François Certain de Canrobert
François Certain de Canrobert | |
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Battles/wars | Conquest of Algeria Crimean War Franco-Prussian War |
Other work | Military governor of Paris (1865–1870) Senator of Lot (1876) Senator of Charente (1879) |
François Marcellin Certain de Canrobert (born François Certain Canrobert;
Biography
Family background
François Certain de Canrobert was born in Saint-Céré in Lot, where a statue (1897) in his effigy was erected in place de la République due to Alfred Lenoir.
At his birth, his father, Antoine Certain Canrobert, a former captain, was already 55 years old. This officer of the
Through his father’s sister, Marie-Louise, François Certain de Canrobert was the cousin of Adolphe and Marcellin Marbot, who became respectively maréchal de camp (général de brigade) and lieutenant-général (général de division) during the July Monarchy of 1830–1848.
Early military career
On 19 November 1826, aged 17, Canrobert entered the École Royale spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr where he was designated as a caporal (corporal) on 18 May 1828. At his graduation, he was posted to the 47th Line Infantry Regiment (French: 47e Régiment d’Infanterie de Ligne) (RIL), with the rank of Sous-lieutenant starting 1 October. He served until 1840 and was promoted to lieutenant on 20 January 1832.
North Africa
In 1835 he arrived with his unit in Algeria, where he engaged in combat on the edges of Oued Sig and Habra. In 1836 he fought in actions at Dar el Achen, Tafna, Sidi Yacoub, La Silal and Bet el Laham.
He was designated as Lieutenant Adjudant Major on 28 September 1836. On 26 April 1837 he was promoted to
He was assigned to the 6th Chasseurs Battalion à Pied (
Promoted lieutenant-colonel on 26 October 1845, he was assigned to the 16th Line Infantry Regiment (French: 16e RIL) on 4 September[clarification needed]. On 8 June 1847 he was assigned to the 2nd Line Infantry Regiment (French: 2e RIL) and commanded the subdivision of Batna.
Transfer to the Legion
Promoted to
In June he substituted for colonel Jean-François de Cariés de Senilhes (
General of the Second Empire
Recalled to France by the Prince-President
Following these events Canrobert gained the function of
Crimea
As
Judged[by whom?] too timorous, he was relieved by general Aimable Pélissier (16 May 1855). He accordingly reassumed command of his former division, which became the 1st Infantry Division of the 2nd Corps. This situation having become difficult, Napoleon III insisted that Canrobert return to France. After several refusals, in August 1855 Canrobert returned to Paris to take up his functions as aide de camp.
His disputes with Lord Raglan, general of the British Army, obliged him to relinquish his command. On 18 March 1856, he was elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France.
Italy
In February 1858 he commanded the division of the East at Nancy, then the Camp de Châlons, starting from 1 June 1858. On 22 April 1859 he received the command of the 3rd Army Corps of the Alpes and participated in the campaign of Italy from April to July, passing by Turin, Dorial, Balba, Magenta and Solferino. He distinguished himself during the Battle of Magenta (4 June 1859) and was a major contributor to the victory at the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859.
France
He then joined the garrison at Nancy with his army corps. He became commandant of the 3rd Military Arrondissement at Nancy, on 27 August. In 1862 he commanded the troops of the Camp de Châlons, then took command of the 4th Army Corps at Lyon, starting in October. On 22 June 1856 he commanded the 1st Army Corps of the 1st Military Division of Paris.
1870–1871
Following the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War on 19 July 1870, on 12 August 1870, Canrobert declined to take command of the Army of the Rhine, petrified by the responsibilities which would ensue. Abandoning the post to Bazaine, Canrobert became an obedient subordinate. He took part in the battles of Sainte-Barbe, Noisseville and Landonchamps. On 16/18 August, he commanded the 6th Army Corps and demonstrated distinguished capability at Saint-Privat where he shook three corps of Général von Steinmetz and decimated the 1st Infantry Regiment of the Prussian Guard (French: garde royale prussienne). However, due to a mistake in the supply of ammunition and reinforcements, he abandoned his position. He was made prisoner – with Marshal Bazaine – during the surrender of Metz on 28 October 1870. Following several months in captivity, he was liberated and returned to France in March 1871.
