Richard de Beaufré comte de Guyon (1813 – 12 October 1856) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-born Hungarian soldier, general in the Hungarian revolutionary army and Ottoman

pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

(Kurshid Pasha).

Biography

Early life

He was born at Walcot, near

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

,Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition the son of Commander John Guyon RN (1767–1844), a shipmate and friend of the

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence was a substantive title created three times in the Peerage of England. The title Duke of Clarence and St Andrews has also been created in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Prince Leopold, Duke ...

(later

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

of Britain), and descended from a French noble family. After receiving a military education in England, Guyon fought against Dom Miguel in the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War () and the War of the Two Brothers () was a civil war in Portugal that lasted from May 1828 to May 1834, fought between liberal progressive constitutionalists (led by former King P ...

in Portugal. In 1832 Guyon entered the Austrian service joining the

Hungarian Hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

s; and was attached as aide-de-camp to General Baron

Ignác Splényi Ignác, also sometimes spelled Ignac in English, is the Czech, Slovak and Hungarian version of the name Ignatius. Ignac is also a surname, among the most common surnames in the Međimurje County of Croatia. Notable people with this name include: ...

(1772–1840), who had served at the

Battle of Marengo The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General ...

and was captain-in-chief of the Hungarian noble bodyguard, and Standard Bearer of Hungary. Guyon married Baron Splényi's daughter, Baroness Marie, on 22 November 1838. They had two sons and a daughter together: Victor, Edgar and Marie Anne. Until the outbreak of the Hungarian Revolution, Guyon led the life of a country gentleman on his estates near

Komárom Komárom (Hungarian: ; or ; , later ; ) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárom fortress played an important role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and many contemporary English sources r ...

Hungarian Revolution

At the outbreak of the Hungarian Revolution, Guyon was among the first to offer his services to the national government as an officer of the

Royal Hungarian Army The Royal Hungarian Army (, ) was the name given to the land forces of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary in the period from 1922 to 1945. Its name was inherited from the Royal Hungarian Honvéd which went under the same Hu ...

, and played a prominent part in the struggle for independence during the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

. He won great distinction in the

Battle of Pákozd The Battle of Pákozd (or Battle of Sukoró) was a battle in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, Hungarian war of Independence of 1848–1849, fought on the 29 September 1848 in the Pákozd – Sukoró – Pátka triangle. It was the first ...

(29 September 1848) and the

Battle of Schwechat The Battle of Schwechat was a battle in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, Hungarian war of Independence of 1848-1849, fought on 30 October 1848 between the revolutionary Hungary, Hungarian Army led by Lieutenant General János Móga against the ...

(30 October) and after the Battle of Kapolna (26 and 27 February 1849) was made a general. During the retreat of Artúr Görgey's army in the winter of 1848–1849, Guyon carried the mountain-pass of Branyiszkó on 5 February 1849, and by that daring feat of his re-established the communication with the government at

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

, as also with the several other Hungarian army corps. When, in April 1849, the garrison of the besieged Fortress of Komárom was to be apprised of the victorious approach of the national army, Guyon, with a detachment of hussars, cut his way through the enemy's lines, and announced the approaching relief. On 14 July 1849, Guyon defeated the imperial army led by

Josip Jelačić Count Josip Jelačić von Bužim (16 October 180120 May 1859; also spelled ''Jellachich'', ''Jellačić'' or ''Jellasics''; ; ) was a Croatian lieutenant field marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army and politician. He was the Ban of Croatia betw ...

in the

Battle of Hegyes The Battle of Kishegyes (modern-day Mali Iđoš, Vojvodina, Serbia) was a military engagement during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Fought from 11–15 July 1849, the battle pitted the Hungarian Revolutionary Army, commanded by Generals Antal ...

, one of the last Hungarian victories of the freedom war, which assured Southern Hungary for the revolutionary army keeping the road open for the leaders of the revolution to escape in the Ottoman Empire. The bloody

Battle of Szőreg The Battle of Szőreg was a battle in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, fought on 5 August 1849 at Szőreg, Hungary, fought between the Hungarian Revolutionary Army led by Lieutenant General Henryk Dembiński and the main army of the Habsburg Emp ...

(5 August 1849) allowed General

Henryk Dembiński Count Henryk Dembiński (; 16 January 1791 – 13 July 1864) was a Polish engineer, traveler and general. Dembiński was born in Strzałków, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 1809 he entered the Polish army of the Duchy of Warsaw and took part ...

, protected by the self-sacrificing ten battalions of Guyon, to retire to Temesvár, where the

Battle of Temesvár The Battle of Temesvár (now Timișoara, Romania) was a key battle in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, fought on 9 August 1849 between the Austrian Empire, led by Field Marshal Julius Jacob von Haynau, and the Hungarian Revolutionary Army (sup ...

, the last in the campaign, was fought and lost on 9 August. Guyon escaped to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Two streets in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

are named after Count Guyon: Guyon Richárd Utca, and Guyon Kőz. Guyon's Hussar uniform is preserved on display at the Museum of Military History in the

Buda Castle Quarter Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

Ottoman Empire

In 1852 Guyon entered the service of the

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

without being required to change his faith. Under the name of Kourshid Pasha, he, as a general of division, was Governor of Damascus, and at the beginning of the Crimean war, did much to organise the army of

Kars Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District.� ...

. Guyon 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 ...

at Scutari in 1856. According to the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' he was "the first Christian to obtain the rank of pasha and a Turkish military command without being obliged to change his religion". The 1863 ''

Chambers Encyclopaedia ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia'' was founded in 1859Chambers, W. & R"Concluding Notice"in ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia''. London: W. & R. Chambers, 1868, Vol. 10, pp. v–viii. by William Chambers (publisher), William and Robert Chambers (publisher, ...

'' states "Indomitable courage, and an incessant care for the comfort of the troops under his command, were the chief features in Guyon's character". The

Istanbul Military Museum Istanbul Military Museum () is dedicated to one thousand years of Military of Turkey, Turkish military history. It is one of the leading museums of its kind in the world. The museum is open to the public everyday except on Mondays. History ...

holds a memorial bust of Guyon together with other Hungarian artifacts.

Notes and references

References

* * This article incorporates text from the ''

Chambers's Encyclopaedia ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia'' was founded in 1859Chambers, W. & R"Concluding Notice"in ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia''. London: W. & R. Chambers, 1868, Vol. 10, pp. v–viii. by William and Robert Chambers of Edinburgh and became one of the most ...