Marie Louis Hercule Hubert Corbineau (; 10 April 1780 – 5 April 1823) was a French soldier of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Biography

Corbineau was born in

Marchiennes Marchiennes () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It was fictionally portrayed in Émile Zola's Germinal. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes ...

, the youngest son of Jean-Charles Corbineau, Inspector General of the King's Stables in the

Généralité ''Recettes générales'', commonly known as ''généralités'' (), were the administrative divisions of France under the Ancien Régime and are often considered to prefigure the current '' préfectures''. At the time of the French Revolution, ther ...

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

and bailiff-general of Marchiennes Abbey, and his wife Mary-Louise-Magdeleine Varlet. His older brothers

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

and

Claude Claude may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Callegari (1962–2021), English Arsenal supporter * Claude Debussy (1862–1918), ...

were also army officers, and together the three men were known as ''les trois Horaces'' ("the three

Horatii In the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman legend of the Roman Kingdom, regal period, the Horatii were three sibling warriors, sons of Publius Horatius, who lived during the reign of Tullus Hostilius. The accounts of their Champion warfare, epic clash ...

"). Corbineau volunteered for service in the Navy on 1 April 1793, when only 12 years old, to save his father from persecution by the revolutionaries. After serving aboard the

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

''Requin'' and the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

''Naïade'', he then entered the Army, as a

private soldier A private is a soldier, usually with the lowest rank in many armies. Soldiers with the rank of private may be conscripts or they may be professional (career) soldiers. The term derives from the term "private soldier". "Private" comes from the ...

in the ''Légion des Francs'', serving in the

Army of the North The Army of the North (), contemporaneously called Army of Peru (), was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest a ...

. He transferred to the cavalry of the ''Légion des Francs'', and was promoted to '' sous-lieutenant'' on 20 September 1796. With his brother

, he participated in the expedition to Ireland in December 1796. Promoted to lieutenant on 30 October 1797, he served in campaigns with the

Army of Helvetia The Army of Helvetic Republic, Helvetia, or (), was a command of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 8 March 1798 from the remnants of the first unit to be known as the Army of the Rhine (France), Army of the Rhine. It was officially m ...

and the

Army of the Rhine An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, joining the 7th Regiment of

Hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

on 29 July 1798, and transferring the 5th Regiment of

Chasseur ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army o ...

s on 5 April 1800. Corbineau distinguished himself at the

battle of Hohenlinden The Battle of Hohenlinden was fought on 3 December 1800 during the French Revolutionary Wars. A French First Republic, French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau won a decisive victory over an Habsburg monarchy, Austrian and Electorate of Bavar ...

on 3 December 1800. He served as '' adjudant-major'' from 2 April 1802, and was promoted to '' capitaine'' on 16 March 1804. On 5 November 1804 he was made a Legionnaire of the

Legion of Honour 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 ...

. Corbineau entered 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 ...

on 12 September 1805, where he served in the '' Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale'' successively as an ''adjoint à l'état-major'' (assistant to the Staff), then ''adjudant-major'', and finally as a ''

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 ...

''. He fought at the battles of Austerlitz (2 December 1805), afterwards receiving promotion to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

(18 December 1805), and also at

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

(14 October 1806), Eylau (7/8 February 1807)—where he was wounded in the right thigh, and his older brother

was killed—and Friedland (14 June 1807). Napoleon Wagram

He was awarded the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honour on 17 November 1808, and 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 ...

on 13 June 1809. At the

battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor of the French, Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian Empire, Austrian arm ...

(5–6 July 1809), while his regiment attacked a battery, Corbineau's right knee was shattered by a

musket ball A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

, necessitating the amputation of his leg at the thigh, putting an end to his military career. Corbineau recovered in hospital alongside his friend Pierre Yrieix Daumesnil, who had suffered a similar wound. One night, Daumesnil heard what sounded like water dripping. He called out to Corbineau, but got no reply. Despite his unhealed amputation, Daumesnil crawled out of his bed and found that Corbineau's wound was haemorrhaging badly. Daumesnil crawled out of the room and down two flights of stairs to call for help before passing out. Doctors arrived, and both men's lives were saved. In honour of Corbineau's and Daumesnil's service, Napoleon left them on the roll of the Chasseurs, despite the fact that neither served with the regiment again. Corbineau returned to France and was given the post of '' Receveur Général des Finances'' (Receiver General of Finances) for the department of

Seine-Inférieure Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

on 14 March 1810, based at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

. He was made a

Baron of the 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 ...

on 1 June 1810, and was also a member of the Electoral College of the Northern Department. In 1814, after the

First Restoration The First Restoration was a period in French history that saw the return of the House of Bourbon to the throne, between the abdication of Napoleon in the spring of 1814 and the Hundred Days in March 1815. The regime was born following the victo ...

, Corbineau was transferred to the department of the

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

, where he died on 5 April 1823.

Personal life

In 1810 Corbineau married Reine Rose Kermarec de Travrou, the daughter of a former member of

Parlement of Rennes The Parlement of Rennes or Parlement of Brittany (, ) was one of the , a court of justice under the French , with its seat at Rennes. The last building to house the Parlement still stands and now houses the Rennes Court of Appeal, the natural succ ...

, and had a son, Eugène-Hercule, and a daughter, Adèle-Marie, who married the Comte de Champagny (son of the Duke of Cadore) in Paris on 30 July 1836.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * *

External links

Corbineau's coat of arms at Héraldique Napoléonienne

Corbineau's documents at the
Archives Nationales
Corbineau's biography at http://www.ecole-superieure-de-guerre.fr/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbineau, Hercule 1780 births 1823 deaths People from Marchiennes Barons of the First French Empire French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Officers of the Legion of Honour