Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Claude Testot-Ferry (; 20 May 1773 – 25 August 1856) was a cavalry veteran of the armies of the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted u ...

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

and

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

Life

Origins

Claude Testot-Ferry was born in

Arnay-le-Duc Arnay-le-Duc () is a Communes of France, commune in the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France. Geography Arnay-le-Duc is located some 25 km north-west of Beaune and some 35&nbs ...

in 1773. He descended from the Testot family (from

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or () is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

), which had "provided intellectuals, magistrates, army officers and ecclesiastics from an early date" . To the name Testot was joined that of Ferry in 1698 when Miss Catherine Ferry (the general's great-grandmother), the last representative of a noble family whose origins in Normandy date back to 1220.''la Généalogie de la noble famille Ferry'' It was registered at the

Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...

in 1692, and its head was the noble Gilles Ferry, secretary of state to Jean, king of France. The arms of this family are decreed in the "Armorial Général de France". After the death of his great-uncle and godfather, Jean-Claude Testot-Ferry, knight of the order of Saint-Louis and captain in the Grenadiers Royaux, Claude Testot joined the name of Ferry to his own. This addition was confirmed by a royal ordinance of 17 January 1815.

Military career

In 1789, he signed on as a volunteer in the 10e régiment de chasseur à cheval. In 1791 Mesdames Victoire and Adélaïdes de France, daughters of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

(and thus aunts of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

), passed

on their way to Italy and the town's inhabitants turned out to protest against their emigration and imprisoned and insulted them in a very confined space for eleven days. Claude Testot-Ferry, then a sous-officier in the 10e Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval and dressed his uniform, climbed on a wall and greeted them in an ostentatiously respectful and courteous manner. This courageous act was admired by the crowd; the "prisoners" were won over by this young man and offered him an audience to propose he accompany them on their trip. It was with the 10e régiment de chasseur à cheval that he distinguished himself at the

Battle of Valmy The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of Kingdom of France (1791–92), France during the French Revolutionary Wars, Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The battl ...

in 1792 and participated in the Italian campaign of 1795. In 1797, he became a Sous-lieutenant, under the orders of general Masséna and until 1800 served in the Armée du Rhin. In 1803, he left for

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 ...

as a young lieutenant with his friend Colonel

Auguste François-Marie de Colbert-Chabanais Brigadier-General Auguste François-Marie de Colbert-Chabanais (18 October 1777 – 3 January 1809) was a French Army officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He became a general officer of cavalry during the Napoleoni ...

on a diplomatic mission. On Colbert-Chabanais's recommendation, he became a captain and aide de camp of general

Marmont Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, duc de Raguse (; 20 July 1774 – 22 March 1852) was a French general and nobleman who rose to the rank of Marshal of the Empire and was awarded the title (). In the Peninsular War Marmont succeeded th ...

, whose career he followed as far as Spain and then again from the Restoration. Testot-Ferry and Marmont became great friends and were buried in the same cemetery, the cimetière Saint-Vorles in

Châtillon-sur-Seine Châtillon-sur-Seine () is a commune of the Côte-d'Or department, eastern France. The Musée du Pays Châtillonnais is housed in old abbey of Notre-Dame de Châtillon, within the town, known for its collection of pre-Roman and Roman relics ...

. In 1805, Testot-Ferry distinguished himself at the battle of Reifling(Austria), where he captured a whole Austrian battalion (450 soldiers and 19 officers). In 1807, he fought at the battle of Castel Nuovo (Albania) On 3 March 1808, having strongly impressed Napoleon on their first meeting, Napoleon personally named Claude Testot-Ferry

chef d'escadron In some branches of the French Army and in the French National Gendarmerie ''Chef d'escadron'' ("squadron leader") is the officer rank above captain and below lieutenant colonel. It is the first Senior officer (''Officier supérieur'') rank and ...

, and he set out to join the 13e Cuirassiers for the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. In that campaign, he recovered general

's body shortly after his death, and distinguished himself at the siege of

Saragossa Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

. In 1811 Napoleon summoned him to join the regiment of dragoons in 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 and/or empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial force ...

