Jacques-Pierre Orillard de Villemanzy
| Jacques-Pierre Orillard, comte de Villemanzy | |
|---|---|
Général Orillard de Villemanzy by Antoine-Jean Gros
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
5 January 1751 Amboise, Indre-et-Loire, France |
| Died | 3 September 1830 (aged 79) Versailles, Yvelines, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Soldier |
Jacques-Pierre Orillard, comte de Villemanzy (5 January 1751 – 3 September 1830) was a French military commissary, responsible for arranging army supplies. Before the French Revolution he served in the French expedition that supported the American Revolution. He continued to serve with the army after the revolution, although he arranged to be a prisoner of the enemy during the Reign of Terror. After being exchanged, he became chief commissary in the French Army of Italy led by Napoleon, who was impressed by his performance. He continued to serve as a senior commissary to Napoleon's armies until 1809, when he retired and was made a Senator and later a Count of the Empire. After the Bourbon Restoration of 1814 he was made a Peer of France.
The Orillard family originated in the Amboise region. Thimothée Orillard bought the fief of Villemanzy, a hamlet east of the city of Blois, on 20 October 1728. A few years later his son, Pierre, took the name "Orillard de Villemanzy". Pierre Orillard de Villemanzy was lieutenant-general of the bailliage of Amboise.
Jacques-Pierre Orillard de Villemanzy was born on 5 January 1751 in Amboise, son of Pierre Orillard de Villemanzy. He began his military career at the age of 16 in 1768. He spent a 9-year internship as a student commissary from September 1768 to 5 September 1777, where he was taught the practice and problems of military administration. He was an able student and attracted the attention of the head of service. On graduating he was named Quartermaster - Chief Inspector (Commissaire Inspecteur en chef) to the Army of the Coast. He was posted at the Camp of Vassieux in 1778 and the Camp of Saint-Omer in 1779.
During the American Revolution Villemanzy served with the Expédition Particulière commanded by the Count of Rochambeau in America between 1780 and 1783. The French troops reached Pompton Township, New Jersey on 26 August 1781. Villemanzy was ordered to set up baker's ovens and obtain supplies for the ovens. Villemanzy was told that the bread would feed the army in its march to Philadelphia, but the enemy should be deceived into thinking the plan was to attack Staten Island. He succeeded: when he tried to collect bricks from the mouth of the Raritan he was fired upon by English guns on Staten Island. After returning to France he was stationed at the camps of Saint-Omer and Cherbourg in 1788.
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