Maximilien Sébastien Foy
Maximilien Sébastien Foy | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Horace Vernet | |
| Born | 3 February 1775 Ham, Somme |
| Died | 28 November 1825 (aged 50) |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of France .svg){kind=small} Kingdom of France  French Republic French Empire  Kingdom of France French Empire |
| Battles/wars |
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| Awards | Legion of Honor |
Maximilien Sébastien Foy (French pronunciation: [maksimiljɛ̃ sebastjɛ̃ fwa]; 3 February 1775 – 28 November 1825) was a French military leader, statesman and writer.[1]
Revolution
He was born in
Early Empire
In 1803, he was colonel of the 5th regiment of horse artillery, and refused, from political principles, the appointment of
Service in Portugal
On Foy's return, the expedition against Portugal was preparing. He received a command in the artillery under Maj-Gen Jean-Andoche Junot in the first French invasion of Portugal. During the occupation of Portugal, he filled the post of inspector of forts and fortresses.
He was severely wounded at the
In early 1809, he led a brigade under Soult in the
Foy was wounded again while leading his brigade at the Battle of Bussaco during the third French invasion of Portugal. In 1810, he made a skilful retreat at the head of 600 men, in the face of 6,000 Spaniards, across the Sierra de Caceres. Early in 1811, he was selected by Marshal André Masséna to convey to the emperor the critical state of the French army before the Lines of Torres Vedras. This commission, though one of great peril — the country being in a complete state of insurrection — he successfully accomplished, for which service he was made general of division.
Service in Spain
In July 1812, Foy was in the Battle of Salamanca and covered the retreat of the defeated French army. He was one of those who, when Wellington raised the siege of Burgos and retreated to the Douro, hung upon his rear and took some prisoners and artillery.
On the news of the disasters in
Foy commanded a division in Marshal Soult's army during the Battle of the Pyrenees in July 1813. After Soult's defeat at Sorauren, Foy saved his division and parts of other commands by retreating northeast over the Roncesvalles Pass.
Final career
In the
In 1819, he was elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies, the duties of which he discharged until his death in November 1825; and from his first entrance into the chamber, was distinguished for his eloquence, and quickly became the acknowledged leader of the opposition. Before his death he wrote a history of the Peninsular War.
Notes
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (December 2016) |
- ^ The memoirs of François René, vicomte de Chateaubriand - 1902 Page 128 "General Maximilien Sébastien Foy (1775-1825), after rendering brilliant service in the army, was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1819 and displayed an unsuspected oratorical talent as a defender of constitutional principles."
References
- Chandler, David, Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. Macmillan, 1979.
- Glover, Michael, The Peninsular War 1808-1814. Penguin Books, 1974.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- This article incorporates material from The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. X. No. 289. Published December 22, 1827, that work is now in the public domain.