, known as the " Empress's Dragoons", at the rank of major. In 1813, he was put in command of the 3rd squadron of the Old Guard at the

battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

, then the 2nd squadron at the

battle of Hanau The Battle of Hanau was fought from 30 to 31 October 1813 between Karl Philipp von Wrede's Austro-Bavarian corps and Napoleon's retreating French during the War of the Sixth Coalition. Following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig ...

. At Hanau, he received 22 sabre and lance cuts before safely reaching the rear to have his wounds treated. On this campaign he was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, then Colonel-Major in 1813, and took command of the 1er Régiment des Eclaireurs de la Garde Impériale, with whom he served throughout the campaign in France in 1814. (The

dolman A dolman is either a military shirt, or a jacket decorated with braiding, first worn by Hungarian hussars. The word is of Turkish origin, and after being adopted into Hungarian, has propagated to other languages. The garment was worn by peasants ...

worn by him as a colonel-major in the 1er régiment des éclaireurs is now held at the musée de l'Armée in the

château de l'Empéri The Château de l'Empéri (in Provençal Occitan: ''Castèu de l'Empèri'') is a 9th-century castle built on the rock of Puech which dominates the immense Crau, plain of Crau in the ''Communes in France, commune'' of Salon-de-Provence in the Bouch ...

Salon de Provence Salon-de-Provence (, ; or , ), commonly known as Salon, is a commune located about northwest of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department (Metropolis of Aix-Marseille Provence), region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It ...

, as part of the famous Raoul & Jean Brunon collection). His deeds at

Craonne Craonne () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France, northwest of Reims. History It was the site of the Napoleonic Battle of Craonne in 1814. The former town was totally destroyed by the French artillery d ...

are accounted his bravest. In effect, the regiment he was commanding was charged with clearing the plateaus of the Russian batteries located on the heights. Unfortunately, the cavalry found itself entirely routed by the Russian infantry but Testot-Ferry, saving the situation, reorganised his troops and led another charge within sight of

Marshal Ney Michel Ney, 1st Prince de la Moskowa, 1st Duke of Elchingen (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The son of ...

and Napoleon. This charge succeeded in clearing away the Russian batteries and Testot-Ferry was made a baron by Napoleon on the field of battle. However, he was taken prisoner two weeks later at the

battle of Arcis-sur-Aube The Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube (20–21 March 1814) saw an Imperial French army under Napoleon face a much larger Allied army led by Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg during the War of the Sixth Coalition. On the second day of fighting, E ...

but succeeded in escaping and rejoined his regiment at

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km southeast from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second la ...

. 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 ...

, Colonel Testot-Ferry was made first aide de camp of Marshal Marmont and in March 1815 escorted king

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

as far as the frontier on his way to exile in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

. Following Marmont's tracks, in 1817 he participated in the organisation of the Garde Royale and the king made him Colonel in the Corps Royal d'État-Major. In 1826, under

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

, he retired at the rank of Maréchal de Camp (equivalent of Général de Brigade). Aged around 70, he was one of only two officers of the army of the First Empire ever to be photographed, in a

daguerréotype Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photography, photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwid ...

, since the end of his life coincided with Daguerre's invention of this format in 1835.

Analysis

Rejecting political intrigues, Général Baron Testot-Ferry distinguished himself on the field of battle - seriously wounded on several occasions and several times remarked upon by Napoleon - and was faithful to his oaths under all regimes in one of the most troubled periods of French history, with one of his mottoes being ''il vaut mieux mériter sans obtenir, qu'obtenir sans mériter'' ("it is better to deserve without gain, than gain without deserving").

Titles and decorations

* Chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, 14 March 1806. * 14 April 1813 from

Napoléon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, Officier of the

, 14 April 1813. * Ennobled as

Baron d'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 ...

by decree of 16 March 1814, conferred on 7 March 1814 by Napoleon on the field of battle at Craonne (Aisne, Campagne de France). * Décoration du Lys, May 1814. * Knight of the

Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order, dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV, named after Louis IX of France, Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended a ...

, le 23 août 1814. * Commander of the

, 22 December 1814. * Confirmation by letters patent dated 27 January 1815 and signed by king

, of the title of hereditary baron

Heraldry

King

granted the general the ancient Ferry coat of arms with the addition of a helmeted head flanked by two primitive stars, and a lion passant holding a sword in the bottom half, to indicate that the arms' holder held his sword high and firm in battle. The heraldic description is : The family motto is "In honore et virtute ferri". The family has been inscribed by the Association d'Entraide de la Noblesse Française (ANF) since 1951, and is still represented today.

