Gabriel-Jean-Joseph, 1st Count of Molitor (7 March 1770 – 28 July 1849), was a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

Biography

He was born in

Hayingen Hayingen () is a town in the district of Reutlingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 32 km southeast of Reutlingen. North of Münzdorf are the remains of the hilltop castle Burgweiler. History The first settlement in the ar ...

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

. Upon the outbreak of 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 ...

, Molitor joined the French revolutionary armies as a captain in a battalion of militia. In 1793 he was given command of a brigade and served under Hoche under whom he fought at Kaiserslautern and

Wissembourg Wissembourg (; South Franconian: ''Weisseburch'' ; German: ''Weißenburg'' ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is situated on the little river Lauter close to the border between France and Germany a ...

. In 1795, Molitor was severely wounded in the Battle of Mainz. In 1799, Molitor was sent to Switzerland where he fought 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 ...

against an Austro-Russian force led by

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 1800, he fought in the ''Army of the Rhine'' under Moreau. Molitor was promoted to the rank of ''général de division'' in 1801. He was sent with Massena to Italy in 1805, where he served at Vago and Caldiero. In 1806 he took part in the relief of

Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

. In 1807, Molitor was transferred to the German theatre of operations, where he served against the Swedes around Stralsund. He was then made governor of

Pommern Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

and was granted a comital title by

Napoleon 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 who ...

. In 1809 he was given command of a division in Massena's IV Corps and he saw action in the battles of

Aspern Aspern () is part of Donaustadt, the 22nd district of Vienna, Austria. History The area is known because of the Battle of Aspern-Essling, which was fought in the nearby Lobau on 21 and 22 May 1809. In that battle, the Austrian army, led by A ...

and

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) northeas ...

. In 1810 he was sent to occupy the cities of the Hanseatic League, from 1811 to 1813 he served in Holland, in the campaign of 1814 he served under MacDonald. After the abdication of Napoleon, Molitor made his submission to the Bourbons who made him Inspector-General of the infantry. Upon the return of the emperor 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 ...

, Molitor joined him during the Hundred Days, for which he was stripped of his functions after Napoleon's defeat. In 1818, Molitor was restored to grace and in 1823 he commanded the II Corps which was sent to Spain. The same year he was made a Marshal of France as well as a Peer. From 1827, he served as secretary to the Chamber of Peers. After 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 the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

, Molitor was allowed to keep all his functions and he later served as

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

of Les Invalides and as Grand Chancellor of the

Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

. He died in 1849 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 ...

. A statue of Molitor was later erected in Nancy.

Stradivarius

The 1697 Molitor Stradivarius, rumored to have once been owned by Napoleon Bonaparte, belonged to Molitor beginning in 1804. It was sold by

Tarisio Auctions Tarisio Auctions is a web-based auction house that specializes in string instruments and bows. Founded in 1999 with locations in New York and London, it provides a service to clients around the world. Locations Tarisio's New York offices and galle ...

in October 2010 for a world record $3.6M.

Bibliography

* 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. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molitor, Gabriel Jean Joseph 1770 births 1849 deaths People from Hayange Marshals of France Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Counts of the First French Empire French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Generals of the First French Empire Grand Chanceliers of the Légion d'honneur Commanders of the Order of Saint Louis Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe