Pierre Daumesnil
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Pierre Yrieix Daumesnil (; 14 July 1776 – 17 August 1832) was a French soldier in the armies of
Napoleon 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 ...
during the first Empire and Restoration, eventually rising to the rank of brigadier general. He lost his left leg after he was wounded in the
Battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor of the French, Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian Empire, Austrian arm ...
; it was replaced by a wooden
prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (Congenital, congenital disord ...
earning him the nickname ''jambe de bois'' ("wooden leg"). In 1812, he was assigned to the defense of the
Château de Vincennes The Château de Vincennes () is a former fortress and royal residence next to the town of Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, alongside the Bois de Vincennes. It was largely built between 1361 and 1369, and was a preferred residence, after ...
. Vincennes was then an arsenal containing 52,000 new muskets, more than 100 cannon and many tons of powder, bullets and cannonballs—a tempting prize for the
Sixth Coalition Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six. * The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction A fraction (from , "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, ...
when it marched on
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in 1814 in the aftermath of the
Battle of the Nations A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...
. However Daumesnil faced down the allies with the famous words "I shall surrender Vincennes when I get my leg back" (''Je rendrai Vincennes quand on me rendra ma jambe'', with a sort of
polysemic Polysemy ( or ; ) is the capacity for a Sign (semiotics), sign (e.g. a symbol, morpheme, word, or phrase) to have multiple related meanings. For example, a word can have several word senses. Polysemy is distinct from ''monosemy'', where a word h ...
pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...
in French on two possible meanings of ''rendre'' - "surrender" and "give back" - that is lost in translation). With only 300 men under his command, he resisted the Coalition until King
Louis XVIII of France Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 â€“ 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 ...
ordered him to leave the fortress. Daumesnil rallied to Napoleon on his return, holding Vincennes once more against the large mass of Coalition troops. He managed to get a message to Royalist officer
Louis-Victor-Léon de Rochechouart Louis-Victor-Léon de Rochechouart (14 September 1788, in Paris – 1858, in Jumilhac-le-Grand) was a French general of the House of Rochechouart fighting in the Royalist, Imperial Russian and Bourbon armies of the Napoleonic Wars. Life A p ...
asking for help. He then surrendered and five months later he was retired by the Bourbons. When the Revolution of 1830 began, he was recalled and given the rank of lieutenant general. He died of cholera on 17 August 1832.
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
awarded his wife a pension and the position of superintendent of the imperial house of Saint-Denis.


Early years

Daumesnil was born in
Périgueux Périgueux (, ; or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is also the seat of ...
on 27 July 1776, the son of Jean Daumesnil, a shopkeeper, and his wife Anne. He was the youngest of five children but little else is known of his early years. He seems to have been an active but mischievous youth, liked and admired by his peers, but intolerant of injustice and not particularly dedicated to his studies. At age seventeen, he killed an artilleryman in a duel and was forced to flee Périgueux, walking to
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to join his brother, who was a cavalry trooper in the
Army of the Eastern Pyrenees The Army of the Eastern Pyrenees (''Armée des Pyrénées Orientales'') was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It fought against the Kingdom of Spain in Roussillon, the Cerdanya and Catalonia during the War of the Pyrenees. This army and th ...
.


