Laurent, marquis de Gouvion Saint-Cyr
| Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
13 April 1764 Toul, Three Bishoprics, France |
| Died | 17 March 1830 (aged 65) Hyères, Var, France |
| Allegiance |
 France
|
| Rank | Marshal of France |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | 1st Marquis of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr |
French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleonic Wars
Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, 1st Marquis of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr (13 April 1764 – 17 March 1830) was a French commander in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who rose to Marshal of France and Marquis.
He was born Laurent Gouvion in Toul, Three Bishoprics (now Meurthe-et-Moselle), the eldest child of Jean-Baptiste Gouvion, a tanner, and his wife Anne-Marie Mercier. He adopted the name Saint-Cyr after his mother, who had abandoned him at an early age.
He went to Rome when he was eighteen in order to study painting, but, although he continued his artistic studies after his return to Paris in 1784, he never adopted the profession of a painter.
He married Anne Gouvion (Toul, 2 November 1775 - Paris, 18 June 1844) and had issue, including Laurent François, Marquis de Gouvion Saint-Cyr (30 December 1815 - 30 January 1904), married in Saint-Bouize on 17 August 1847 to Marie Adélaïde Bachasson de Montalivet (5 November 1828 - 14 April 1880), daughter of Marthe Camille Bachasson, Count of Montalivet, and had issue.
In 1792 he was chosen a captain in a volunteer battalion, and served on the staff of General Custine. Promotion rapidly followed, and in the course of two years he became a general of division. He commanded the centre division of Jean Victor Marie Moreau's army in the Rhine Campaign of 1796, aiding in the celebrated retreat from Bavaria to the Rhine.
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Wikipedia