Joseph Vinoy (10 August 1803 – 27 April 1880) was a French soldier.

Biography

He originally intended to join the Church, but, after some years at a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

, he decided upon a military career and joined the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

in 1823. As a sergeant in the 14th line infantry, he took part in the

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n expedition of 1830. He won his commission at the capture of Algiers and during the subsequent campaigns rose to the rank of Colonel. He returned to France in 1850. In the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, he served under

François Certain Canrobert François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

as general of brigade. For his brilliant conduct at the

Battle of Malakoff The Battle of Malakoff (french: Bataille de Malakoff, russian: Бой на Малаховом кургане) was a French attack against Russian forces on the Malakoff redoubt and its subsequent capture on 8 September 1855 as a part of the ...

in 1855 he was promoted to General of division. He later led a division of

Adolphe Niel Adolphe Niel (4 October 180213 August 1869) was a French Army general and statesman. He was born at Muret, Haute-Garonne and entered the École Polytechnique in 1821. Niel entered the engineer school at Metz, became lieutenant in the Engineer ...

's corps in the Battle of Solférino. Retired on account of his age in 1865, he was recalled to active service on the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. After the early reverses he was made head of the XIII army corps, which did not arrive at the front in time to be involved in the catastrophe of Sedan. By a skilful retreat he brought his corps intact to Paris on September 7. During the Siege of Paris, Vinoy commanded the III army operating on the south side of the capital and took part in all the actions in that quarter. On

Louis Jules Trochu Louis-Jules Trochu (; 12 March 18157 October 1896) was a French military leader and politician. He served as President of the Government of National Defense—France's ''de facto'' head of state—from 4 September 1870 until his resignation on 2 ...

's resignation he was appointed to the supreme command, in which capacity he negotiated France's surrender. During the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

, he held important commands in the army of

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

, occupying the burning

Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...

and the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

on May 23, 1871. He was subsequently made a Grand Chancellor of the

Legion of Honour 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 ...

. Vinoy wrote several memoirs of the Franco-Prussian War: ''Operations de l'armée pendant le siege de Paris'' (1872); ''L'Armistice et la commune'' (1872); and ''L'Armée française'' (1873). The Municipality of Vinoy in Quebec, Canada, was named in his honour (since 1996 part of the Municipality of Chénéville).

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinoy, Joseph 1803 births 1880 deaths People from Isère French generals French military personnel of the Crimean War French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Grand Chanceliers of the Légion d'honneur