Charles Pierre François Augereau
| Charles-Pierre-François Augereau | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
21 October 1757 Paris, France |
| Died | 12 June 1816 (aged 58) La Houssaye, France |
| Buried | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of France Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Naples Kingdom of Portugal
|
| Years of service | 1774–1815 |
| Rank | Général de division |
| Battles/wars |
French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleonic Wars Battle of Loano Battle of Millesimo Battle of Castiglione Third Siege of Gerona |
| Awards |
Marshal of France, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III of Spain, title of Duke of Castiglione, Peer of France, Knight of the Order of Saint Louis |
Charles Pierre François Augereau, 1st Duc de Castiglione (21 October 1757 – 12 June 1816) was a soldier and general and Marshal of France. After serving in the French Revolutionary Wars he earned rapid promotion while fighting against Spain and soon found himself a division commander under Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy. He fought in all of Bonaparte's battles of 1796 with great distinction. During the Napoleonic Wars, Emperor Napoleon entrusted him with important commands. His life ended under a cloud because of his poor timing in switching sides between Napoleon and King Louis XVIII of France. Napoleon wrote of Augereau that he "has plenty of character, courage, firmness, activity; is inured to war; is well liked by the soldiery; is fortunate in his operations."
Pierre Augereau was born in Faubourg Saint-Marceau, Paris, as the son of a Parisian fruit seller (in some accounts, a servant). He enlisted in the army at the age of seventeen in the Clare Infantry Regiment, but was soon discharged. Later he joined the dragoons. He became a noted swordsman and duellist, but he had to flee France after killing an officer in a quarrel. For the next 13 years he drifted across Europe. He claimed to have served in the Russian army against the Ottoman Empire, afterwards deserting. He enlisted in the infantry regiment of Prince Henry of Prussia and said he served in the Prussian Foot Guards as well. He deserted by masterminding a mass escape and reached the border of Saxony where he taught fencing.
In 1781, King Louis XVI of France proclaimed an amnesty for deserters, so Augereau returned to his native land. He joined the cavalry in 1784, and after serving in the carabiniers he was sent to the Kingdom of Naples as part of a military mission. While in Naples, he eloped with Gabrielle Grach and the two lovers traveled to Portugal where they spent the years 1788–1791. After the French Revolution broke out, the Portuguese jailed Augereau as a dangerous foreigner. Somehow Gabrielle persuaded the authorities to release her husband and the couple returned to France. In September 1792, Augereau joined a volunteer cavalry unit, the German Legion, but this is without proof as Augereau claims that the papers were taken away from him during the Portuguese Inquisition.
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