Étienne, baron Radet (1762,

Stenay Stenay () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Stenaisiens''. History In 679, the assassinated king Dagobert II was buried in the church of Saint-Remi in Stenay. In 872, Kin ...

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 ...

- 1825,

Varennes Varennes-en-Argonne (, literally ''Varennes in Argonne'') or simply Varennes (German: Wöringen) is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 639. Geography Varennes-en-Ar ...

) was a French 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, Pruss ...

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 ...

. He is notable as the leader of the troops Napoleon sent to abduct

Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

Life

Radet was born at Stenay in 1762. He joined the Régiment de La Sarre as a soldier on 4 April 1780. He was promoted to corporal on 20 March 1781, and sergeant on 26 April 1782. Dismissed on 12 October 1786, he became a constabulary's rider on 30 November of the same year. He was appointed as a general of brigade in 1800 by

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 wh ...

, who gave him the chief command of all the

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

(armed police.) In 1809 he was ordered to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In July of that year he arrested the

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a ...

in his palace and conducted him to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

. He received the title of baron (1809), and became a general of division in 1813. In June 1815 he was appointed Grand Provost of the

(i.e.

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, Screening (tactical), ...

) accompanying the French army in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

during the

Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, but he ...

. He was present at

Ligny Ligny ( wa, Lignè) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commune ...

and at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh C ...

itself, where in the evening of 18 June he was wounded. During the retreat he rode, while bleeding, in the company of Napoleon as far as

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

, before proceeding to Beaumont, where he attempted to rally those fleeing and stem the rout. At Maubeuge and Avesnes on the 19th he issued orders to the

gendarmes Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (literally, " ...

to start arresting the fugitives in an attempt to reconstitute the army and restore discipline. At

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territori ...

on 20 June he again met the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

, who soon proceeded to

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. ...

, where Radet soon followed, having been granted leave to rest and heal his wounds. While Radet was in

Napoleon abdicated for the second time.Radet, Mémoires du général Radet, 340. Upon the return of the Bourbons he was imprisoned in the citadel at Besançon on 28 June 1816, but on 24 December 1818 a royal decision granted him remission on the rest of his sentence on 24 December 1818. Allowed to retire on 1 December 1819, he died at Varennes on 27 September 1825.

Fiction

In 1981 he was depicted by French actor

Jacques Herlin Jacques Herlin (17 August 1927 – 7 June 2014) was a French character actor. Born in Paris as Jacques de Jouette, he appeared in an impressive number of films from the early sixties. He was also active on stage and on television. He died i ...

in the Italian movie '' Il Marchese del Grillo''.

Notes

Sources

* Radet, E., ''Mémoires du général Radet'' (ed. A. Combier), St. Cloud: 1892. * * 1762 births 1825 deaths People from Meuse (department) French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars {{France-mil-bio-stub