Simon Canuel (29 October 1767 – 11 May 1840) was a
French general of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Biography
Canuel was born in
Les Trois-Moutiers, in the
Vienne
Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.[War in the Vendée
The war in the Vendée (french: link=no, Guerre de Vendée) was a counter-revolution from 1793 to 1796 in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately south of the river Loir ...]
, as he was promoted by
Jean Antoine Rossignol
Jean Antoine Rossignol (7 November 1759 – 27 April 1802) was a general of the French Revolutionary Wars.
Life Early life
Rossignol began his ''Memoirs'', published in 1820 by Victor Barrucand, with the words: "I was not born into a poor family. ...
and
Jean-Baptiste Kléber
Jean-Baptiste Kléber () (9 March 1753 – 14 June 1800) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. After serving for one year in the French Royal Army, he entered Habsburg service seven years later. However, his plebeian ancest ...
, to become a general. He fought along with and during the
battle of Savenay.
In April 1796, general-in-chief, Canuel led the campaign against a counter-revolutionary movement in
Sancerrois, led by
Antoine Le Picard de Phélippeaux.
First Empire
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 ...
decided not to put Canuel on active service, keeping him in command of various quiet strongholds. Bored at the inaction, he went over to the Bourbons in 1814 and so during the
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), 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 restorati ...
the following year had to take refuge among the Royalist insurgents of the
Vendée
Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442. .
Later on, he took part in several conflicts, including the
Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis
"The Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis" was the popular name for a French army mobilized in 1823 by the Bourbon King of France, Louis XVIII, to help the Spanish Royalists restore King Ferdinand VII of Spain to the absolute power of which he ha ...
mission in Spain.
Death
He died on May 11, 1840, in
Loudun
Loudun (; ; Poitevin: ''Loudin'') is a commune in the Vienne department and the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, western France.
It is located south of the town of Chinon and 25 km to the east of the town Thouars. The area south of Loudun is ...
.
References
Sources
*Marie-Nicolas Bouillet and Alexis Chassang (ed.s), "Simon Canuel" in Dictionnaire universel d’histoire et de géographie, 1878
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canuel
1767 births
1840 deaths
French generals
French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
People from Vienne
Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis