Joseph Chabran (21 June 1763 in

Cavaillon Cavaillon (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France.

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

), was a French military officer. He served as infantry commander 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

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. He commanded the French 8th Division during the Second Battle of Zurich, helping the French win the battle. Chebran travelled over the Pacific Ocean through the Spanish routes in the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

before settling back in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Offspring

It was rumoured that he had concubines and fathered children on his way back to France. The only documented child he claimed at the time was named Elena Chabran. Elena was one of his favourite children as she looked the most like the Commander. Elena was a teenager when she boarded the ship with Commander Chabran but fell in love and married a shipmate who died in the Marianas. Elena eventually married Don Juan Deleon Guerrero and stayed on the island of

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

while her father and other siblings returned to France. Many of his children and their mothers never made it to France and were rumoured to have disembarked at other ports.

References

French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Commanders of the Legion of Honour 1763 births 1843 deaths Date of death unknown Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe {{France-mil-bio-stub