Descendants

Général Baron Claude Testot-Ferry had 8 children, 4 from his first marriage and 4 from his second (after his first wife's death). These included Gustave Testot-Ferry (his first name is an anagram of Auguste in tribute to Claude's great friend

), whose descendants form the elder branch of the family, and

Henry Testot-Ferry Henry Bernard Alfred Testot-Ferry also known as Henry de Ferry (5 February 1826, La Chapelle-la-Reine, Seine-et-Marne – 9 November 1869, Bussières, Saône-et-Loire) was a French geologist, archeologist and paleontologist. He was discoverer ...

, whose descendants form the cadet branch. Today, there are 18 people descended from the general, including the present Baron Testot-Ferry, who is Guy, Vè baron.

Bibliography

* Testot-Ferry : "Un des meilleurs colonels de Napoléon" Jean Tulard, Dictionnaire Napoléon. * ''Annales de la ville d'Arnay-Le-Duc en Bourgogne'', Paul-César LAVIROTTE, 1837 * ''Histoire de la Garde Impériale'', Emile Marco de SAINT-HILAIRE, 1847 * ''Mémoires du Maréchal Marmont, Duc de Raguse de 1792 à 1841'', Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de

, 1857 * ''Napoléon Ier et la Garde Impériale'', Eugène FIEFFE & dessins de RAFFET, 1859 * ''Galerie Bourguignonne'', Ch. MUTEAU, 1860 * ''Les grands cavaliers du Premier Empire'', Général THOUMAS, 1890 * ''La vieille Garde Impériale'', Collectif et dessins de JOB, 1901 * ''Titres, Anoblissements et Pairies de la Restoration 1814-1830'', Vicomte A. REVEREND, 1906 * ''Napoléon Ier et la Garde Impériale'', Commandant Henri LACHOUQUE, 1956 * ''Garde Impériale, les Eclaireurs'', Raoul & Jean BRUNON, 1961 * ''La grande armée de 1812'',

Carle Vernet Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, better known as Carle Vernet (; 14 August 175827 November 1836), was a French painter, the youngest child of Claude-Joseph Vernet and the father of Horace Vernet. Biography Vernet was born in Bordeaux. At the a ...

, 1966 * ''Le Maréchal Marmont, Duc de Raguse'', Robert CHRISTOPHE, 1968 * ''Dictionnaire Napoléon'',

Jean Tulard Jean Tulard (; born 22 December 1933, Paris) is a French academic and historian. Considered one of the best specialists of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Napoleonic era ( Directory, Consulate and First French Empire), he is nicknamed by his peers ...

, 1987 * ''Napoléon Ier et la Campagne de France'', Jean TRANIE et Juan-Carlos CARMIGNIANI, 1989 * ''Dictionnaire des Colonels de Napoléon'', Bernard QUINTIN 1996 * ''Marmont, Maréchal d'Empire 1774-1852'', Lucien FLORIET, 1996 * ''Napoleon's elite cavalry'', Edward RYAN & dessins de ROUSSELOT, 1999 * ''Napoléon et la Noblesse d'Empire'',

, 2003 * ''Napoléon en 1814'', Patrice ROMARY, 2003 * ''Le Guide Napoléon'', Alain CHAPPET, Roger MARTIN, Alain PIGEARD, 2005 * ''Les aides de camp de Napoléon et des maréchaux'', Vincent ROLIN, 2005 * ''La Garde Impériale'', Alain PIGEARD, 2006 * ''Napoleon's scouts of the Imperial Guard'', Ronald PAWLY & dessins de Patrice COURCELLE, 2006

Biographies

* ''Biographie du Général Baron Testot-Ferry'', Alexandre MIGNARD, 1859 * ''Le Général Baron Testot-Ferry, figure marquante de la cavalerie napoléonienne'', Olivier GLATARD, 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Testot-Ferry, Claude French generals French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Commanders in the French Imperial Guard Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Knights of the Legion of Honour French barons People from Beaune 1773 births 1856 deaths