Jean-François-Auguste Moulin
Encyclopedia
Jean-François-Auguste Moulin (14 March 1752 – 12 March 1810) was a member of the French Directory
. He had a long career as a military officer serving France
in the Royal Army
of King Louis XVI
, the Garde Nationale
of the French Revolution
, and the Grande Armée of Napoleon Bonaparte.
, Calvados
. In his youth he was educated at the Collège des Jésuites at Caen, eventually taking employment as an engineer
. He briefly joined an infantry regiment in Brittany, and then found employment as a geographer
until 1788. When the Revolution began in 1789, he volunteered for the Paris National Guard. His pro-revolutionary sentiment developed into a solid political affiliation, and he became widely considered a steady and reliable member of the Jacobin
s.
Moulin served the French First Republic
as a general during the French Revolutionary Wars
. Promoted to adjutant major in 1791, he rapidly advanced to the position of divisional general
by 1793. He commanded Republican forces during the war in the Vendée, and served with distinction at the Battle of Saumur
.
. Presented as an acceptable alternative to the Directors who were purged in the coup, Moulin was supported by his friend the vicomte de Barras
, and he was appointed to the Directory in June 1799.
Moulin did not remain in office for very long. With his appointment – and the simultaneous elevation of Roger Ducos
, a Council deputy supported by the Abbé Sieyès – the Directory assumed its final incarnation. Moulin, Ducos, Barras, Sieyès, and Louis-Jérôme Gohier
led the Directory until its dissolution after the coup d'état
of 18 Brumaire
.
When the coup d'état occurred, the senior member Barras submitted and the Directory officially resigned. Moulin strongly protested the abrogation of the Directory's powers by the ascendant supporters of Napoleon Bonaparte, but his efforts were ignored. Moulin and Gohier were held prisoners by troops led by General Jean Victor Marie Moreau
until the two signed papers of resignation (10 November 1799).
until his health began to decline and he returned to France. He died in Pierrefitte
, Seine, on 12 March 1810.
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
. He had a long career as a military officer serving France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the Royal Army
French Royal Army (1652–1830)
The French Royal Army served the Bourbon kings beginning with Louis XIV and ending with Charles X with an interlude from 1792 until 1814, during the French Revolution and the reign of the Emperor Napoleon. After a second, brief interlude when Napoleon returned from exile in 1815, the Royal Army...
of King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
, the Garde Nationale
National Guard (France)
The National Guard was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the militias formed in each city, in imitation of the National Guard created in Paris. It was a military force separate from the regular army...
of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, and the Grande Armée of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Early life and military career
Moulin was born in CaenCaen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
. In his youth he was educated at the Collège des Jésuites at Caen, eventually taking employment as an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
. He briefly joined an infantry regiment in Brittany, and then found employment as a geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
until 1788. When the Revolution began in 1789, he volunteered for the Paris National Guard. His pro-revolutionary sentiment developed into a solid political affiliation, and he became widely considered a steady and reliable member of the Jacobin
Jacobin
Jacobin may refer to:* Jacobin , a member of the Jacobin club, or political radical, generally* The Jacobin Club, a political club during the French Revolution* Jacobin , an American leftist political magazine....
s.
Moulin served the French First Republic
French First Republic
The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...
as a general during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. Promoted to adjutant major in 1791, he rapidly advanced to the position of divisional general
Divisional General
Divisional General is a rank used in many armies to denote a rank of general, corresponding to command of a division. For convenience Divisional General is almost always translated into English as Major-General, the equivalent rank used by the UK, USA, etc., although this translation is, strictly...
by 1793. He commanded Republican forces during the war in the Vendée, and served with distinction at the Battle of Saumur
Battle of Saumur (1793)
The Battle of Saumur was a battle during the Vendee Revolt. It occurred in the town of Saumur on 9 June 1793.As at the battle of Thouars, the Republican prisoners were released after swearing not to fight again in the Vendée and having had their hair shaved off so they could be recognised lest...
.
Member of the Directory
Although he was not a figure of national stature, Moulin was nonetheless elevated to the French executive branch of government by fortuitous circumstances. He happened to be in the capital with his army at a critical moment of political upheaval, the Coup of 30 Prairial Year VIICoup of 30 Prairial Year VII
The Coup of 30 Prairial Year VII , also known as the Revenge of the Councils was a bloodless coup in France that occurred on 18 June 1799—30 Prairial Year VII by the French Republican Calendar...
. Presented as an acceptable alternative to the Directors who were purged in the coup, Moulin was supported by his friend the vicomte de Barras
Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras
Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras was a French politician of the French Revolution, and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799.-Early life:...
, and he was appointed to the Directory in June 1799.
Moulin did not remain in office for very long. With his appointment – and the simultaneous elevation of Roger Ducos
Roger Ducos
Pierre Roger Ducos , better known as Roger Ducos, was a French political figure during the Revolution and First Empire, a member of the National Convention, and of the Directory....
, a Council deputy supported by the Abbé Sieyès – the Directory assumed its final incarnation. Moulin, Ducos, Barras, Sieyès, and Louis-Jérôme Gohier
Louis-Jérôme Gohier
Louis-Jérôme Gohier was a French politician of the Revolutionary period.-Revolution:Born at Semblançay , the son of a notary, he was called to the bar association in Rennes, and practiced there until he was sent to represent the town in the Estates-general of 1789...
led the Directory until its dissolution after the coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of 18 Brumaire
18 Brumaire
The coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...
.
When the coup d'état occurred, the senior member Barras submitted and the Directory officially resigned. Moulin strongly protested the abrogation of the Directory's powers by the ascendant supporters of Napoleon Bonaparte, but his efforts were ignored. Moulin and Gohier were held prisoners by troops led by General Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...
until the two signed papers of resignation (10 November 1799).
Later life
Moulin eventually became reconciled to Napoleon and returned to military life as a commander in the Grande Armée. He served for several years in the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
until his health began to decline and he returned to France. He died in Pierrefitte
Pierrefitte-sur-Seine
Pierrefitte-sur-Seine is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department and Île-de-France region of France. Today forming part of the northern suburbs of Paris, Pierrefitte lies from the centre of the French capital.- Heraldry :-Transport:...
, Seine, on 12 March 1810.