Jean Charles Abbatucci
Encyclopedia
Jean Charles Abbatucci or Abatucci (15 November 1771, Zicavo
, Corsica
- 2 December 1796, Huningue
, Upper Rhine) was a French general during the War of the First Coalition. His name is engraved on the Arc de Triomphe
.
, Jean Charles studied at the military school in Metz
, leaving it in 1787 aged 16 to join the 2nd regiment of foot artillery as a sous-lieutenant. At the start of the 1792 campaign he was still only a captain of artillery, but his brilliant conduct brought him to the rank of lieutenant colonel before the end of 1792. In 1793 he moved to France's newly-formed horse artillery. In 1794 Jean-Charles Pichegru chose Abbatucci as capitaine premier, the general's aide de camp and together they led the campaign in Holland.
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
then gave Abbatucci and generals Bellavène
, Decaen and Montrichard
the task of organising the Rhine crossing at Kehl
, which was carried out on 26 June 1796. Abbatucci fought on the river Kitzing
on 27 June and on 14 July that year fought a pitched battle at Schweighausen
against the corps de Condé
. These successes won him the rank of général de division (effective on 10 July 1796) and on 12 August he fought the Émigré rearguard at Wertheim
which he had pursued as far as Erkheim
. On 13 August he was defeated at Kammlach
by the Duc d'Enghein and had to surrender with all his troops.
Rescued in extremis by the 89th demi-brigade, he took the offensive once again and pushed the Émigrés back as far as Mindelheim
, where he took 1,000 prisoners. He crossed the Lech into Bavaria on 24 August 1796 and again showed his bravery on this occasion - the biographie Mullié states that "he had to cross this wide and rapid river in front of the enemy : the first battalion that he sent was submerged by the river waters. Immediately rushing to the head of a second battalion, he animated his troops by his example and his words, supported those who were stumbling, saved those whose courage was leaving them and finally led them onto the enemy banks where they overthrew the Austrians who they had already beaten once that day".
He then captured Kissing and marched on Regensburg
to cut off the enemy retreat, for which he rose to the rank of général de brigade. On 30 August he repulsed an attack on him by the Austrian general Deway at the river Isar
. During the retreat of the Armée Rhin et Moselle he commanded the rearguard and in September led an attack against the fort at Kehl. In October he stopped the enemy near Neubourg. He was then made a général de division and put in control of the stronghold of Huningue
, which covered upper Alsace
and thus was highly important for Moreau in his re-crossing of the Rhine back into France after Jourdan
's disasters in Franconia
. The Austrians soon came to attack Huningue, at the same time besieging Kehl, where Desaix
and Lecourbe were leading the French defence. Abbattucci held out for three months against 20,000 Austrians but he was mortally wounded in a night sortie he led on 30 November to 1 December 1796, dying on 2 December aged 25. His loss hastened the French surrender of Huningue, which occurred on 5 February 1797.
in 1815. In 1819 general Rapp
began a subscription to re-establish the memorial but this only came to fruition under the July Monarchy
and on the initiative of general Foy
. The restored monument was inaugurated in 1856, with the addition of two bronze bas-reliefs by Philippe Grass
. It is built in sandstone, marble and bronze, showing the general fighting and at the moment of his death. In 1904, the monument was moved from the route de Saint-Louis to Huningue's place Abbatucci). There is also a statue of him in Ajaccio
, on its place Abbatucci.
Zicavo
Zicavo is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.-Population:-References:*...
, Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
- 2 December 1796, Huningue
Huningue
Huningue is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace in north-eastern France. Huningue is a northern suburb of the Swiss city of Basel. It also borders Germany . In 2008 it had a population of 6503 people...
, Upper Rhine) was a French general during the War of the First Coalition. His name is engraved on the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
.
Life
The son of the general Jacques Pierre AbbatucciJacques Pierre Abbatucci
Jacques Pierre Abbatucci was a Corsican who became an officer in the army of Genoese Corsica, ancien regime France and the First French Republic...
, Jean Charles studied at the military school in Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, leaving it in 1787 aged 16 to join the 2nd regiment of foot artillery as a sous-lieutenant. At the start of the 1792 campaign he was still only a captain of artillery, but his brilliant conduct brought him to the rank of lieutenant colonel before the end of 1792. In 1793 he moved to France's newly-formed horse artillery. In 1794 Jean-Charles Pichegru chose Abbatucci as capitaine premier, the general's aide de camp and together they led the campaign in Holland.
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...
then gave Abbatucci and generals Bellavène
Jacques Nicolas Bellavène
Jacques Nicolas Bellavène was a French general. His name is engraved on the east side of the Arc de triomphe.- Life :...
, Decaen and Montrichard
Joseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard
Joseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. His name is inscribed on the north side of the Arc de Triomphe....
the task of organising the Rhine crossing at Kehl
Kehl
Kehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.-History:...
