Jean Thurel, or Jean Theurel (; 6 September 169810 March 1807), was a

fusilier Fusilier is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While fusilier is derived from the 17th-century French word ''fusil'' – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in con ...

of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

and a

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

with an extraordinarily long career that spanned over 75 years of service in the

Touraine Regiment Founded in 1625, the Régiment de Touraine was a French infantry regiment raised in the province of Touraine. Origins At the end of 1624, the Protestant stronghold of La Rochelle sent an expedition and besieged Port Louis in Brittany. As no troo ...

. Born in the reign of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

and dying during that of

Napoleon I 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 wh ...

, Thurel lived in three different centuries.

Military career

Thurel was born in Orain,

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) 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. The ...

in 1698. He enlisted on 17 September 1716 in the ''

Régiment de Touraine Founded in 1625, the Régiment de Touraine was a French infantry regiment raised in the province of Touraine. Origins At the end of 1624, the Protestant stronghold of La Rochelle sent an expedition and besieged Port Louis in Brittany. As no troo ...

'' at the age of 18 and served there for 75 years altogether, under

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), 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 ...

and

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

, until 29 January 1792. Thurel was severely wounded in battle on two occasions. In 1733, during the Siege of Kehl, he was shot in the chest with a

musket 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 graduall ...

, and at the

Battle of Minden The Battle of Minden was a major engagement during the Seven Years' War, fought on 1 August 1759. An Anglo-German army under the overall command of Prussian Field Marshal Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of ...

in 1759, he received seven sword slashes, including six to the head. Three of his brothers were killed in the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in modern Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by t ...

in 1745. One of Thurel's sons was a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

and a

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

in the same company; he died at the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

, a

naval battle Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...

that occurred on 12 April 1782 off the coast of Dominica,

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

. A well-disciplined soldier of the

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Mo ...

, Thurel was admonished only once during his entire career, during the 1747 Siege of Bergen as the French troops occupied the

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

. He was admonished because, the doors of the

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

being shut, he scaled its walls to gain entry so that he would not miss muster. Another example of Thurel's discipline and physical fitness occurred in 1787. When his regiment was ordered to march to the coast to embark on ships of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...

, he was given the opportunity to travel in a carriage due to his advanced age. The 88-year-old Thurel refused the offer and marched the entire distance on foot, stating that he had never before traveled by carriage and had no intention of doing so at that time. His humility is evident in his steadfast refusal to accept any promotions; he remained a low-ranking fusilier for his entire military career.

Honors and awards

In hopes of improving re-enlistment rates,

established the ''

Médaillon Des Deux Épées The Médaillon Des Deux Épées (''Medallion of the Two Swords'' – commonly known as the "Medalllion of Veterancy", ''Médaillion de Vétérance'', in French) was a French military award in the 18th century. The medal was established on 16 Apri ...

'' ('Medal of the Two Swords') by

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used f ...

in 1771. This was the first

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a med ...

in France for which an enlisted man could be eligible. This medal was initially awarded to soldiers who had served in the French Army, as a reward for their longevity of service. The decree was extended in 1774 so that sailors of the French Navy were also eligible to receive the medal. A soldier or sailor would have to serve for 24 years to be eligible for the ''Médaillon Des Deux Épées''. Thurel was awarded two ''Médaillon Des Deux Épées'' in 1771, the year the medal was established, in recognition of the two 24-year periods of time (1716–1740 and 1740–1764) during which he had served up until then. On 8 November 1787, Thurel was presented to the royal court at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. The 33-year-old king of France,

, addressed the 88-year-old Army private in a respectful manner as "father", and asked whether Thurel would prefer to be awarded the ''

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

'' ('Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis') or a third ''Médaillon Des Deux Épées'' medal, in recognition of the period from 1764 to 1788. This was a highly unusual request—not only because

enlisted men An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States m ...

and non-commissioned officers were not normally eligible to receive the ''Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis'', which was reserved for

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent conte ...

s of the army or the navy—but also because Thurel still had four more months of military service to complete before being eligible for a third ''Médaillon Des Deux Épées'' medal. Thurel opted to receive a third ''Médaillon Des Deux Épées'', on the condition that the king himself attach the medal to his uniform. Louis XVI granted Thurel his wish. The Comte d'Artois offered Thurel his sword, and the ladies of the court put a carriage at his disposal during his stay in the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

area. The king also granted Thurel an annual pension of 300

livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 ...

. Very few men ever completed the 48 years of military service required to receive a second medal. Thurel was the only one to have received it thrice. In 1788 the officers of his regiment jointly paid for a portrait of Thurel to be painted by Antoine Vestier (see above). On 26 October 1804, at the age of 106, Thurel became one of the first recipients of the newly established '' Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur'' ('National Order of the Legion of Honor'), the highest decoration in France. Napoleon I also rewarded him with a pension of 1,200

franc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

s. He was later appointed as the "oldest soldier of Europe". He remained healthy in body and spirit throughout his remarkably long life. He died in

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metr ...

on 10 March 1807, at the age of 108, after a brief illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurel, Jean 1698 births 1807 deaths People from Côte-d'Or 17th-century French people 18th-century French people 19th-century French people French centenarians Men centenarians French soldiers French military personnel of the War of the Polish Succession French military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession French military personnel of the Seven Years' War French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Order of Saint Louis recipients

Military career

Honors and awards

See also

References