Charles Nicolas Fabvier () (10 December 1782 – 15 September 1855) was an ambassador, general and French member of parliament who played a distinguished role in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

Career under Napoleon

He was born at

Pont-à-Mousson Pont-à-Mousson () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Mussipontains'' in French. It is an industrial town (mainly steel industry), situated on the river Moselle. Pont-à-Mou ...

in Meurthe and was a student at the ''

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

'' before joining the 1st Artillery Regiment in Napoleon’s army in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1804. He participated in the 1805

Ulm Campaign The Ulm campaign was a series of French and Bavarian military maneuvers and battles to outflank and capture an Austrian army in 1805 during the War of the Third Coalition. It took place in the vicinity of and inside the Swabian city of Ulm. ...

, and was wounded in the battle of Dürenstein. In 1807, he was part of the French military mission to the Ottoman Sultan

Selim III Selim III (; ; was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, he was eventually deposed and imprisoned by the Janissaries, who placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV (). A group of a ...

, tasked with shoring up the defences of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Fabvier then managed to join the diplomatic mission of General Charles Mathieu Gardanne, Napoleon's envoy to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, who tried to combat British and Russian influence in the region. Fabvier was tasked with creating an artillery school and arsenal at

Esfahān Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

, and was awarded the newly constituted Order of the Lion and the Sun for his efforts. In 1809, he returned to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

via

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and served for a while as a volunteer in the Polish army of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

. Arriving at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, he was named captain in the French Imperial Guard. He served as aide-de-camp of Marshal Auguste de Marmont in Spain, and was sent by him to Russia to inform Napoleon on the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Earl of Wellington (future ...

. He arrived at Napoleon's headquarters on 6 September 1812, the eve of the Battle of Borodino. Fabvier was gravely wounded in this battle, leading the charge during the final assault on the Russian fortifications. Napoleon rewarded him by naming him artillery major in the VI Corps under Marshal Ney. He distinguished himself further during the operations of the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition () (December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (), a coalition of Austrian Empire, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, History of Spain (1808– ...

in Germany, and was raised to colonel of the General Staff and made ''

baron de l'Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles in a newly established ' (imperial nobility) to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both befo ...

''. He participated in the retreat into France, and on 31 March 1814, on behalf of Marshals Marmont and Mortier, he signed the surrender of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to the Coalition armies. During the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), 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 of King Louis XVIII o ...

, he joined the frontier defence forces as a volunteer.

Life after Napoleon

After Napoleon's downfall in 1815, he continued to serve in the royal French army. In 1817, he accompanied Marshal Marmont as chief of staff in quelling the riots at

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, provoked by the harsh conduct of the local military governor, General Simon Canuel. Soon after, he was suspended from his military duties for his liberal beliefs, and was arrested in August 1820 and charged with participation in a military conspiracy. Although he was released for lack of evidence, he was later called as a witness, but refused to disclose a name demanded by the public prosecutor, for which he was fined 500 francs. In 1822, he was charged with aiding the flight of the four sergeants of La Rochelle, but was acquitted. In 1823 he decided to leave France and went to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, to help the Greeks during their ongoing

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

. His first task was the supervision of the fortifications of

Navarino Navarino or Navarin may refer to: Battle * Battle of Navarino, 1827 naval battle off Navarino, Greece, now known as Pylos Geography * Navarino is the former name of Pylos, a Greek town on the Ionian Sea, where the 1827 battle took place ** Old Na ...

. Then he travelled to Britain to drum up support among the

Philhellenes Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron, Charles Nicolas Fabvier and Richard Church to a ...

. Returning again to Greece, he was appointed head of the small Greek regular army, with which he participated in several battles, most notably the Siege of the Acropolis of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in 1826. In 1828, he returned to France, only to return to Greece alongside the French Morea expedition. For his services during the Greek War of Independence, the Third National Assembly at Troezen declared Fabvier an honorary Greek citizen in 1827, and he was later awarded the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer (), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state. Establishment The establishment of the Orde ...

by King Otho I. In 1830, he returned to France and took part in the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

. Initially chief of staff to General

Étienne Maurice Gérard Étienne Maurice Gérard, 1st Comte Gérard (; 4 April 177317 April 1852) was a French general and statesman. He served under a succession of French governments including the ''ancien regime'' monarchy, the Revolutionary governments, the Restor ...

, on 4 August Fabvier was named military commander of Paris. In 1831, he resigned his commission and retired with the rank

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. Fabvier was made a peer of France in 1845, and in 1848, he was sent as the French ambassador to

, and thereafter to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Back in France he was elected to the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...

as a representative of Meurthe. There he sided with the conservative group of the assembly. He retired from public life on 2 December 1851, and died in

four years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabvier, Charles Nicolas 1782 births 1855 deaths French generals French philhellenes in the Greek War of Independence Greek people of French descent Naturalized citizens of Greece Knights of the Legion of Honour French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery