Karl Josef von Bachmann
Encyclopedia
Karl Joseph Anton Leodegar Freiherr von Bachmann (3 March 1734 – 3 September 1792) was a Swiss aristocrat
and soldier
.
. His father was Marechal de Camp (Field Marshal
) Karl Leonhard von Bachmann and his brother was the future General Niklaus Franz von Bachmann
. As had many of his ancestors and relatives he entered the service of the French King as an officer of the Swiss regiments of France.
During this period he fought in various engagements of the Seven Years War.
In 1764 Bachmann became Lieutenant Colonel
and was transferred to the Regiment of the Swiss Guard
, where he kept his rank though officially he was Major of the Regiment. In 1768 he obtained the rank of Brigadier and in 1780 that of Marechal de Camp, while still serving as Major of the Swiss Guards.
In 1778 Bachmann received the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis
. In 1792 he became also the owner of a company of the Swiss Guard Regiment.
, when revolutionaries stormed the palace of the Tuileries. He escorted King Louis XVI and the Royal Family to the National Assembly where they sought refuge.
Arrested by the revolutionaries he was accused of treason for ordering the Swiss Guard to resist the storming of the royal palace and thereby offending the "Majesty of the People". Bachmann refused to acknowledge the tribunal which was trying him, as the Swiss soldiers in French service were entitled to be tried by their own courts. His trial was interrupted in the late afternoon of 2 September 1792 when the September Massacres
of hundreds of political prisoners took place at the Conciergerie and Abbaye prisons. A lynch mob invaded the courtroom where Major Bachmann and other Swiss Guards were being tried before the official Tribunal of 17 August. The crowd retreated when ordered to clear the room by the presiding judges and Bachmann "passed through their shambles unharmed on his way to the scaffold".
Bachmann was then sentenced to death, and guillotined on the 3 September 1792. He stepped on to the scaffold still wearing the red uniform of the Swiss Guard and his countenance struck those who watched so much that he was remembered by the French poet Lamartine in one of his works.
" in Lucerne
, by Bertel Thorvaldsen
, where he figures as second on the list of the fallen.
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
and soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
.
Family and Early life
Karl Joseph von Bachmann was born in an aristocratic Swiss family from NafelsNäfels
Näfels is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Näfels is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord.-History:Näfels is first mentioned in 1240 as Nevels....
. His father was Marechal de Camp (Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
) Karl Leonhard von Bachmann and his brother was the future General Niklaus Franz von Bachmann
Niklaus Franz von Bachmann
Niklaus Leodegar Franz Ignaz von Bachmann , was a Swiss general who fought in the Napoleonic Wars.- Family and early life :He was born in an aristocratic Swiss family of long-standing military traditions...
. As had many of his ancestors and relatives he entered the service of the French King as an officer of the Swiss regiments of France.
Military career in France
In 1749 Bachmann entered French service as a cadet. He was soon promoted to Ensign in the company of his father (in the Regiment de Castella) and in 1750 was promoted to Captain of the Grenadiers of the same regiment. In 1756 he became commander of two companies of the Regiment. In 1762 he was promoted to Major of the Regiment Waldner von Freudenstein.During this period he fought in various engagements of the Seven Years War.
In 1764 Bachmann became Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
and was transferred to the Regiment of the Swiss Guard
Swiss Guard
Swiss Guards or Schweizergarde is the name given to the Swiss soldiers who have served as bodyguards, ceremonial guards, and palace guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century. They have had a high reputation for discipline, as well as loyalty to their employers...
, where he kept his rank though officially he was Major of the Regiment. In 1768 he obtained the rank of Brigadier and in 1780 that of Marechal de Camp, while still serving as Major of the Swiss Guards.
In 1778 Bachmann received the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis
Order of Saint Louis
The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis was a military Order of Chivalry founded on 5 April 1693 by Louis XIV and named after Saint Louis . It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, and is notable as the first decoration that could be granted to non-nobles...
. In 1792 he became also the owner of a company of the Swiss Guard Regiment.
Death
Major Bachmann was in command of the Swiss Guard during the 10th of August Insurrection10th of August (French Revolution)
On 10 August 1792, during the French Revolution, revolutionary Fédéré militias — with the backing of a new municipal government of Paris that came to be known as the "insurrectionary" Paris Commune and ultimately supported by the National Guard — besieged the Tuileries palace. King Louis XVI and...
, when revolutionaries stormed the palace of the Tuileries. He escorted King Louis XVI and the Royal Family to the National Assembly where they sought refuge.
Arrested by the revolutionaries he was accused of treason for ordering the Swiss Guard to resist the storming of the royal palace and thereby offending the "Majesty of the People". Bachmann refused to acknowledge the tribunal which was trying him, as the Swiss soldiers in French service were entitled to be tried by their own courts. His trial was interrupted in the late afternoon of 2 September 1792 when the September Massacres
September Massacres
The September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys...
of hundreds of political prisoners took place at the Conciergerie and Abbaye prisons. A lynch mob invaded the courtroom where Major Bachmann and other Swiss Guards were being tried before the official Tribunal of 17 August. The crowd retreated when ordered to clear the room by the presiding judges and Bachmann "passed through their shambles unharmed on his way to the scaffold".
Bachmann was then sentenced to death, and guillotined on the 3 September 1792. He stepped on to the scaffold still wearing the red uniform of the Swiss Guard and his countenance struck those who watched so much that he was remembered by the French poet Lamartine in one of his works.
The Dying Lion in Lucerne
Bachmann's name is also engraved on the monument of the "Dying LionLion Monument
The Lion Monument , or the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture in Lucerne, Switzerland, designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn...
" in Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, by Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...
, where he figures as second on the list of the fallen.