Joseph Vinoy was a French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 soldier.

Biography

He originally intended to join the Church, but, after some years at a seminary

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

, he decided upon a military career and joined the French army in 1823. As a sergeant in the 14th line infantry, he took part in the Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

n expedition of 1830. He won his commission at the capture of Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

 and during the subsequent campaigns rose to the rank of Colonel. He returned to France in 1850. In the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

, he served under François Certain Canrobert

François Certain Canrobert

François Certain de Canrobert, usually known as François Certain-Canrobert and later simply as Maréchal Canrobert , was a marshal of France.-Biography:...

 as general of brigade. For his brilliant conduct at the Battle of Malakoff

Battle of Malakoff

The Battle of Malakoff, during the Crimean War, was fought between the French and Russian armies on 7 September 1855 as a part of the Siege of Sevastopol and resulted in a French victory under General MacMahon. In one of the war's defining moments, the French zouave Eugène Libaut installed the...

 in 1855 he was promoted to General of division. He later led a division of Adolphe Niel

Adolphe Niel

Adolphe Niel was a French Army general and statesman, also Marshal of France.He was born at Muret, Haute-Garonne and entered the École Polytechnique in 1821. Niel entered the engineer school at Metz, became lieutenant in the Engineers Corps in 1827, and captain in 1833...

's corps in the Battle of Solférino

Battle of Solferino

The Battle of Solferino, , was fought on June 24, 1859 and resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II against the Austrian Army under Emperor Franz Joseph I; it was the last major battle in world...

.

Retired on account of his age in 1865, he was recalled to active service on the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War

Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...

 in 1870. After the early reverses he was made head of the XIII army corps, which, fortunately for France, did not arrive at the front in time to be involved in the catastrophe of Sedan

Battle of Sedan

The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870. It resulted in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and for all intents and purposes decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French...

. By a skilful retreat he brought his corps intact to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 on September 7. During the Siege of Paris

Siege of Paris

The Siege of Paris, lasting from September 19, 1870 – January 28, 1871, and the consequent capture of the city by Prussian forces led to French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the establishment of the German Empire as well as the Paris Commune....

, Vinoy commanded the III army operating on the south side of the capital and took part in all the actions in that quarter. On Louis Jules Trochu

Louis Jules Trochu

Louis Jules Trochu was a French military leader and politician. He served as President of the Government of National Defense—France's de facto head of state—from 4 September 1870 until his resignation on 22 January 1871 .- Military career :He was born at Palais...

's resignation he was appointed to the supreme command, in which capacity he negotiated France's surrender.

During the Paris Commune

Paris Commune

The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...

, he held important commands in the army of Versailles, occupying the burning Tuileries and the Louvre

Louvre

The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...

 on May 23, 1871. He was subsequently made a Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour

Légion d'honneur

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

.

Vinoy wrote several memoirs of the Franco-Prussian War: Operations de l'armée pendant le siege de Paris (1872); L'Armistice et la commune (1872); and L'Armée française (1873).

The Municipality of Vinoy in Quebec, Canada, was named in his honour (since 1996 part of the Municipality of Chénéville).