Pascal Antoine Fiorella or Pasquale Antonio, comte Fiorella (7 February 1752 – 3 March 1818) was a cousin of Napoleon Bonaparte. He became a French

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in 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 led a brigade during

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 ...

's famous campaign in Italy in 1796. A Corsican by birth, he joined the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army () was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude from 1792 to 1814 and another du ...

as a volunteer in 1770 and was quickly appointed an officer. When the French Revolution broke out, he was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Elected lieutenant colonel of a volunteer battalion, he fought with the

Army of the Alps The Army of the Alps (''Armée des Alpes'') was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It existed from 1792–1797 and from July to August 1799, and the name was also used on and off until 1939 for France's army on its border with Italy. 1792� ...

. Transferred to the Army of Italy, he assumed command of the 46th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade in February 1794. He fought under

André Masséna André Masséna, prince d'Essling, duc de Rivoli (; born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817), was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original eighteen Marshal of the ...

at Saorgio where he was wounded. In September 1794 he earned promotion to general of brigade and led the army reserve. When Bonaparte took command of the Army of Italy in the spring of 1796 Fiorella led a brigade in

Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier Jean-Mathieu-Philibert, comte Sérurier (, 8 December 1742 – 21 December 1819) led a division in the War of the First Coalition and became a Marshal of the Empire under Emperor Napoleon. He was born into the minor nobility and in 1755 joined t ...

's division. He fought at

Mondovì Mondovì (; , ) is a town and ''comune'' (township) in Piedmont, northern Italy, about from Turin. The area around it is known as the Monregalese. The town, located on the Monte Regale hill, is divided into several '' rioni'' (ancient quart ...

in April 1796. During the

Battle of Castiglione The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of the Habsburg monarchy led by '' Feldmarschall'' Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated ...

on 5 August 1796, he took command of Sérurier's division and led it to attack the Austrian left rear. This maneuver resulted in an important French victory. During the Arcola campaign in November 1796, he led his troops at Calliano and was captured at Rivoli. Beginning in 1797, he saw service as a division commander in the armies of the French-allied Italian states. In 1799 he was forced to surrender Turin to the Austrians. He blockaded

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

in 1805 and was involved in suppressing the

Tyrolean Rebellion The Tyrolean Rebellion () was an 1809 rebellion in the County of Tyrol against the Bavarian and French occupation of Tyrol during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Led by Andreas Hofer, the rebellion was initially successful in freeing the Coun ...

in 1809. Despite joining Napoleon for 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 ...

, he managed to secure retirement with the rank of General of Division commander in 1817. He died the next year in Ajaccio. His surname is one of the

names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe The following is a list of the 660 names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. Most of them represent generals who served during the French First Republic (1792–1804) and the First French Empire (1804–1815). Underlined names signify t ...

, on Column 21.

References

* * French generals French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Military personnel from Ajaccio People from Corse-du-Sud 1752 births 1805 deaths Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe {{mil-hist-stub