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Baron Gaspard Gourgaud
GASPARD, BARON GOURGAUD (September 14, 1783 - July 25, 1852) was a French soldier, prominent in the Napoleonic wars.
Born at Versailles son of a musician of the royal chapel, he joined the artille...view moreGASPARD, BARON GOURGAUD (September 14, 1783 - July 25, 1852) was a French soldier, prominent in the Napoleonic wars.
Born at Versailles son of a musician of the royal chapel, he joined the artillery after school and in 1802 he became junior lieutenant and served with credit in the campaigns of 1803-1805, being wounded at the Battle of Austerlitz. He was present at the siege of Saragossa in 1808, returned to service in Central Europe and took part in nearly all the battles of the Danubian campaign of 1809.
In 1811 he became one of the ordnance officers attached to Napoleon, whom he followed closely through the Russian campaign of 1812, and was one of the first to enter the Kremlin. He received the title of baron for his services and became first ordnance officer.
In the campaign of 1813 in Saxony he again showed courage and prowess, especially at Leipzig and Hanau. In the first battle of 1814, near to Brienne, he killed the leader of a small band of Cossacks who were riding towards Napoleon’s tent.
After the Battle of Montmirail he was involved in several further conflicts, distinguishing himself especially at Laon and Reims. Though enrolled among the royal guards of King Louis XVIII of France in the summer of 1814, he embraced the cause of Napoleon during the Hundred Days (1815), was named general and aide-de-camp by the Emperor, and fought at Waterloo.
After the second abdication of the Emperor (June 22, 1815), Gourgaud retired with him to Rochefort. He sailed with Napoleon on HMS Northumberland to Saint Helena into exile, but eventually left the island. Along with other survivors of the captivity, he returned to St. Helena in 1840 to return Napoleon’s remains for burial in Paris.
He became a deputy to the Legislative Assembly in 1849 and died in Paris in 1852 aged 68.
MARY ELIZABETH WORMELEY LATIMER (July 26, 1822, London - January 4, 1904) was an English-American writer, both of original works and translations.view less
Books by Baron Gaspard Gourgaud
Talks of Napoleon at St. Helena with General Baron Gourgaud: Together with the Journal Kept by Gourgaud on their Journey from Waterloo to St. Helena