End of his military career and political career
He was then named President of the infantry promotion commission, a member of the
Close to
He owned the Eglantine Castle in Jouy-en-Josas, which since 1991 houses the Musée de la toile de Jouy.
Honors and posterity
The name of Canrobert was given to:
- From 1872 to 1956, the village of Ange-Gardien, in the comté de Rouville, in Quebec; a rang of the municipality commemorates still the Battle of Magenta, where he distinguished himself;
- A garrison at Pontoise, then the area lot of the Pontoise station and the street that serves it;
- The place in the village of Saint-Privat-la-Montagne, near the cemetery in which the battle took place;
- A city in the Constantine Department created in 1904, today Oum El Bouaghi Province;
- The garrison of the 42nd Transmission Regiment at Rastatt in Germany;
- A road in the commune of Nœux-les-Mines, Pas-de-Calais;
- Support point Canrobert / Horimont-Stellung (1912–1916), north of the Group Fortification Lorraine.
Decorations
- Kingdom of France:
- Knight of the Légion d'honneur, 1837; Officer, 1843; Commander, 1849; Grand Officer, 1854; Grand Cross, 1855
- Médaille militaire (citation: the jewel of the Army)
- Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign
- Knight of the
- United Kingdom:
- Honorary Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (military division), 5 September 1855[9]
- Crimea Medal
- Sweden-Norway: Knight of the Order of the Seraphim, 17 November 1855[10]
- Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant, 28 November 1855[11]
- Kingdom of Sardinia:
- Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, 5 August 1857[12]
- Grand-Croix of the Military Order of Savoy, 16 November 1857
- Sardinian Cross of Military Valor (1860)
- Kingdom of Prussia: Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, 12 June 1867[13]
- Ottoman Empire: Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class
- Russian Empire: Knight of the Order of St. Andrew
See also
- Origins of the French Foreign Legion
- Marie Louis Henry de Granet-Lacroix de Chabrières
- Jean-Luc Carbuccia
Notes
- ^ a b The Dean (French: Doyen) is most senior serving (oldest or responsible) and leading figure in a particular function of society (religious, education, diplomatical, governmental). In this case, the Dean is referring to de Canrobert, at the époque, as the most senior figure in the Marshal Corps of France.
- ^ Departmental Archives of Lot en ligne, birth act 4 E 2214, vue 35/73.
- ^ a b Pierre Milza, Napoléon III, Perrin, 2006, p.260
- ^ Louis Girard, Napoléon III, Fayard, 1986. Re-edition : 2002. p.153
- ^ a b Pierre Milza, Napoléon III, Perrin, 2006, p.261
- ^ Pierre Milza, Napoléon III', Perrin, 2006, p.268
- ^ Maurice Agulhon in 1848 ou l'apprentissage de la République 1848–1852, Paris, Le Seuil, 1973 p.235-236
- ISBN 2-07-036141-1
- ^ Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) The Knights of England, I, London, p. 191
- ^ Sveriges statskalender (PDF) (in Swedish), 1891, p. 387, retrieved 8 March 2021 – via gupea.ub.gu.se
- ISBN 978-87-7674-434-2.
- ^ Cibrario, Luigi (1869). Notizia storica del nobilissimo ordine supremo della santissima Annunziata. Sunto degli statuti, catalogo dei cavalieri (in Italian). Eredi Botta. p. 117. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 6 – via hathitrust.org
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Further reading
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 207.
- Germain Bapst, Le Maréchal Canrobert. Souvenirs d'un siècle (Marshal Canrobert. Souvenir of a century), Paris, Plon, 1899, 1902, 1904.