Charles-Étienne Gudin de La Sablonnière
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Charles-Étienne César Gudin de La Sablonnière (13 February 1768 – 22 August 1812) was a French general who served during 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, Prussia ...
and 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 Fren ...
.


Biography

Gudin was born to a noble family in
Montargis Montargis () is a commune in the Loiret department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, and contains light industry and farming, ...
, on 13 February 1768. After studying at the military school of
Brienne The County of Brienne was a medieval county in France centered on Brienne-le-Château. Counts of Brienne * Engelbert I * Engelbert II * Engelbert III * Engelbert IV * Walter I (? – c. 1090) * Erard I (c. 1090 – c. 1120?) * Walter II ...
, in October 1782 he joined the King's Guard as a
gendarme Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
. In September 1784 he entered the Régiment d'Artois with the rank of sub-lieutenant, and between January 1791 and January 1793 was stationed in the Saint-Domingue garrison as a
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
. Gudin was appointed to several positions as a general staff officer in the
Army of the North The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...
, then of the Rhine and Moselle. He became a brigade general at the beginning of 1799 and was given a command during the Swiss campaign. The following year he took part in the battles of
Stein Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to: Places In Austria * Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Aust ...
,
Stockach Stockach is a town in the district of Konstanz, in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Location It is situated in the Hegau region, about 5 km northwest of Lake Constance, 13 km north of Radolfzell and 25 km northwest of Konstan ...
, Messkirch,
Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-W ...
, Höchstädt and Neuburg. 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 co ...
for his valor on the battlefield, on 11 July 1800 he took
Füssen Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu, situated one kilometre from the Austrian border. The town is known for violin manufacturing and as the closest transportation hub for the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau ca ...
. That winter he commanded the 2nd division in the right wing under Lecourbe at the decisive French victory at
Hohenlinden Hohenlinden (meaning "high linden trees"; colloquially: ''Linden''; in the Bavarian dialect: ''Hea-lin'') is a community in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg. The city of Lynden, Washington is named after it, as is Linden, Alabama. Ho ...
. Gudin was given the command of the 3rd Division in the Grande Armée and fought in the wars of the Third Coalition and Fourth Coalition between 1805 and 1807. His 3rd Division of the III Corps was the first major formation into action at the Battle of Auerstädt and it bore the main brunt of the fighting. It suffered 40 percent casualties, one of whom was Gudin, who was seriously wounded. He participated in forcing the town of Custrin to capitulate and then playing an important part at the battles of Pultusk and Eylau. A count of the
First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...
in 1808, he was named governor of the castle of Fontainebleau the following year. He then took part in several battles of the
War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Empir ...
: Thann, Landshut, Eckmühl, the taking of Ratisbon. He was wounded at the bloody
battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...
. In 1812 he was given the command of a division of the second Grande Armée. He was struck by a cannonball during the Battle of Valutino, fighting against Russian troops near
Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...
in
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. His leg was amputated but he developed gangrene and died three days after the battle. His heart was removed to be buried in a chapel in the
Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...
, Paris.


Recovery of remains

On 6 July 2019, in a park in central Smolensk, archaeologists led by French historian Pierre Malinowski found a coffin and skeletal remains that bore signs of trauma consistent with the historical record of Gudin's death (one leg amputated and another one wounded). The find was confirmed when
DNA tests Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
from the remains found in Russia matched those of Pierre-César Gudin, Gudin's brother, who was also a Napoleonic general. On 13 July 2021, Gudin's remains were returned to France. His coffin was officially received by the French Minister of Veterans Affairs, Geneviève Darrieussecq, with a guard of honour wearing Napoleonic uniform. Plans for a larger ceremony, however, involving French and Russian officials were cancelled amid tension between the two countries. Gudin's remains were buried in the
Hôtel des Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...
on 2 December 2021, marking the anniversary of the French victory at 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 i ...
.


Family

Gudin married Jeanne Caroline Christine Creutzer, the sister of Brigadier-General
Charles Auguste Creutzer Brigadier-General Charles Auguste Creutzer (1780–1832) was a French officer in Napoleon's Army. Biography Charles-Auguste Creutzer was born on 1 April 1780 in Deux-Ponts (French derivation, more commonly known as Zweibrücken, now in the Rhine ...
(1780–1832). His younger brother (1775-1855) also followed a military career, reaching the rank of brigade general, and was made a Baron of the Empire by Napoleon in 1810.


Recognition

His name appears on the Arc de Triomphe in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gudin De La Sabloniere, Charles Etienne 1768 births 1812 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars French military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe People from Montargis