War of the Fourth Coalition The War of the Fourth Coalition () was a war spanning 1806–1807 that saw a multinational coalition fight against Napoleon's First French Empire, French Empire, subsequently being defeated. The main coalition partners were Kingdom of Prussia, ...

. He won the Prussian in

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; ) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 2021 it was inhabited by 67,293 people. It is situated on ...

and Neugarten, and was afterward placed as

military governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...

. The 24 February 1807 passed the Persante river and moved with a forced march on Kolberg. His commander,

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Berthier wrote of him: "Teulié with his men goes on a double pace; he has completely beaten the defenders of Kolberg and locked them into the fortress."

Death at Kolberg

The 14 March 1807 he started the siege of Kolberg, under general Loison, who let him command all the siege operations. On the 12 June 1807, during a first line combat, a grenade killed two of his men and struck him in his leg. He died six days after from tetanus.

Legacy

His name was inscribed on the 17th column of the

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, one of the few Italian generals to have his name inscribed. According to his last will, his body was then buried in the Military Orphanage for Our Fallen's Children, in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, now the Italian Military School "Teulié", named after him.

Awards

* Officer of the Legion d'Honneur * Commander of the Order of the Iron Crown

References

*''This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article of the

Italian Wikipedia The Italian Wikipedia () is the Italian language, Italian-language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was created on 10 May 2001, and first edited on 11 June 2001. As of , it has articles and more than registered accounts. It is the -largest W ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Teulie, Pietro 1769 births 1807 deaths Italian people of French descent Military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars Italian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Officers of the Legion of Honour Knights of the First French Empire Military personnel from Milan Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe Duchy of Milan people