Pierre-Augustin Hulin
| Pierre-Augustin Hulin | |
|---|---|
portrait miniature of Hulin
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| Born | September 6, 1758 Paris, France |
| Died | January 9, 1841 (aged 82) Paris, France |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of France Kingdom of the French French First Republic First French Empire
|
| Years of service | 1771-1815 |
| Rank | General de division |
| Commands held | Military governorship of Paris 1st Division |
| Battles/wars | Siege of Genoa |
| Awards | Legion of Honor |
Pierre-Augustin Hulin (September 6, 1758 – January 9, 1841) was a French general under Napoleon Bonaparte who took part in the storming of the Bastille, the trial of the Duke d'Enghien, and the foiling of the Malet coup.
Pierre Augustin Hulin, the son of a Parisian draper, was born on September 6, 1758. He entered the army in 1771, serving in a Champagne infantry regiment. In 1772 he was transferred to the French Guards, in the ranks of which he rose to sergeant. In 1787 he had already retired from the guards and was a successful operator of the Royal Laundry. During the week that preceded the storming of the Bastille Hulin was several times spotted agitating the mob against the Crown.Madame de Staël wrote that Hulin told her: "I want to take revenge for your father on these bastards who want to butcher us."Louis Abel Beffroy de Reigny recorded similar inflammatory speeches addressed to the royal soldiers, Louis-Guillome Pitra dramatized Hulin's speech into "The Parisians are slaughtered like lambs, and you are not marching with us?"
On the day of the storming of the Bastille Hulin offered his services to the Hôtel de Ville. He assembled a company of seventy men armed with five cannons. Around 3 o'clock he led his men from Les Invalides to the Bastille. Two hours later artillery fire and pressure from the Bastille personnel persuaded its governor Marquis de Launay to capitulate. By this time the attacking mob lost around a hundred men, the defenders of the Bastille had only one man killed. Hulin and his deputy Jacob Elie defended De Launay from the mob and sent him under an armed escort to the Hôtel de Ville. According to Pitra, Hulin and Elie saved De Launay from lynching at least once, when the mob attacked them near the church of St. Louis. The mob finally forced their way past the convoy on the Place de Grève, when it was near its destination. A cook named Denót or Desnot killed De Launay, royalist provost Jacques de Flesselles was killed too. Although five were lynched, most of the Bastille's defenders were escorted safely to the Hôtel de Ville. The governor's head was severed and carried around the city on a pike.
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