Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo (1773–1828) was a French general in the Napoleonic Wars. He was the husband of

Sophie Trébuchet Sophie Françoise Trébuchet (19 June 1772 in Nantes – 27 June 1821 Paris) was a French painter and the mother of Victor Hugo. Early life Sophie Françoise Trébuchet was born on June 19, 1772, in Nantes, rue des Carmélites, the fourth of eig ...

and the father of four sons. He is best known for his relationship to his third son, the eminent writer and French peer,

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

Early life

Joseph Léopold Hugo was the youngest son of Joseph Hugo, a former adjutant in the army of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

, and Jeanne-Marguerite Hugo. His four elder brothers all served as soldiers, a profession he himself took up in 1787 when he enlisted at the age of fourteen. He met

in 1796 in a town of France called

Châteaubriant Châteaubriant (; br, Kastell-Briant; Gallo: ''Châtiaoberiant'') is a town in western France, about southwest of Paris, and one of the three sous-préfectures of the Loire-Atlantique department. Châteaubriant is also situated in the historica ...

, marrying her the following year in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. They had three sons. Abel, , and Victor.

Military career

Joseph Léopold Hugo was appointed an officer in 1790, and in 1791 he was appointed to a command in the Army of the Rhine. He fought in engagements along the length of the

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

and as far as the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. Later, he was assigned as a battalion commander to fight against insurgents in

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

and

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

. From 1800 to 1802, he was stationed in Besançon, after which point he transferred first to

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and afterwards to Bastia. There, he went into the service of

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...

, then King of Naples, and fought against insurgents in the kingdom. The King appointed him a Colonel in February 1808, for capturing and executing the famed guerilla leader Fra Diavolo. Hugo followed the King to serve in Spain throughout the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, where he was appointed General. After the retreat from Spain and the Battle of Vitoria on June 21, 1813, General Hugo was demoted to the rank of Major by order of Napoleon. Later, after being restored to the rank of General, he remained with the army until Napoleon's abdication, later returning to his service during 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 restoration ...

Death

After being relieved of duty by ordinance in 1824, Joseph Léopold Hugo retired to his residence in Blois at the age of 51. On January 29th, 1828, Hugo suffered a stroke and died at age 54; his body was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Publications

Hugo, writing under the pseudonym ''Genti'', published several works throughout his life, including: * ''Memoirs on the means of supplying the slave trade with free individuals, etc.'', Blois, 1818; * ''Historical journal of the blockade of Thionville in 1815, and of the sieges of this city, Sierck and Rodemack in 1815'', Blois 1819; * ''Memoirs of General Hugo'', Paris 1820.

References

* 1773 births 1828 deaths Hugo family Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Officiers of the Légion d'honneur French generals {{France-mil-bio-stub