Jean Victor Tharreau
Encyclopedia
Jean Victor Tharreau 15 January 1767, Le May-sur-Èvre
– 26 September 1812, was a General of Division
in the Army of the French Empire.
Tharreau enthusiastically adopted the revolutionary
cause and joined the Maine-et-Loire volunteers in 1792. He quickly rose through the command ranks. By 1795, he was chief of staff of the Army of the Ardennes
. He helped to defend Zurich in the French army's defeat at the First Battle of Zurich
in 1799, and participated in the French victory
over the combined Austrian and Russian forces later that summer. After the successes of the 1809 campaign on the Danube, he was part of the jubilant force entering the Habsburg
capital of Vienna
.
In the 1812 campaign in Russia, he assumed command of the Westphalian army, appointed by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte
He died as the French Army took Moscow on 26 September 1812, of wounds suffered at the Battle of Borodino
.
region of France and after the French Revolution
it divided into two branches. One lived in Cholet
and the other in Châtillon-sur-Thouet
. The family in Cholet had three sons: François, who served in the legislature as a deputy from Maine-et-Loire
in 1806; Augustin, who was a doctor; and a third who died young. The Châtillon branch also had three sons: Pierre-Jean-François, born 1760, who became a legislative deputy, and a jurist; Jean-Victor, who became a general in Napoleon's army; and a third who died young.
, Tharreau enthusiastically adopted the revolutionary cause. In 1792, he joined the Maine-et-Loire volunteers and later that year he was an adjutant major of the 2nd battalion of volunteers of Mayence. In 1794, at the height of the French terror
, he was a General of Brigade in the Army of the Ardennes. In 1799, Jean Victor Tharreau was a brigade commander in the French Army of the Danube
, and fought at the battles of Ostrach
and First Stockach
. On 20 April, he was promoted to General of Division. André Masséna
placed him command of the forward line, for the defense of the Swiss city of Zurich, in 1799; the insubordination of Jean-de-Dieu Soult at the Battle of Winterthur
in May 1799 contributed to Tharreau's inability to hold the forward line, forcing a French retreat on Zurich and the subsequent defeat of the French at the First Battle of Zurich
on 4–7 June.
In 1801, he was appointed commandant of the city of Strasbourg
. A firm believer in the revolutionary principles, he was dismayed by Napoleon's acquisition of absolute power, although he admired the man's military talents.
Napoleon made him a baron
on 21 December 1808. In 1809, he commanded the First Division of the II Corps of the Grande Armée, under general command of Marshal Lannes
at the battles of Aspern-Essling
and Wagram
, after which Napoleon made him an Officer of the Légion d’Honneur, on 10 August 1809.
In 1812, he served as General of the 23rd Division, and later replaced Dominique Vandamme
who commanded the 8th Army, after Vandamme's recklessness and rudeness had strained his relationship with Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, beyond repair. He participated in the Battle of Borodino
, where he was mortally wounded. He died of his wounds on 27 September 1812.
, in Paris. There is also a granite stone at the cemetery in the village of Orvault
, in the Loire-Atlantique
department of France, on which is inscribed:
In 1810, Tharreau had purchased property in Orvault, the so-called House Plaisance. His wife, Charlotte Martine, remained there until her death in 1850. He had a son, Pierre-André.
Le May-sur-Èvre
Le May-sur-Èvre is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The population was just under 4,000.-Geography:The commune is traversed by the Èvre river. It is around 10 km north of Cholet, and around 50 km east of Nantes....
– 26 September 1812, was a General of Division
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...
in the Army of the French Empire.
Tharreau enthusiastically adopted the revolutionary
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...
cause and joined the Maine-et-Loire volunteers in 1792. He quickly rose through the command ranks. By 1795, he was chief of staff of the Army of the Ardennes
Army of the Ardennes
The Army of the Ardennes was a French Revolutionary Army formed in 1792 by splitting off the right wing of the Army of the North, commanded from July to August that year by La Fayette...
. He helped to defend Zurich in the French army's defeat at the First Battle of Zurich
First Battle of Zürich
The Helvetic Republic in 1798 became a battlefield of the French Revolutionary Wars. In the First Battle of Zurich on 4 – 7 June 1799, French general André Masséna was forced to yield the city to the Austrians under Archduke Charles and retreated beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his...
in 1799, and participated in the French victory
Second Battle of Zürich
The Second Battle of Zurich was a French victory over an Austrian and Russian force near Zurich. It broke the stalemate that had resulted from the First Battle of Zurich three months earlier and led to the withdrawal of Russia from the Second Coalition.After he had been forced out of the city in...
over the combined Austrian and Russian forces later that summer. After the successes of the 1809 campaign on the Danube, he was part of the jubilant force entering the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
capital of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
In the 1812 campaign in Russia, he assumed command of the Westphalian army, appointed by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte
Jérôme Bonaparte
Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte, French Prince, King of Westphalia, 1st Prince of Montfort was the youngest brother of Napoleon, who made him king of Westphalia...
