François Bontemps

François Bontemps, later baron d'Abaumont, a noted brigadier general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was born 1 June 1753 at Saumur, and died 29 October 1811 at Saumur (Maine-et-Loire).

Family and education

François Bontemps was born into a family of craftsmen, workers of copper and bronze, in

Royal Army

. In 1784, having reached the rank of company clerk, and remained there for two years, he realized that he could not advance. He accepted a discharge the 4 May and returned to study the priesthood.

In 1789, François Bontemps embraced the principles of the French Revolution, and in 1792 enlisted as a chaplain in the volunteer battalion of the Eure. According to battalion lore, one of the officers of the battalion insulted the priesthood. Bontemps replied that he, as a priest, forgave him, but that as a citizen, he challenged him to a duel. He later killed the man in a duel and within a few months was elected as battalion lieutenant.

His intrepidity and leadership inspired his men to grant him the nickname of Bayard, after the famous medieval French knight. This same intrepidity, and his tendency to lead from the front, caused a serious wound from a musket ball on 3 May 1800 at the Stockach, by Engen. Despite this, he continued to fight and two days later participated in the Battle of Messkirch. Over the summer, though, his injury worsened and he was discharged from the army in 1801.

After his release from active service, Bontemps retired to Saumur, where he died on 29 October 1811. He is buried in the cemetery of Varrains.

Dates of Service

21 Sept 1773: Regimental Corporal
1 Oct 1774 : Sergeant
13 May 1778: Sergeant of Chasseurs
4 May 1784: Decommissioned
Early 1792 : Enlisted
1792 : elected Lieutenant of battalion, as part of the
Armée du Nord
April 1793: Lieutenant-colonel of 11th battalion of the Vosges
12 Mar 1794: Chef of Brigade, 175th
Army of Sambre-et-Meuse
)
5 May 1796: Chef of Brigade, 67th Demi-Brigade
Sept 1797 : Transferred to the Army of Germany
1798 :
Armée de Mayence
1799 : Army of the Danube
March 1799: Général de brigade (promoted in the field at the
Battle of Stockach
, 26 March and officialized on 20 April).
End of 1799 : attached to the
Armée du Rhin
1801: released from service with serious injuries.

Awards and honors

14 Jun 1804: Commander,
Légion d'honneur
August 1809: Napoleon gave him a silver snuff box and created
Baron d'Empire
title Baron d'Abaumont.
August 1809 : Created
Baron d'Empire
with the title of Baron d'Abaumont.