Historical Dictionary of the Napoleonic Era

by George F Nafziger

  AUGEREAU, CHARLES-PIERRE-FRANÇOIS, DUC DE CASTIGLIONE (1757–1816). Augereau was born in the Saint-Marceau suburb of Paris on 21 October 1757 to a domestic servant and a fruit seller. Augereau enlisted as a common soldier in the Régiment de Clare Irlandais in 1774 and served until 1777, when he went into service in the Prussian army. Augereau participated in operations against the Austrians and later against the Turks in the Bevern-Braunschweig Regiment. After leaving Prussian service, he joined the French army and from 1784 to 1786 he served in either the Bourgogne-Cavalry Regiment or the Carabiniers. He left them because of a number of “pranks.” From there Augereau was “sent” to service in the Neapolitan army and became a skilled swordsman.

  Augereau returned to France in 1790 and served in the Parisian national guard. On 26 June he left the infantry and became a captain in the 11th Hussar Regiment. Augereau served in the campaign in the Vendée. On 27 September 1793 he was promoted to chef de brigade and served in the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. On 23 December Augereau was promoted to the rank of général de division. In September 1795 he was reassigned to the Army of Italy and served under Napoleon. Augereau distinguished himself at Loano, fought at Montenotte, Millesimo, captured the Cossaria fortress, served at Lodi, fought at Mantua, won great distinction as the victor at the battle of Castiglione, was victor of the battle of Primolano, served at Basano, Caldiero, Arcole, was victor at Anghiari, fought at La Favorite and was sent to Paris in January 1797 to present to the Directory the sixty standards captured at Verona.

  Augereau’s military career was crowned on 19 May 1804 when he was promoted to maréchal d’Empire. Augereau was awarded the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honor on 2 February 1805. Commanding various corps through the rest of the wars, he fought at Kolozomb, Golymn, Ziegelhoff, was wounded at Eylau, served in Spain from 1808 to 1810, commanded the XI Corps during the invasion of Russia, was victor at the engagement at Naumburg, fought at Leipzig and had command of an independent army facing the Austrian invasion of France from Switzerland in 1814. Augereau was defeated at Lyon. On 23 March he abandoned Napoleon and served under the Bourbon Restoration. His name was stricken from the list of marshals by Napoleon during the Hundred Days because he did not rejoin Napoleon. Augereau died on 12 June 1816.

  AUSTERLITZ, BATTLE OF. Fought on 2 December 1805. The French Grande Armée, under Napoleon, with a total strength of around 73,000 men and 139 guns engaged the combined Russo-Austrian army of 85,000 men and 278 guns, under Kutusov. An initial allied attack by Buxhowden’s 45,000 men was stalled by the timely arrival of Marshal Davout’s corps after marching all night a distance of between 70 and 80 miles. A French counterattack by Marshal Soult pierced the allied center and turned its guns on the flank and rear of Buxhowden’s forces, breaking them and driving them across a series of frozen ponds. It is reputed that as the Russians fled their weight broke through the ice and many were drowned. The French were victorious, driving the allies from the battlefield and losing only about 8,000 casualties and prisoners. The allies lost 16,000 killed and wounded, 11,000 prisoners, 180 cannon and 45 colors.

  AUSTRIA. Austria was one of the four major European land powers at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. It was an empire and was at the peak of its power at the beginning of the French Revolution. Geographically, it contained the lands that belong to modern Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and parts of Rumania and the Balkans extending down the Adriatic coast. Its ruler, Joseph II (1780–1790) bore the titles King of Hungary, Duke of Austria and, most importantly, Holy Roman Emperor. Militarily, it had been engaged by the Ottoman Turks since the fall of Constantinople and after the siege of Vienna had steadily pushed the Ottomans south, out of Europe.

  On 20 February 1790 Joseph died, leaving his brother, Leopold II, his throne. During the French Revolution Leopold sought to preserve the peace and died before the wars erupted. He was succeeded by Francis II (as Roman Emperor, 1792–1806; Emperor of Austria, 1804–1835). Eventually, when the French declared war on him on 20 April 1792, Francis joined the First Coalition, called on the members of the Holy Roman Empire to send contingents, and sent his armies to conquer France.

  Despite Austria’s bearing the main burden of the war with France, on 3 January 1795 Austria concluded a treaty with Prussia and Russia for the final partitioning of Poland. Austrian forces invaded Poland and took the southern third of the state.

  In 1796, after signing the Treaty of Campo-Formio, it lost Belgium to France and the Duchies of Milan and Mantua were used to build the new Cisalpine Republic. It received, in exchange, much of the territories of the Venetian Republic, including Venetian Istria and Dalmatia.

  At the Congress of Rastatt, which opened in December 1797, France took from the empire the whole left bank of the Rhine. In 1800, after the French victories of Marengo and Hohenlinden, and with the signing of the Treaty of Lunéville, the Austro-Hungarian Empire reaffirmed the concessions of Campo-Formio and Rastatt.

  When Napoleon assumed the title of Emperor, Francis followed suit and declared himself Emperor of Austria. Napoleon’s Italian policies forced him to join the Anglo-Russian alliance and declare war on France yet again. This war ended on 2 December 1805 after the military disaster at Austerlitz. He signed the Treaty of Pressburg. This treaty ended the Holy Roman Empire and stripped Austria of numerous territories, including parts of modern Croatia, which became part of metropolitan France. On 6 August 1806 Francis renounced the title of Holy Roman Emperor.

  Rebuilding its army and licking its wounds, Austria declared war on Napoleon in April 1809 by invading southern Germany. The campaign immediately turned against the Austrians until Prince Charles inflicted a major defeat on the French at Aspern-Essling (21–22 May 1809). The fruits of this victory were lost two months later at Wagram (6 July) and the Treaty of Schönbrunn was signed on 14 October 1809. Austria lost the territories of Salzburg, the Inn district and West Galicia.

  A military alliance was signed with France on 14 March 1812 that resulted in a force being sent with Napoleon during his invasion of Russia. This treaty promised Austria an indemnity and territorial gains upon the conclusion of a successful campaign.

  Austria-Hungary’s participation in the 1812 campaign was halfhearted and upon the collapse of the Grande Armée at the end of the campaign, the Austro-Hungarian contingent withdrew into Austria and neutralized itself. Austria did not participate in the 1813 spring campaign and was actively courted by both the allies and France. At the conclusion of the summer armistice, Austria had joined the allies and on 10 August 1813 declared war on France. Its armies invaded Germany, but were repeatedly chased back into Bohemia by the French. Eventually the superior allied numbers wore the French armies down, cornered them at Leipzig and inflicted a massive defeat on Napoleon.

  In 1814 Austrian armies invaded France and northern Italy. The wars ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 30 May 1814. Austria’s frontiers in Italy were moved to the Po, the Ticino and Lago Maggiore, incorporating Lombardy and Venice into Austria. On 3 June Bavaria returned the Tirol, Vorarlberg, Salzburg and eventually the Hausruck and Inn districts to Austria. In the Congress of Vienna, Austria received the Illyrian provinces ceded in 1805 and 1809, along with Dalmatia, the Republic of Ragus, the district of Tarnopol, Wieliczka and Veltlin. In addition Tuscany and Modena were restored. Austria, however, renounced all other territories lost since 1792.

  AZARA, DON JOSÉ NICOLÁS DE (1731–1804). Azara was born in 1731 at Barbunales, Aragon, Spain, and joined the Spanish diplomatic service. Azara’s first position came in 1765 when he became Spanish agent and procurator-general. In 1785 Azara was appointed ambassador to Rome. In 1798 he was appointed Spanish ambassador to Paris and, in that post, was forced by his government to negotiate the Treaty of San Ildefonso. Azara died in Paris in 1804.

  His younger brother, Don Félix de Azara (1746–1811), worked in South America as a commissioner determining the boundary between Spanish and Portuguese territories. He wrote Voyage dans l’Am
érique méridionale depuis 1781 jusqu’en 1801, which was published in Paris in 1809. This work described his observations on the natural history of South America as well as an account of the discovery and the history of Paraguay and the Rio de la Plata river.

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  BADEN. During the early 18th century, the capital of Baden-Baden was established in Rastatt and that of Baden-Durlach was moved to Karlsruhe. The two Baden states were rejoined in 1771, when the ruler of Baden-Baden died without an heir and the Margraf of Baden-Durlach, Karl Frederich, inherited his lands. In contrast to the many other German states, there were no dynastic marriages of note in the Baden-Durlach or Baden-Baden line prior to the Napoleonic period. It is, however, worth noting that the von Hochberg family married into the family line of Hesse-Darmstadt.

  Baden was part of the Holy Roman Empire and, as a result, had some obligations to provide forces to Austria in time of war. When the War of the First Coalition erupted, it provided a force, but on 23 July 1796, Baden signed a separate armistice with France, which lasted until the Treaty of Paris, which was signed on 23 August 1796.

  The Margrave received compensation in 1803, for the territories it had lost on the left bank of the Rhine, much as Württemberg had. It received the territories of the Bishops of Konstanz, Basel, Speyer and Strasbourg, as well as the imperial convent of Petershausen and Salm, the imperial cities of Obbenburg, Uberlingen, Pfullendorf, Gengenbach Zell am Harmersbach, Wimpfen and Biberach, the dominion of Lahr and the Hesse-Darmstadt territories of Amter Lichtenau and Willstädt, the Pfalz cities of Oberämter, Heidelberg, Laden-burg and Beretten, as well as the farms of Abteien Schurzach, Frauenalb and Lichtental. In addition to territorial concessions, Napoleon also raised the margravate to an electorate, promoting its ruler to the rank of Elector (Kurfürst in German).

  The Treaty of Pressburg, signed in 1805, brought further territories, including the Bailey of Ortenau, the city of Konstanz and much of Breigaus and Mainau.

  Further territories were added when Baden became part of the Rheinbund on 12 July 1806. Then it received Heitensheim, Fürstenberg, Leiningen, Westheim, Klettgau, Bonndorf and the cantons of the Knights of the Empire. With these territorial concessions, Napoleon raised the electorate to a grand duchy, promoting its ruler to the rank of grand duke (Großherzog in German).

  On 20 November 1813, Baden abandoned Napoleon and signed an alliance with the Allies. When Napoleon returned from Elba, Baden joined in the German Bund on 26 June 1815.

  BAGGENSEN, JENS IMMANUEL (1764–1826). Baggensen was born of poor parents in Korsör, Denmark, and at age 12 he became a copy clerk. By 1782 Baggensen found his way to the University of Copenhagen. His first work, Comical Tales, was published in 1792. It took Copenhagen by storm, but when his opera, Holge Danske, failed in 1789, Baggensen wandered throughout Germany. For 20 years he wandered and wrote, with Paris eventually becoming his home. In 1806 Baggensen returned to Copenhagen, residing there until 1820. Upon returning to Paris he lost his second wife and youngest child in 1822, then was imprisoned for debt. Baggensen fell into a state of hopeless depression and died on 3 October 1826. He stands as one of the greatest Danish poets.

  BAGRATION, PETER, PRINCE (1765–1812). Bagration was descended from the noble Georgian family of Bagratides. He entered the Russian army in 1782. In the beginning of his career he served in the Caucasus, fought at the siege of Ochakov in 1788 and later in the 1794 Polish campaign. Bagration became a protege of Suvarov, with whom he fought during the 1799 Italian and Swiss campaigns. Bagration fought brilliantly in 1805 and stood like a rock with the Russian rearguard at Hollabrünn, covering the retreat of Kutusov’s main army, despite losing half his force. At Austerlitz he stood on the Russian right. Bagration fought at Eylau, Heilsberg and Friedland with the same courage. In 1808, he led the march of the Russians across the Gulf of Finland, capturing the Aland Islands. In 1809 Bagration fought the Turks, commanding at the battles of Rassowa and Tartaritza. In 1812 he commanded the 2nd Army of the West and was mortally wounded at the battle of Borodino on 7 September 1812. A monument stands on the battlefield, erected in his honor by Czar Nicholas I.

  BAILEN, OR BAYLEN, BATTLE OF (19 JULY 1808). A French army of 20,000 men, under Général de division Dupont, invaded Andalusia. The Spanish Army of Castaños approached from Seville with 30,000 men. In response, Dupont took up a position behind the Guadalquivir, with his right on the Seville road at Andujar and his left 15 miles away at Mengibar. He held two divisions at Baylen, five miles from Mengibar. Castaños’s demonstration at Andujar was easily stopped. Dupont, concerned about holding Andujar for future operations, ordered Vedel to move his forces there, allowing the Spanish general Reding to cross at Mengibar and defeat Gobert’s weak division by Baylen. Gobert’s successor then withdrew the remains of his division on the Madrid road through Baylen toward Guarroman. Vedel, marching to the sounds of the guns, found Baylen deserted and turned northward, as he assumed Dupont had gone, opening a great gap between himself and Dupont. Reding and Coupigny moved into this gap with 17,000 men, forcing Dupont to abandon Andujar and withdraw to Baylen.

  Dupont found Reding and Coupigny in the hills before Baylen and attacked on 19 July 1808, but his forces were encumbered by a huge baggage train of loot. After 11 failed attacks, his troops exhausted and suffering greatly from thirst in the hot Spanish climate, he found himself trapped between two Spanish forces. Dupont surrendered his army to the Spanish, including forces that were not in the trap, sending 18,000 French veterans into the hellholes of Spanish prison hulks, from which few would return alive. Dupont was returned to France, but rejected by Napoleon and snubbed by society. The loss at Baylen to a Spanish army consisting of mostly peasants was an irreparable blow to French military prestige.

  BANK OF ENGLAND. The Bank of England was founded by William Paterson because of the Tonnage Act of 1694. The bank arose as a result of a deal between the government and the bank’s promoters. The government needed cash and the latter sought privilege. Political opposition came from the Jacobites and goldsmiths, causing the initial agreement with the British government to collapse. As a result, the bank was started with a capital funding of £1,200,000 and was granted a 12-year charter to act as a bank.

  The bank grew steadily and by the French Revolution found itself in a series of crises. In 1797 the strain of war forced the bank to stop cash payments. The cessation of payments was upheld by the British government by the Restriction Act of 1797. The war with Napoleon forced the bank into heavy borrowing to support the government. Trade was crippled by a multitude of crises, including the Continental System and successive bad harvests. Over four years the bank lent £10,000,000 to the British government.

  In 1810 the Bullion Committee was appointed. Because of the lack of specie, precious metal currency, this committee concentrated its deliberations on Bank of England notes, which had effectively become the national currency of England. Payments of debts were made in these notes until 1816, when the wars were over. As a result of its operations in the Napoleonic Wars the bank rose to a new prominence and assumed a major role in the operation of British financial and governmental affairs.

  BANK OF FRANCE. The financial situation in France in 1799 was particularly chaotic as a result of the issuance of assignats during the Revolution. The soundest banking institution in France when the Consulate was established in 1799 was the Caisse de comptes courants, established in 1796. Napoleon transformed it into the Bank of France, a private corporation founded in 1800. It started business with a capital reserve of 30,000,000 francs. It handled deposits made by the French tax collection system and controlled the money market. In 1803 it was given the exclusive right to print paper money. The bank came near insolvency in 1805 after an attempt to force Spanish silver from the new world through France, but the situation was still grave. For three years it was able to cover the resultant deficit and eventually became strong enough to avoid suspending payments. It was not, however, as successful as the Bank of England in fin
ancing France’s war. Not completely comfortable with his creation, Napoleon carefully limited the amount of paper money in circulation and allowed it only in Paris, with limited distributions to Lyon and Lille.

  BARBE-MARBOIS, FRANÇOIS, MARQUIS DE (1745–1837). Barbe-Marbois was born in Metz and began his public career as Intendant of San Domingo under Louis XVI. Barbe-Marbois returned to France in late 1789 and served in the revolutionary government, was arrested twice, and in 1797 transported to French Guiana. In 1799 he was moved to Oléron and set at liberty by Napoleon after the coup d’État du 18 brumaire. In 1801 Barbe-Marbois became counselor of state and director of the public treasury and in 1802 he became a senator. In 1803 Barbe-Marbois negotiated the transfer of the Louisiana territories, known as the Louisiana Purchase, with the United States. Later Barbe-Marbois became the president of the Cour des comptes and retained this office after the two abdications. Barbe-Marbois became minister of justice for a short time after Waterloo and then retired. Louis-Philippe brought him back into public life and once again made him president of the Cour des comptes. François died on 12 February 1837.

  BARBIER, ANTOINE ALEXANDRE (1765-1825). Barbier was the librarian to the Directory, the Conseil d’État, and in 1807 to Napoleon. Barbier participated in the foundation of the Louvre Library, the Fontainebleau Library, the Compiègne Library and in 1822 he became the administrator of the private libraries of Louis XVIII. In 1822 Barbier was removed from office. His most notable written work was Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes et pseudonymes.

  BARCLAY DE TOLLY, MICHAEL ANDREAS (1761–1818). Barclay de Tolly was born at Luhde-Grosshof, Livonia, on 27 December 1761 to a family of Scottish descent that had settled in Russia in the 17th century. He entered the Russian army at an early age. In 1806 Barclay de Tolly participated in the battle of Pultusk and was wounded at Eylau. For his service at Eylau he was promoted to lieutenant general. In 1808 Barclay de Tolly commanded the Russian army that invaded Finland and in 1809 led an attack over the frozen Gulf of Bothnia to seize Umeo. In 1810 he was made minister of war and, during that period, issued a revised drill regulation for the infantry. Barclay de Tolly would remain minister of war until 1813.