Pierre David Édouard de Colbert-Chabanais (Paris, 18 October 1774 – 1853) was a general of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
and
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, noted for his unbreakable loyalty to
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 ...
.
Life
Revolution
Born into a noble family descended from the prestigious Colbert line, he was the son of the comte de Colbert, a rich landowner. On 23 August 1793, Pierre followed the traditional family route into the army, which was now the Republican army, although he was suspicious 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 ...
. He fought in the 1793 campaigns in the
Army of the Rhine
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, as a member of the bataillon de Paris, also known as the ''bataillon Guillaume-Tell'' after
William Tell
William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland.
According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...
sous-lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 19 ...
the following month.
After three years in the Army of the Rhine and in the armies suppressing the Vendéan Revolt, he was dismissed by
Lazare Hoche
Louis Lazare Hoche (; 24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars. He won a victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on ...
Returning to the army after Egypt, he was wounded and made a captain in the 3rd Dragoon Regiment, before finally rising to become aide-de-camp to Damas. He then became
adjudant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned ...
- major to the Mamelukes and aide-de-camp to Junot in 1803. He then followed Junot to become part of the
armée des côtes The Army of the Coasts (''Armée des côtes'') was a French Revolutionary Army created in 1792 under the command of Anne François Augustin de La Bourdonnaye. In April 1793 it was split into the '' Army of the Coasts of Cherbourg'' and the ''Army of ...
.
Colbert left Junot in 1805 and followed
major général
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
chef d'escadron
In the French armed forces (and in the armed forces of former French colonies such as the armed forces of NigerIena and
Pułtusk
Pułtusk (pronounced ) is a town in northeast Poland, by the river Narew. Located north of Warsaw in the Masovian Voivodeship, it had a population of about 19,000 . Known for its historic architecture and Europe's longest paved marketplace ( in ...
. In 1807 he was made a colonel and head of his old regiment, the 7th Hussars. This unit was now part of Lassalle's brigade, nicknamed the "infernal" brigade due to its passion. Napoleon made him a knight of the
Légion 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 ...
général de brigade
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...
on 9 March 1809 and put under the orders of Oudinot. He won glory at the Battle of Raab by charging and defeating Ott's hussars, cutting several squadrons of the enemy Hungarian cavalry to pieces and nearly coming to the aid of the 9th Hussar Regiment, which the Austrians were on the point of overwhelming. At Wagram Colbert was shot in the head three times and was made a commander of the Légion d'honneur.
Attached to the
Imperial Guard
An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, i ...
in 1811, he re-formed and commanded the 2e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers de la Garde impériale (better known as the Red Lancers, they were also nicknamed the ''écrevisses'' or crayfish, after their red uniforms). He also led the brigade for the whole of the
Russian campaign
The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...
under the orders of the duc d'Istrie. He and the Lancers then bravely covered the Grande Armée's retreat. During the German campaign of 1813 at
Bautzen
Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budi ...
he broke and routed the Russians and cut them to pieces. On 25 November 1813 he was promoted to
général de 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 corps ...
Champaubert
Champaubert () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France.
See also
*Communes of the Marne department
The following is a list of the 613 communes in the French department of Marne.
The communes cooperate in the followi ...
and Nangis, but finally defected to the Bourbons, who made him a chevalier de Saint-Louis and commander of the lancers corps in the royal guard. On Napoleon's return, general Colbert dithered until 23 March 1815. When Colbert came to the
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 ...
, Napoleon said to him icily "General Colbert, I've been waiting for you for three days", to which Colbert replied "I have been waiting for you for a year" and Napoleon put him in command of his personal guard. Colbert was wounded fighting at Waterloo and after the armée de la Loire was disbanded the Bourbons held a grudge against Colbert. He thus returned home, only for his loyalty to turn against him – in 1816 he was arrested without charge, held in the Prison de l'Abbaye for two months and exiled on his release. In 1817, however, he was recalled.
1826–1853
After ten years' inactivity, his military career only resumed in 1826. However, he had lost the brilliance he had shown during the Napoleonic Wars and instead became inspector general of cavalry and commander of a division of the camp de Lunéville. 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 ...
in 1830, he was put in charge of disbanding the eight cavalry regiments of the former royal guard. In 1834, general Colbert became aide-de-camp to
Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours
Prince Louis of Orléans, Duke of Nemours (Louis Charles Philippe Raphaël d'Orléans; 25 October 1814 – 26 June 1896) was the second son of King Louis-Philippe I of France, and his wife Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily.
Life
Childhoo ...
, accompanying the prince to Africa and taking part in the first expedition to Constantine in 1836. He was made a peer of France in 1838 and Grand Cross of the
Légion 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 ...
in 1839.
He was standing next to
Louis Philippe I
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...
during
Giuseppe Marco Fieschi
Giuseppe Marco Fieschi (13 December 1790 – 19 February 1836) was a Corsican mass murderer, and the chief conspirator in an attempted assassination of King Louis-Philippe of France on 28 July 1835. The attack on the King and his entourage ...
's assassination attempt and was wounded by Fieschi's gun. He died in 1853.
Coat of arms
''D'or, à la couleuvre ondoyante en pal d'azur surmontée d'un lambel du second; au canton des
Barons
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...
militaires de l'Empire brochant.''Source: ''Armorial du Premier Empire'', Vicomte Albert Révérend, Comte E. Villeroy /ref>