, which was carried out on 26 June 1796. Abbatucci fought on the river Kitzing
Kitzingen
Kitzingen is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants.Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer in Bavaria...
on 27 June and on 14 July that year fought a pitched battle at Schweighausen
Schweighausen
Schweighausen is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
against the corps de Condé
Émigré armies of the French Revolutionary Wars
The émigré armies of the French Revolutionary Wars were armies raised outside of France by and out of Royalist émigrés, with the aim of overthrowing the French Revolution, reconquering France and restoring the monarchy. These were aided by royalist armies within France itself, such as the Chouans,...
. These successes won him the rank of général de division (effective on 10 July 1796) and on 12 August he fought the Émigré rearguard at Wertheim
Wertheim am Main
Wertheim is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of 24,202. It is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main.It is known for its wine, castle and medieval town centre.-Geography:...
which he had pursued as far as Erkheim
Erkheim
Erkheim is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany....
. On 13 August he was defeated at Kammlach
Kammlach
Kammlach is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany....
by the Duc d'Enghein and had to surrender with all his troops.
Rescued in extremis by the 89th demi-brigade, he took the offensive once again and pushed the Émigrés back as far as Mindelheim
Mindelheim
Mindelheim is a town in the German Bundesland of Bavaria. The town is the capital of the Unterallgäu district. At various points in history it was the chief settlement of an eponymous state.- Geography :...
, where he took 1,000 prisoners. He crossed the Lech into Bavaria on 24 August 1796 and again showed his bravery on this occasion - the biographie Mullié states that "he had to cross this wide and rapid river in front of the enemy : the first battalion that he sent was submerged by the river waters. Immediately rushing to the head of a second battalion, he animated his troops by his example and his words, supported those who were stumbling, saved those whose courage was leaving them and finally led them onto the enemy banks where they overthrew the Austrians who they had already beaten once that day".
He then captured Kissing and marched on Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
to cut off the enemy retreat, for which he rose to the rank of général de brigade. On 30 August he repulsed an attack on him by the Austrian general Deway at the river Isar
Isar
The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria and Bavaria, Germany. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald, and flows through Bad Tölz, Munich, and Landshut before reaching the Danube near Deggendorf. At 295 km in length, it is the fourth largest river...
. During the retreat of the Armée Rhin et Moselle he commanded the rearguard and in September led an attack against the fort at Kehl. In October he stopped the enemy near Neubourg. He was then made a général de division and put in control of the stronghold of Huningue
Huningue
Huningue is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace in north-eastern France. Huningue is a northern suburb of the Swiss city of Basel. It also borders Germany . In 2008 it had a population of 6503 people...
, which covered upper Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
and thus was highly important for Moreau in his re-crossing of the Rhine back into France after Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan , enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804 and he also fought in the Napoleonic Wars. After 1815, he became reconciled...
's disasters in Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
. The Austrians soon came to attack Huningue, at the same time besieging Kehl, where Desaix
Louis Charles Antoine Desaix
Louis Charles Antoine Desaix was a French general and military leader. According to the usage of the time, he took the name Louis Charles Antoine Desaix de Veygoux.-Biography:...
and Lecourbe were leading the French defence. Abbattucci held out for three months against 20,000 Austrians but he was mortally wounded in a night sortie he led on 30 November to 1 December 1796, dying on 2 December aged 25. His loss hastened the French surrender of Huningue, which occurred on 5 February 1797.
Memorials
After the peace was concluded, Moreau put up a monument to Abbatucci in 1801 on the site of his death, which Allied troops destroyed during the siege of HuningueHuningue
Huningue is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace in north-eastern France. Huningue is a northern suburb of the Swiss city of Basel. It also borders Germany . In 2008 it had a population of 6503 people...
in 1815. In 1819 general Rapp
Jean Rapp
Jean Rapp was a French Army general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Rapp was born the son of the janitor of the town-hall of Colmar. He began theological studies to became a clergy man, but with his build and heated character, he was better suited to the military,...
began a subscription to re-establish the memorial but this only came to fruition under the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
and on the initiative of general Foy
Maximilien Sebastien Foy
Maximilien Sébastien Foy was a French military leader, statesman and writer.-Revolution:He was born in Ham, Somme, and educated in the military school of La Fere, and made sub-lieutenant of artillery in 1792. He was present at the battles of Valmy and Jemappes, and in 1793 obtained a company, as...
. The restored monument was inaugurated in 1856, with the addition of two bronze bas-reliefs by Philippe Grass
Philippe Grass
Philippe Grass , was a French sculptor.It was a pupil of Landolin Ohmacht and Baron François Joseph Bosio. From 1820 to 1823, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris. After his come back to Alsace, he was appointed sculptor of the Fondation de l'l’Œuvre Notre-Dame in Strasbourg...
. It is built in sandstone, marble and bronze, showing the general fighting and at the moment of his death. In 1904, the monument was moved from the route de Saint-Louis to Huningue's place Abbatucci). There is also a statue of him in Ajaccio
Ajaccio
Ajaccio , is a commune on the island of Corsica in France. It is the capital and largest city of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud....
, on its place Abbatucci.