Gaspard Gourgaud
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Gaspard, Baron Gourgaud (14 September 1783 – 25 July 1852), also known simply as Gaspard Gourgaud, was a French soldier, prominent in the Napoleonic wars.


Biography

He was born at
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
; his father was a musician of the royal chapel. At school he showed talent in mathematical studies and later joined the
artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
. In 1802 he became junior lieutenant, and thereafter served with credit in the campaigns of 1803-1805, being wounded at the
Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...
. He was present at the siege of Saragossa in 1808, returned to service in Central Europe and took part in nearly all the battles of the Danubian campaign of 1809. In 1811 he was chosen to inspect and report on the fortifications of
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
. Thereafter he became one of the ordnance officers attached to the emperor, whom he followed closely through the Russian campaign of 1812; he was one of the first to enter
the Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...
and discovered there a quantity of
gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
which might have been used for the destruction of
Napoleon 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 ...
. For his services in this campaign he received the title of baron, and became first ordnance officer. In the campaign of 1813 in
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
he again showed courage and prowess, especially at
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
and
Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...
; but it was in the first battle of 1814, near to Brienne, that he rendered the most signal service by killing the leader of a small band of
Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...
s who were riding furiously towards Napoleon's tent. Wounded at the
Battle of Montmirail The Battle of Montmirail (11 February 1814) was fought between a French force led by Emperor Napoleon and two Allied corps commanded by Fabian Wilhelm von Osten-Sacken and Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg. In hard fighting that lasted until even ...
, he recovered in time to be involved in several of the conflicts which followed, distinguishing himself especially at Laon and Reims. Though enrolled among the royal guards of King
Louis XVIII of France 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 ...
in the summer of 1814, he embraced the cause of Napoleon 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 ...
(1815), was named general and '' aide-de-camp'' by the emperor, and fought at Waterloo. After the second abdication of the emperor (June 22, 1815), Gourgaud retired with him to
Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...
. It was to Gourgaud that Napoleon entrusted the letter of appeal to George, Prince of Wales and Prince Regent, for asylum in England. Gourgaud set off in HMS ''Slaney'', but was not allowed to land in England. Determined to share Napoleon's
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
, he sailed with him on HMS ''Northumberland'' to
Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
. His extreme sensitivity and vanity soon brought him into collision with Napoleon's other companions, Las Cases and
Montholon Montholon () is a commune in the department of Yonne, central France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes of Aillant-sur-Tholon (the seat), Champvallon, Villiers-sur-Tholon and Volgré.< ...
, in their exile at Longwood. The former he styles in his journal a
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
and a scribbler who went there only to become famous. The friction with Montholon, his senior in rank, was so acute that he challenged him to a
duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...
, for which he was sharply rebuked by Napoleon himself. Tiring of the life at Longwood, he decided to leave the island. The comments he made to his English captors helped to convince
Hudson Lowe Sir Hudson Lowe, (28 July 176910 January 1844) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Saint Helena from 1816 to 1821. Seeing service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, he is best kn ...
that Napoleon was feigning illness, that he should not be moved from Longwood, and they led indirectly to the expulsion of Napoleon's doctor, Barry Edward O'Meara. Once in London, Gourgaud quickly demonstrated his support for Napoleon by sending letters to the Empress Marie-Louise and to the Emperors of Austria and Russia. In 1840, he joined other survivors of the captivity who returned to St. Helena to bring back Napoleon's remains for burial in Paris. He also sharply criticised
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
's ''Life of Napoleon''. He soon published his ''Campagne de 1815'', in the preparation of which he had had some help from Napoleon. However, Gourgaud's '' Journal de Ste-Hélène'' was not published till the year 1899. Entering the arena of letters, he wrote, or collaborated in, two well-known critiques. The first was a censure of Count P de Ségur's work on the campaign of 1812, with the result that he fought a duel with that officer and wounded him. He became a deputy to the Legislative Assembly in 1849.


Works

Gourgaud's works are: *''La Campagne de 1815'' (London and Paris, 1818); *''Napoléon et la Grande Armée en Russie'' *''Examen critique de l'ouvrage de M. le comte P. de Ségur'' (Paris, 1824) *''Refutation de la vie de Napoleon par Sir Walter Scott'' (Paris, 1827) He collaborated with
Montholon Montholon () is a commune in the department of Yonne, central France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes of Aillant-sur-Tholon (the seat), Champvallon, Villiers-sur-Tholon and Volgré.< ...
in the work entitled ''Mémoires pour servir a l'histoire de France sous Napoleon'' (Paris, 1822–1823), and with Belliard and others in the work entitled ''Bourrienne et ses erreurs'' (2 vols., Paris, 1830). Gourgaud's most important work is the '' Journal inédit de Ste-Hélène'' (2 vols., Paris, 1899), which is a remarkably lifelike record of life in exile at Longwood. See also *''Notes and Reminiscences of a Staff Officer'', by Basil Jackson (London, 1904). *"Le général Gourgaud", by Jacques Macé (Éditions Nouveau Monde/Fondation Napoléon, 2006).


See also

* The Saint Helena Journal of General Baron Gourgaud


References


External links

* *
''Talk Of Napoleon At St. Helena'' by Gaspar, baron Gourgaud ar archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gourgaud, Gaspard 1783 births 1852 deaths Military personnel from Versailles Barons Gourgaud Bonapartists Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic Members of Parliament for Deux-Sèvres French generals French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars People of the Battle of Waterloo Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Order of Leopold (Belgium) Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery