Anne Jean Marie René Savary
| Anne Jean Marie René Savary | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 26 April 1774 Marcq |
| Died | 2 June 1833 (aged 59) Paris |
| Allegiance | France |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | Gendarmes d'élite de la Garde Impériale |
Anne Jean Marie René Savary, 1st Duke of Rovigo (26 April 1774 – 2 June 1833) was a French general and diplomat.
Savary was born at Marcq in the Ardennes.
He was educated at the college of St Louis at Metz and entered the royal army in 1790. His first campaign was that waged by General Custine against the retreating forces of the duke of Brunswick in 1792. He next served in succession under Pichegru and Moreau, and distinguished himself during the skilful retreat of the latter from an untenable position in the heart of Swabia. He became chef d'escadron in 1797, and in 1798 served under General Louis Desaix, in the Egyptian campaign, of which he left an interesting and valuable account.
He also distinguished himself under Desaix at Marengo (14 June 1800). His fidelity and address while serving under Desaix, who was killed at Marengo, secured him the confidence of Napoleon Bonaparte, who appointed him to command the special body of gendarmes charged with the duty of guarding the First Consul. In the discovery of the various ramifications of the Georges Cadoudal-Pichegru conspiracy Savary showed great skill and activity. He proceeded to the cliff of Biville in Normandy, where the plotters were in the habit of landing, and sought, by imitating the signals of the royalist plotters, to tempt the comte d'Artois (afterwards Charles X) to land. In this he was unsuccessful.
He was in command of the troops at Vincennes when the duc d'Enghien was summarily executed. Hullin, who presided at the court-martial, afterwards accused Savary, though not by name, of having intervened to prevent the despatch to Bonaparte of an appeal for mercy which he (Hullin) was in the act of drawing up. Savary afterwards denied this, but his denial has not generally been accepted.
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