Anne Jean Marie René Savary, 1st Duke of Rovigo (26 April 17742 June 1833) was a French military officer and
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...
who served in the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...
, the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
and the
French invasion of Algeria. He was
Minister of Police between 1810 and 1814.
Early life and career
Savary was born at
Marcq in the
Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
. He was educated at the college of St Louis at
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
and entered the royal army in 1790. His first campaign was that waged by
General Custine
Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine (4 February 174028 August 1793) was a French general. As a young officer in the French Royal Army, he served in the Seven Years' War. In the American Revolutionary War he joined Rochambeau's '' Expédition Parti ...
against the retreating forces of the
duke of Brunswick
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
in 1792. He next served in succession under
Pichegru
Jean-Charles Pichegru (, 16 February 1761 – 5 April 1804) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. His royalist positions led to h ...
and
Moreau, and distinguished himself during the skilful retreat of the latter from an untenable position in the heart of
Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
. He became ''chef d'escadron'' in 1797, and in 1798 served under General
Louis Desaix, in the
Egyptian campaign, of which he left an interesting and valuable account.
He also distinguished himself under Desaix at
Marengo (14 June 1800). His fidelity and address while serving under Desaix, who was killed at Marengo, secured him the confidence of the
First Consul
The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Co ...
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
, who appointed him commander of the
Elite Gendarmes of the Consular Guard. In the discovery of the various ramifications of the
Georges Cadoudal-Pichegru conspiracy Savary showed great skill and activity. He proceeded to the cliff of Biville in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, where the plotters were in the habit of landing, and sought, by imitating the signals of the royalist plotters, to tempt the comte d'Artois (afterwards
Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...
) to land. In this he was unsuccessful.
He was in command of the troops at Vincennes when the
duc d'Enghien
Duke of Enghien (french: Duc d'Enghien, pronounced with a silent ''i'') was a noble title pertaining to the House of Condé. It was only associated with the town of Enghien for a short time.
Dukes of Enghien – first creation (1566–1569)
The ...
was summarily executed. Hulin, who presided at the court-martial, afterwards accused Savary, though not by name, of having intervened to prevent the dispatch to Bonaparte of an appeal for mercy which Hulin was allegedly in the act of drawing up. Savary afterwards denied this, but his denial has not generally been accepted by historians.
Napoleonic Wars
In February 1805 he was raised to the rank of general of division. Shortly before the
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz ...
(2 December 1805), he was sent by Napoleon with a message to the emperor
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of A ...
with a request for an armistice, a device which caused that monarch all the more eagerly to strike the blow which brought disaster to the Russians. After the battle Savary again took a message to Alexander, which induced him to treat for an armistice. In the campaign of 1806, Savary showed signal daring in the pursuit of the
Prussians after the
Battle of Jena
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. He was negotiating during the ''
Siege of Hameln''. Early in the next year he received command of a corps, and with it gained an important success at
Ostrolenka (16 February 1807).
After the
treaty of Tilsit (7 July 1807) Savary proceeded to
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
as the French ambassador, but was soon replaced by
General Caulaincourt, another accessory to the execution of the duc d'Enghien. The repugnance of the empress dowager to Savary is said to have been one of the reasons of his recall, but it is more probable that Napoleon felt the need of his gifts for intrigue in the Spanish affairs which he undertook at the close of 1807. With the title of duke of Rovigo (a small town in Venetia), Savary set out for
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
when Napoleon's plans for gaining the mastery of Spain were nearing completion. With
Murat Murat may refer to:
Places Australia
* Murat Bay, a bay in South Australia
* Murat Marine Park, a marine protected area
France
* Murat, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Murat, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal
Elsewhe ...
Savary made skilful use of the schisms in the Spanish royal family (March–April 1808), and persuaded
Charles IV of Spain
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles III of Spain
, mother = Maria Amalia of Saxony
, birth_date =11 November 1748
, birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples
, death_date =
, death_place ...
, who had recently abdicated under duress, and his son
Ferdinand VII, the ''de facto'' king of Spain, to refer their claims to Napoleon. Savary induced Ferdinand to cross the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
and proceed to Bayonne—a step which cost him his crown and his liberty until 1814.
In September 1808, Savary accompanied the emperor to the famous meeting at the
Congress of Erfurt with Alexander I. In 1809 he took part, albeit without distinction, in the campaign against
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
.
On the disgrace of
Fouché in the spring of 1810, Savary received his
Ministry of Police. There he showed his wonted skill and devotion to Napoleon; and this office, which the
Jacobin
, logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg
, logo_size = 180px
, logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794)
, motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir)
, successor = P ...
Fouche had shorn of its terrors, now became a veritable inquisition. Among the incidents of his time may be cited the cynical brutality with which Savary carried out the order of Napoleon for the exile of
Mme de Staël and the destruction of her work ''
De l'Allemagne
''On Germany'' (french: De l'Allemagne), also known in English as ''Germany'', is a book about German culture and in particular German Romanticism, written by the French writer Germaine de Staël. It promotes Romantic literature, introducing t ...
''. Savary's wariness was, however, at fault at the time of the strange conspiracy of General
Malet, two of whose confederates seized him in his bed and imprisoned him for a few hours (23 October 1812). Savary's reputation never quite recovered from the ridicule caused by this event. Napoleon awarded him the
duché grand-fief (a rare, nominal but hereditary honor; extinguished in 1872
Heraldica.org - Napoleonic heraldry
/ref>) of Rovigo, in his own Kingdom of Italy.
Hundred Days and later life
He was among the last to desert the emperor at the time of his abdication (11 April 1814) and among the first to welcome his return (the Hundred Days
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoratio ...
) from Elba
Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...
in 1815, when he became inspector-general of gendarmerie and a Peer of France
The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages.
The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...
. After the Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Sevent ...
he accompanied the emperor to Rochefort and sailed with him to Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...
on HMS ''Bellerophon''. He was not allowed to accompany him to Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...
, but underwent several months' "internment" at Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. Escaping thence, he proceeded to Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prom ...
, where he settled for a time. Afterwards he travelled about in more or less distress, but finally was allowed to return to France and regained civic rights; later he settled at Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
The July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first in 1789. It led to ...
(1830) brought him back into favour and in 1831 he received the command of the French army in Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
. While in command at Algiers, he alienated French civil authorities with his high-handed treatment of Arab leaders. He was responsible for the extermination of the local El Ouffia tribe with Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg and the death of several Arab leaders whom he lured into negotiations. Ill-health compelled him to return to France, and he died in Paris in June 1833.
See also
* Massacre of El Ouffia
The Massacre of El Ouffia took place on 6 April 1832 during the French conquest of Algeria. It was a war crime committed against the tribe of El Ouffia near El Harrach by the Troupes Coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg.
Hist ...
* Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg
Notes
References
* This work in turn cites:
** ''Mémoires du duc de Rovigo'' (4 vols., London, 1828; English edition also in 4 vols., London, 1828); a French edition annotated by D. Lacroix (5 vols., Paris, 1900)
** ''Extrait des mémoires de M. le duc de Rovigo concernant le catastrophe de M. le duc d'Enghien'' (London, 1823)
** ''Le Duc de Rovigo jugée par lui-même et par ses contemporains'', by L. F. E. (Paris, 1823)
** A.F.N. Macquart, ''Refutation de l'écrit de M. le duc de Rovigo'' (1823).
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savary, Anne Jean Marie Rene
1774 births
1833 deaths
19th-century French diplomats
Ambassadors of France to the Russian Empire
Dukes of the First French Empire
French generals
French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
French police chiefs
Peers of France
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe