General Count Jean Rapp (; 27 April 1771 – 8 November 1821) was a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

officer during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and twice governor of the

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (; ) was a city-state under the protection and oversight of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) and nearly 200 other small localities in the surrou ...

. He served as Aide-de-camp to French Generals Louis Desaix and later

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

, whose life he saved on multiple occasions.

Life

Rapp was born the son of the janitor of the town hall of

Colmar Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...

, then located in the Old Customs House. He began theological studies to become a clergyman, but with his build and heated character, he was better suited to the military, which he joined in March 1788. From the rank of a regular of the ''chasseurs de Cévennes'', he worked his way up through his courage and character to the rank of a division general and

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

. As a lieutenant, his reputation grew through his impetuousness as well as the wounds he received in battle. He was made aide-de-camp of Louis Desaix, who named him captain and took him to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, where Rapp distinguished himself at Sediman, capturing an enemy battery. For that, he was given a squadron and later a brigade by Napoleon. After the Egyptian campaign, Rapp remained under the command of Desaix until the latter's death at Marengo on 14 June 1800. He then became aide-de-camp of Napoleon, then the

First Consul The Consulate () was the top-level government of the First French Republic from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the French Empire on 18 May 1804. During this period, Napoleon Bonap ...

, a post he held until 1814. Under this title, he was charged with many confidential missions by Napoleon in the

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In 1803 he was promoted to brigadier general and in December 1805, he led a memorable attack at Austerlitz, when he charged at the head of two squadrons each of the Mounted Chasseurs and the Mounted Grenadiers of the Guard and the Guard Mameluks and decimated the

Chevalier Guard The Chevalier Guard Regiment () was a Russian heavy cavalry guard regiment, created in 1800 by the reformation of the Chevalier Guard corps, itself created in 1764 by Catherine the Great. As other Russian heavy cavalry guard regiments (the Life ...

s of the Russian Imperial Guard. Promoted to division general, he later fought 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 ...

on 14 October 1806 and was wounded at Golymin. Rapp stayed in the line of fire: at

Essling Essling
Essling entry in the Viennese government's history wiki (German) () is a neighbourhood ...

, he led the front of his fusiliers of the ''Garde impériale'' and carried the day; during the signing of the

Treaty of Schönbrunn The Treaty of Schönbrunn (; ), sometimes known as the Peace of Schönbrunn or the Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna on 14 October 1809. The treaty ended the Fifth Coalition during the N ...

, he averted a planned attempt on Napoleon by the young

Friedrich Staps Friedrich Staps (also, Stapß; 14 March 1792 – 17 October 1809) was an attempted assassin of Napoleon during the negotiations at Schönbrunn. Biography He was a son of a pastor and became a merchant, working at Erfurt and Leipzig. As a ...

. Being fluent in German, Rapp acted as a translator for Staps as Napoleon personally interrogated Staps. In Russia, he was wounded by four bullets at the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. ...

on 5–7 September 1812. He saved Napoleon's life a second time by repelling an attack of

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don River (Russia), Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic rep ...

near

Maloyaroslavets Maloyaroslavets () is a town and the administrative center of Maloyaroslavetsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Luzha River ( Oka's basin), northeast of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Pop ...

and was again wounded at the passage of the

Berezina The Berezina or Byarezina (, ; ) is a river in Belarus and a right tributary of the Dnieper. The river starts in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. The length of the Berezina is . The width of the river is 15–20 m, the maximum is 60 m. The ba ...

, fighting alongside

Ney The ney ( ; ) is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in traditional Persian, Turkish, Jewish, Arab, and Egyptian music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played for over 4,500 ye ...

in the rear guard. As governor of Danzig, Rapp held the town for a year after the ''

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...

'' left Russia. 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 ...

, Rapp rallied to Napoleon and was given command of

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

, consisting of about 20,000 men. It was used to observe the border near

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. So ...

, Waterloo Campaign and to defend the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

. Ten days after the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

(in which his corps took no part), he met some Coalition forces near Strasbourg and defeated them at the

Battle of La Suffel The Battle of La Suffel was a French victory over Austrian forces of the Seventh Coalition and the last French pitched battle victory in the Napoleonic Wars. It was fought on 28 June 1815 at Souffelweyersheim and Hoenheim, near Strasbourg. ...

. After the Waterloo Campaign, he offered his resignation several times, but was reinstated. Later, Rapp became a deputy of the department of Haut-Rhin and was appointed as treasurer of

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 ...

in 1819. He died in Rheinweiler in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

. His hometown of Colmar built a statue in his honour on the Champ de Mars with the inscription ''Ma parole est sacrée'' (my word of honour is sacred). Rapp's heart is kept in a shrine in the Église Saint-Matthieu, Colmar.

Gallery

The wounded General Jean Rapp in the battle of Borodino.jpg, The wounded General Jean Rapp in the battle of Borodino File:Charon (d'après le portrait d'Aubry) - Rapp (1772-1821).jpg, Jean Rapp Lithograph File:Colmar-Maison natale de Jean Rapp (1).jpg, Commemorative plaque on the Old Customs House File:Statue du général Rapp à Colmar.jpg, Rapp Statue at Colmar

References

* Moore, Richard.
Jean Rapp
'
Napoleonic Guide Napoleonic Guide

Life

Gallery

References

See also