François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers (; 1 March 1769 – 21 September 1796) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars.

Early life

Desgraviers was born on 1 March 1769 in Chartres, in the province of Orléanais, the son of a prosecutor. On December 1785, at the age of 16, he enlisted in the Angoulême Infantry Regiment, which later became the 34th Infantry Regiment of the French Army. Whilst on furlough in Paris, Marceau participated in the

storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...

on 14 July 1789. After that event he took his discharge from the regular army and returned to Chartres, but the opposition of his family soon compelled him to seek new military employment. Marceau-Desgraviers

Revolutionary Wars

In July 1792, Marceau was appointed captain of the

Revolutionary Army In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

's 2nd Battalion of Volunteers of

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.defence of Verdun later in the year, and it was his troop that was ordered to bear the proposals of capitulation to the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n camp. The defenders' lack of

morale Morale, also known as esprit de corps (), is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value ...

provoked the anger of the revolutionary authorities, and Marceau was fortunate to find re-employment as a captain in the regular service. However, early in 1793, he along with other officers under suspicion was arrested and imprisoned for a period.

Vendée

On his release, Marceau hurried to take part in the defence of Saumur against the Vendéean Royalists, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Saumur on 10 June 1793 by rescuing the representative

Pierre Bourbotte Pierre Bourbotte (; 5 June 1763, in Vault-de-Lugny – 17 June 1795, in Paris) was a French politician during the French Revolution. He was député for the Yonne to the National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convent ...

from the hands of the insurgents. The

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...

voted him the thanks of the country and he received rapid promotion. His conduct at the Battle of Chantonnay on 5 September 1793 won him the provisional rank of general of brigade. On 17 October, he bore a great part in the victory at the Battle of Cholet, and on began his friendship with

Jean Baptiste Kléber Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

while on the field of battle. Kléber was made a

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 ...

, and Marceau confirmed as general of brigade. Marceau in turn became a ''général de division'' on 10 November; then succeeded to the commander-in-chief ''ad interim''. With Kléber, he crushed the Vendean rebels at the

Battle of Le Mans The Battle of Le Mans was a German victory during the Franco-Prussian War that ended French resistance in western France. Background After capturing the armies of the French Empire at Sedan and Metz in the fall of 1870, the German armies un ...

on 12–13 December and at the Battle of Savenay on 23 December 1793. In the wake of Le Mans, Marceau had rescued and protected a young

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

lady, Angélique des Mesliers, with whom it has been supposed Marceau fell in love – however, even his help could not save her from the

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

. He and Kléber themselves were saved from arrest and execution only by the intervention of Bourbotte. Around this time Marceau became engaged to Agathe Leprêtre de Châteaugiron, but the marriage was prevented by his constant military employment, his broken health and the opposition of both Auguste-Félicité Le Prestre de Châteaugiron and Marceau's devoted half-sister Emira, wife of the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician Antoine Joseph Sergent.

Battles of 1795–96

After spending the winter of 1793–94 in Paris, Marceau accepted a command in the army under

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 in ...

alongside Kléber and took part in the various battles near Charleroi. During the battle of Fleurus on 26 June 1794 he had a horse shot from under him. He distinguished himself at Jülich, at

Aldenhoven Aldenhoven () is a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 5 km south-west of Jülich, 5 km north of Eschweiler and 20 km north-east of Aachen Aache ...

and at Koblenz, where he stormed the enemy lines on 23 October. He took part in the

1795 Events January–June * January – Central England records its coldest ever month, in the CET records dating back to 1659. * January 14 – The University of North Carolina opens to students at Chapel Hill, becoming t ...

- 1796 campaign with the armies of the Sambre and

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

, fighting on the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and the

Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in t ...

and distinguishing himself alongside Kléber near

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

and Sulzbach.

Death

After Jourdan and Jean Victor Marie Moreau's Rhine Campaign of 1796 ended in defeat, Marceau's men covered Jourdan's retreat over the Rhine. Marceau fought in the desperate Battle of Limburg on the

River (16–19 September 1796). While conducting a successful rear guard action near

Altenkirchen Altenkirchen () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the district of Altenkirchen. It is located approximately 40 km east of Bonn and 50 km north of Koblenz. Altenkirchen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("co ...

on 19 September, he received a mortal wound. He died two days later in the early morning, aged only twenty-seven. The

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competed with Marceau's own countrymen to honour the dead general. His body was burned and the ashes placed under a pyramid in Koblenz designed by Kléber. They were transferred to the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...

in 1889. Marceau was immortalized in

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

's '' Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'': :LVI :By Coblentz, on a rise of gentle ground, :There is a small and simple pyramid, :Crowning the summit of the verdant mound; :Beneath its base are heroes' ashes hid, :Our enemy's – but let not that forbid :Honour to Marceau! o'er whose early tomb :Tears, big tears, gush'd from the rough soldier's lid, :Lamenting and yet envying such a doom, :Falling for France, whose rights he battled to resume. :LVII :Brief, brave, and glorious was his young career, — :His mourners were two hosts, his friends and foes; :And fitly may the stranger lingering here :Pray for his gallant spirit's bright repose; :For he was Freedom's champion, one of those, :The few in number, who had not o'erstept :The charter to chastise which she bestows :On such as wield her weapons; he had kept :The whiteness of his soul, and thus men o'er him wept.

References

The 1911 ''Britannica'', in turn, gives the following references: * Maze, ''Le Général Marceau'' (1889) * Parfait, ''Le Général Marceau'' (1892) * T. C. Johnson, ''Marceau'' (London, 1896) {{DEFAULTSORT:Marceau-Desgraviers, Francois Severin 1769 births 1796 deaths People from Chartres French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders killed in the French Revolutionary Wars Republican military leaders of the War in the Vendée French generals Burials at the Panthéon, Paris Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe French revolutionaries