Claude Jacques Lecourbe (22 February 1759 – 22 October 1815), born in

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

, was a French general during the French Revolutionary and

Napoleonic 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 ...

wars.

Biography

After having studied at a college in Poligny and in Lons-le-Saunier, Lecourbe enlisted in the Regiment of Aquitaine where he served for eight years as an enlisted man. Having been promoted to corporal when the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

started he became commandant of the National Guard of Ruffey-sur-Seille in 1789. He was then given command of the 7th volunteer battalion of the Jura, with which he served in the armies of the Rhine and the Nord. Having been promoted to colonel in 1791 Lecourbe distinguished himself in the battle of Fleurus. Having been promoted to general of brigade in 1794 and to general of division in 1798, he fought against

Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

in Switzerland and distinguished himself in the

Second Battle of Zurich The Second Battle of Zurich (25–26 September 1799) was a key victory by the Republican French army in Switzerland led by André Masséna over an Austrian and Russian force commanded by Alexander Korsakov near Zürich. It broke the stal ...

under

André Masséna André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli (born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Donald D. Horward, ed., trans, annotated, The Fre ...

. Lecourbe's friendship with Jean-Victor Moreau and his vocal defense of Moreau in the process Georges Cadoudal brought on the enmity of

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 ...

which forced his retirement in 1805. After Napoleon's abdication he was made a count by

Louis XVIII of France Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

. The

count of Artois The count of Artois (French: Comtes d'Artois, Dutch: Graven van Artesië) was the ruler over the County of Artois from the 9th century until the abolition of the countship by the French revolutionaries in 1790. House of Artois *Odalric (c. 850 ...

recalled Lecourbe to active duty in February 1815 and made him inspector-general of the 6th military Division with headquarters in Besançon. Upon Napoleon's return from exile on

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 ...

, Lecourbe offered him his services and during the Hundred Days he commanded the Army of the Jura (I Corps of Observation), operating in the Jura against Archduke Ferdinand. With an army of only 8,000 he held the city of

Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...

for 15 days against the 40,000 Austrian troops of General

Colloredo-Mansfeld The House of Colloredo-Mansfeld () is an originally Italian noble family of which a branch came to Austria in the late 16th century. There they were raised to barons in 1588, imperial counts in 1727 and imperial princes (in primogeniture) in 1763 ...

, only agreeing a ceasefire on 11 July 1815, a feat which earned him a place of honour in French schoolbooks. After Louis's second return to the throne, Lecourbe retired and on 22 October 1815 he died in

after a long illness.

Legacy

A statue commemorating him stands in the Place de la Liberté in Lons-le-Saunier, where a street is also named after him. Streets named in his honour can also be found in Paris and in Besançon. In Belfort a statue commemorates him as "The glorious defender of the city".

Notes

References

*Baradel, Y., et al. (1985). ''Histoire de Belfort''. Roanne le Coteau: Horvath 1985. (p. 207ff). * Clausewitz, Carl von (2020). ''Napoleon Absent, Coalition Ascendant: The 1799 Campaign in Italy and Switzerland, Volume 1.'' Trans and ed. Nicholas Murray and Christopher Pringle. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. * Clausewitz, Carl von (2021). ''The Coalition Crumbles, Napoleon Returns: The 1799 Campaign in Italy and Switzerland, Volume 2.'' Trans and ed. Nicholas Murray and Christopher Pringle. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas.
Mullié, C. (1851)
''Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850''. Paris: Poignavant {{DEFAULTSORT:Lecourbe, Claude 1759 births 1815 deaths Military personnel from Besançon French generals French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe