Jean Mathieu Seras or Serras (16 April 1765 – 14 April 1815) was born in northwest Italy, but adhered to the
French Revolution and joined the French army. He became a division commander in the
First French Empire under
Napoleon
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 who ...
and led troops in Italy and Spain. Seras is one of the
names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe on Column 25.
Italy 1799
Seras led a brigade in
Louis Lemoine
Louis Lemoine (23 November 1764 – 23 January 1842) commanded a French infantry division during the French Revolutionary Wars. He enlisted in the French Royal Army in 1783 and rose to the rank of sous-officer. Elected lieutenant colonel of ...
's division at the
Battle of Novi
The Battle of Novi (15 August 1799) saw a combined army of the Habsburg monarchy and Russian Empire, Imperial Russians under Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov attack a First French Republic, Republican French army under General Barthélemy Cather ...
on 15 August 1799. His brigade included two battalions each of the 20th and 34th Line Infantry Demi-Brigades and 3 squadrons of the 1st Hussar Regiment. In this sanguinary combat, the French suffered losses of 1,500 killed, 5,500 wounded, and 4,500 captured, along with 37 cannons and eight colors. The victorious Austro-Russian army lost 900 killed and 4,200 wounded, plus three guns and 1,400 men captured.
Spain 1810
Seras was sent to Spain with a new 8,000-man division from France in spring 1810. The division consisted of the French 113th Line Infantry Regiment, two battalions of the Polish 4th Vistula Legion, the 4th Battalions of the French 12th Light, 32nd Line, and 58th Line Infantry Regiments, and four provisional battalions. Though the unit was nominally French, the 113th Line was recruited from Italians when the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany ( it, Granducato di Toscana; la, Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In th ...
was annexed to the French Empire. Seras joined
François Étienne de Kellermann's command in the
Province of León.
Italy 1813
When
Eugène de Beauharnais reorganized the
Army of Italy in the summer of 1813, Seras was appointed to command the Reserve Division. In August, the division consisted of three brigades and one battery of 6-pound field pieces. The 1st Brigade was made up of one battalion of the 14th French Light Infantry Regiment, two battalions of the 4th Provisional Croatian Regiment, and four battalions of the 1st Foreign Regiment. The 2nd Brigade comprised two battalions of the 2nd Foreign Regiment and one battalion each of the 6th French Line, 2nd Italian Light, 1st Italian Line, and 6th Italian Line. The 3rd Brigade had one battalion each of the 35th and 36th French Light, and the 131st, 132nd, and 133rd French Line.
Seras was named governor of
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
in late 1813. He reported that he used French troops to repair the field works and make counterattacks because his Italian soldiers were prone to desertion as soon as they got outside the fortifications. Venice's powerful garrison was allotted enough provisions and supplies to hold out for six months. There were four zones of defense under Generals of Brigade
René Joseph Dupeyroux
René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus.
René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...
, Dupérè,
Jean Jacques Schilt
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
* Jean ...
, and
Charles Daurier
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
. Dupeyroux held the coast from the
Adige to the Malamocco River, Dupérè defended the mouth of the Malamocco and several nearby villages, Daurier was responsible for the Venice itself, and Schilt patrolled the city's outskirts.
Notes
References
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Seras, Jean Mathieu
1765 births
1815 deaths
People from the Province of Turin
French generals
Italian soldiers
French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe