Biography

Pierre-François Percy, was born on October 28, 1754 in Montagney

Montagney

Montagney is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Franche-Comté in eastern France.-References:*...

, (Franche-Comté

Franche-Comté

Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...

, now in Haute-Saône

Haute-Saône

Haute-Saône is a French department of the Franche-Comté région, named after the Saône River.- History :The department was created in the early years of the French Revolution through the application of a law dated 22 December 1789, from part of the former province of Franche-Comté...

).

After studying in Besancon

Besançon

Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...

, he became army surgeon in 1782.

During the wars 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 Empire, he invented a new kind of ambulance usable on the battlefield, the cork-balls and the surgical quiver.

He served on the main battlefields of the Empire

First French Empire

The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...

 and became chief surgeon of the Grand Army but had to leaving the army after 1809 because of ocular problems.

He resumed service in 1814 and his conduct earned him the esteem of the Allied armies.

Percy had to retire during the Restoration

Bourbon Restoration

The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon  – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...

 and dies in 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 18 February 1825.

Percy was member of the Academy of Sciences, Academy of Medecine, Commander of the Legion of Honor  and Baron of Empire.

Sources

• Biography of Pierre-François Percy on the Napoleon & Empire website (in English).