Tag: Chasseur à Cheval
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The Military Life of Bruno d’Ast … (I)
Dominique-Louis-Guillaume-Bruno d’Ast was born on 9 August 1790, in Brignemont. (1) He was the eldest son of Mr. Guillaume d’Ast and Madame Marie-Germaine-Sophie de Pérignon. (2) His godfather was Dominique Catherine de Pérignon, his uncle, an officer in the royal grenadiers in the Quercy Regiment, the future victor of Rosas and Figueras, ambassador of the…
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Remarks on the battle of Wagram, by General Édouard Colbert …
General Pierre David Édouard de Colbert-Chabanais (1774-1853), in his ‘Unpublished Remarks’, wrote a concise account of the battle of Wagram. Its simplicity and modesty enhance its interest. We reproduce it here verbatim, together with some other manuscripts that he drew up. According to the orders given the day before by Napoleon, the French light cavalry…
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A Belgian cavalryman in Moscow, 1812 …
A relative of our Belgian soldier here, Constant de Limon (officer in the 1st Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval, General Bordessoule’s Brigade, part of Davout’s I Corps), forwarded the latter’s letter to a younger brother of our protagonist: Mister Delimon (sic, De Limon), place du Carrefour de Lodeau n° 4, in Paris. Ypres, 6 November…
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Eyewitness accounts of the campaign in Russia, 1812 (V) …
General Georg von Scheler (1770-1826, from Württemberg) wrote the following: Moscow, 8 and 9 October 1812. Everyone found shelter, albeit packed and cramped, in the suburb on the road to Kazan. The horses of the artillery, the two regiments of chevau-légers and the regiment of the King’s Chasseurs No. 4 were accommodated in stables or…
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Report of a cavalry NCO, 1809 …
The document we are publishing was written by a non-commissioned officer in the chasseurs of General Montbrun’s Cavalry Division. On the eve of the battle of Essling, this NCO was sent with a safeguard in the direction of Raab (in reality to reconnoitre the enemy assemblies on that side) and was taken prisoner by the…
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The early stages of the Russian campaign, recounted by an officer …
… On my arrival at Berlin, I received the order to proceed to Warsaw, carrying dispatches to Prince Jérôme; my instructions required me to follow the operations of this army corps until further notice. On the departure of King Jérôme, who was displeased to see himself placed under the command of Marshal Davout, I left…
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Captain Sibelet’s 1813 experiences …
Here we have an excerpt of the unpublished military memoirs of Jean-Pierre Sibelet, Officer of the Legion of Honour, retired captain of the 11th Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval. He returned to the service in 1812 in the 25th Cohort and became a grenadier captain for the 145th Line Regiment on 18 February 1813. Readers…
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Second Lieutenant Zickel’s letters from Spain, 1808-1809 …
Here we have François-Joseph Zickel, an officer in the 10th Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval, after nine years’ service and almost as many campaigns. His ‘new epaulette’ received its baptism of fire at Friedland on 14 June 1807. Then, after the peace of Tilsit and a few months’ well-earned rest, the two Zickel brothers moved…