He died as the French Army took Moscow on 26 September 1812, of wounds suffered at the Battle of Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
.
Family
The Tharreau family originated in the Upper PoitouPoitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
region of France and after 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...
it divided into two branches. One lived in Cholet
Cholet
Cholet is a commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire department. It was the capital of military Vendée.-Geography:Cholet stands on an eminence on the right bank of the Moine, which used to be crossed by a bridge from the fifteenth century...
and the other in Châtillon-sur-Thouet
Châtillon-sur-Thouet
Châtillon-sur-Thouet is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France. It is situated on the River Thouet to the north of the town of Parthenay, with which it forms a contiguous built-up area.-References:*...
. The family in Cholet had three sons: François, who served in the legislature as a deputy from Maine-et-Loire
Maine-et-Loire
Maine-et-Loire is a department in west-central France, in the Pays de la Loire region.- History :Maine-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally it was called Mayenne-et-Loire, but its name was changed to Maine-et-Loire in 1791....
in 1806; Augustin, who was a doctor; and a third who died young. The Châtillon branch also had three sons: Pierre-Jean-François, born 1760, who became a legislative deputy, and a jurist; Jean-Victor, who became a general in Napoleon's army; and a third who died young.
Career
At the outbreak of the French RevolutionFrench 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...
, Tharreau enthusiastically adopted the revolutionary cause. In 1792, he joined the Maine-et-Loire volunteers and later that year he was an adjutant major of the 2nd battalion of volunteers of Mayence. In 1794, at the height of the French terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
, he was a General of Brigade in the Army of the Ardennes. In 1799, Jean Victor Tharreau was a brigade commander in the French Army of the Danube
Army of the Danube
The Army of the Danube was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army of Observation, which had been observing Austrian movements on the border between First...
, and fought at the battles of Ostrach
Battle of Ostrach
The Battle of Ostrach, also called the Battle by Ostrach, occurred on 20–21 March 1799. It was the first battle of the War of the Second Coalition. The battle resulted in the victory of the Austrian forces, under the command of Archduke Charles, over the French forces, commanded by Jean...
and First Stockach
Battle of Stockach (1799)
On 25 March 1799, French and Austrian armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau region in present day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen...
. On 20 April, he was promoted to General of Division. André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
placed him command of the forward line, for the defense of the Swiss city of Zurich, in 1799; the insubordination of Jean-de-Dieu Soult at the Battle of Winterthur
Battle of Winterthur (1799)
The Battle of Winterthur was an important action between elements of the Army of the Danube and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The small town of Winterthur lies northeast of...
in May 1799 contributed to Tharreau's inability to hold the forward line, forcing a French retreat on Zurich and the subsequent defeat of the French at the First Battle of Zurich
First Battle of Zürich
The Helvetic Republic in 1798 became a battlefield of the French Revolutionary Wars. In the First Battle of Zurich on 4 – 7 June 1799, French general André Masséna was forced to yield the city to the Austrians under Archduke Charles and retreated beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his...
on 4–7 June.
In 1801, he was appointed commandant of the city of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
. A firm believer in the revolutionary principles, he was dismayed by Napoleon's acquisition of absolute power, although he admired the man's military talents.
Napoleon made him a baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
on 21 December 1808. In 1809, he commanded the First Division of the II Corps of the Grande Armée, under general command of Marshal Lannes
Lannes
Lannes can refer to:* Jean Lannes, duke of Montebello , Marshal of France* Lannes, Lot-et-Garonne, a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne département, in France* Lannes , a former Province of France...
at the battles of Aspern-Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
and Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
, after which Napoleon made him an Officer of the Légion d’Honneur, on 10 August 1809.
In 1812, he served as General of the 23rd Division, and later replaced Dominique Vandamme
Dominique Vandamme
General Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme, Count of Unseburg was a French military officer, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars....
who commanded the 8th Army, after Vandamme's recklessness and rudeness had strained his relationship with Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, beyond repair. He participated in the Battle of Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
, where he was mortally wounded. He died of his wounds on 27 September 1812.
Memorials
Tharreau's name is inscribed on the 11th column of the Arc de TriompheArc 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...
, in Paris. There is also a granite stone at the cemetery in the village of Orvault
Orvault
Orvault is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.It is the fourth-largest suburb of the city of Nantes, and is adjacent to it on the northwest.-External links:*...
, in the Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.-History:...
department of France, on which is inscribed:
To the memory of General of Division Baron Jean-Victor Tharreau, officer of the Legion of Honor, who died of wounds from the Battle of Moscow 7 September 1812.
(A la mémoire du Général de Division, Baron Jean-Victor Tharreau, officier de la Légion d'Honneur, tué à la bataille de la Moskova le 7 septembre 1812".)
In 1810, Tharreau had purchased property in Orvault, the so-called House Plaisance. His wife, Charlotte Martine, remained there until her death in 1850. He had a son, Pierre-André.