Career

As it did for many young French officers, the French Empire offered Daumesnil the chance of advancement in his profession, as high military rank and honour were no longer the sole preserve of noblemen. He was a man of great energy and resourcefulness, with exceptional qualities of leadership. He started his military career as a regimental trooper and rose up the ranks on his merits, before becoming a senior officer in the elite Régiment de chasseurs à cheval. Daumesnil was seriously wounded on 19 August 1794. When he had recovered, he joined his regiment in Italy, was promoted, with the rank of brigadier, to the guides of General Bonaparte, and became a "maréchal-des-logis" on 28 October 1797. While serving in Egypt, in Napoleon's
Egyptian campaign The French invasion of Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was a military expedition led by Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars. The campaign aimed to undermine British trade routes, expand French influence, and establish a ...
, Daumesnil threw himself on a bomb that had landed at Napoleon's feet; the bomb failed to explode, but the incident endeared him to Napoleon. In his early days in the guides, he was notorious for misconduct outside the field of battle. One day in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, he was arrested and sentenced to death with two other guides for rebellion in the countryside after a fight with line officers. Bonaparte promised him his life if he would ask for pardon, but the offer did not apply to the other two guides and Daumesnil refused. The next day, driven to the place of execution with his companions, the offer was made again, and he refused again. " €¦But, as he set out to join the other two condemned men, he was held back. The salvo laid flat his companions, under his eyes, and they led him back to his cell. Bonaparte had decided to save him.". As a member of the Legion of Honor he fought in the wars of Austria (1804), Prussia (1806) and Poland (1807). He also fought on the battlefields of Jena, Eylau and Friedland. He followed the Emperor to Spain in 1808. In the uprising of 2 May in Madrid, it was he who, at the head of the horse troops of the Imperial Guard, commanded the main charge of the French cavalry against the inhabitants of Madrid in the main street of Alcalá. He had two horses killed under him by enemy fire during the engagement. Daumesnil joined the German army in 1809, took part in the battle of Eckmühl and was promoted to the rank of colonel-major on 15 June. He was created Baron of the Empire and was wounded in the left leg on the battlefield of
Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) north ...
on 6 July, barely having recovered from a spear that pierced his body at the start of the campaign. His leg was amputated in two operations over the course of the next few days, but he was fortunate enough to make a good recovery and retain his job under the Emperor. He was fitted with a wooden
prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (Congenital, congenital disord ...
and Napoleon showed his admiration by giving him a title and an annual endowment. He was promoted to brigadier general and commander of the Legion of Honour and was put in charge of the
Château de Vincennes The Château de Vincennes () is a former fortress and royal residence next to the town of Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, alongside the Bois de Vincennes. It was largely built between 1361 and 1369, and was a preferred residence, after ...
on 2 February 1812, and was invested on the 18th of the same month with the title of governor of Vincennes. The château was a fortress housing an arsenal in which, during the last four years of the Empire, up to 350,000 cartridges and 40,000 shell canisters were stored. It also housed a military barracks and a prison. Its importance was so great that the Emperor, in a special command, ordered General Daumesnil to stay there, never to sleep, nor to absent himself from the Château for a moment without specific orders to do so. After the Battle of Paris in which the French troops were defeated, a treaty was signed on 30 March 1814 under which the Château de Vincennes was due to be handed over by the French Empire to the Sixth Coalition the following day. However, Daumesnil, the same night, sortied from the château with 250 horsemen, captured and brought in large quantities of cannon, rifles and ammunition. Subsequently, Paris was under the occupation of the Austro-Russo-Prussian allies for several weeks while Daumesnil still held the fortress. The allies protested by threatening the general. In Paris, the gaiety of his response to the Russian summons to capitulate is remembered: "I shall surrender Vincennes when I get my leg back!" He defended the building with the greatest courage against the Allied troops, refusing to surrender it after Napoleon's abdication on 6 April, stating that the contents of the arsenal belonged to France. With fewer than 200 men, he refused to surrender, insensitive to pressures and attempts at bribery, braving the siege of the fort for more than five months. He ended up capitulating only after being given orders to do so by
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 â€“ 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 ...
, but left the fortress still brandishing the tricolor. After the restoration of the monarchy he was relieved of his position as governor of Vincennes, but his loyalty and diligence was rewarded by being given the
Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of 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 reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fi ...
and the Château de Condé on 17 January 1815. The appearance of Napoleon on the coast of Provence later that year naturally returned the old soldier to all the ardour of his affections for the Emperor. However, faithful to his new oaths, he did not wear the national colours on the citadel of Condé until 22 March, that is, after the departure of the Bourbons. The evening Napoleon entered Paris, 20 March 1815, Daumesnil returned to Vincennes. After what is now called the Hundred Days, Napoleon capitulated and was exiled in
Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
. Baron Daumesnil was living in retirement when the revolution of July 1830 broke out: one of the government's first acts was to give him back the command of Vincennes, of which the Restoration had stripped him. He entered it on 5 August, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general on 27 February 1831.
Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...
's ministers were imprisoned in the keep of the fortress, while waiting for the Court of Peers to rule on their fate. When a crowd of enthusiastic revolutionaries demanded the heads of ministers under the walls of Vincennes, Daumesnil replied: "They only belong to the law, you will only have them with my life", and his energy was enough to calm the rioters. When it came to transferring the ministers to be remanded at the Chamber of Peers, there was fear that another attempt on their lives might be made. One of them was sick. Daumesnil, in full uniform, placed him at his side, in his carriage, and passed through the silent and threatening crowd that blocked his path. He moved towards the
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, and delivered the prisoners safely to the palace commander.


Private life

On 11 February 1812, Daumesnil married Léonie Garat, whom he had met only a month previously and who was only sixteen at the time. She kept a journal which provides much information on his life that is not available from other sources. They had three children and were a very affectionate couple. Baron Daumesnil died of
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
in Vincennes on 17 August 1832. The Chamber of Peers granted a pension to his widow.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daumesnil, Pierre Yrieix French generals French amputees People from Périgueux 1776 births 1832 deaths Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe