The Fighting Marshals
Catherine Dominique Perignon
by Ian Barstow
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So what do we know of Perignon? Well, apart from the fact that in later life he could have made money as Davout's double, that is. Perignon, for we shall not embarrass his memory by calling him Cathy, was born at Grenade-sur-Garonne on May 31st, 1754, into a family long linked with hereditary nobility in southern France. Not top notch by any means, this is still not the sort of start we have come to associate with future marshals. Where are the blacksmiths, the coopers, the librarians, I hear you ask. Not here. Perignon was well educated, and in turn acquired his commission on July 6th, 1780, into the Regiment du Lyonnais. For an aspiring combat soldier, this turned out to be less than satisfactory, and after three years of garrison duty he knocked the whole business on the head and returned home. Three years later he married Helene-Catherine de Grenier (which must have been confusing); a famous enough military surname that some may recognise. Best news of all, her family was flush and she came with a thoroughly impressive dowry.
With this level of influence, Perignon's future looked good. He was appointed a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard in 1789, and shortly afterwards was made a justice of the peace. Then in September of 1791 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly. At this stage he is looking like the perfect politician, or so it seemed. However, it appears that the martial bug had not quite been eradicated from Perignon's system, and in 1792 he resigned from the legislature and packed his bags for the Legion of the Pyrenees. This turned out to not be such a reckless move, as within four months he was a colonel again, implying that when he went off he already knew that it was a sound career move.
War Against Spain
War against Bourbon Spain duly arrived in 1792, and Perignon's star suddenly erupted into orbit. At first, though, the Spaniards had the best of it, and actually advanced at one point (contrary as that may appear to Spanish military doctrine), supported already by the ruthlessly brutal guerrillas who were to later dog Napoleon's armies. 367 days after joining, Perignon was wounded in the thigh by a bayonet and recommended for promotion to General de Brigade. By Christmas of 1793 he was a confirmed General de Division. Admittedly, sorting out the Dons was never the tallest order in the book, but nevertheless he contributed significantly to the turn-around of fortunes.
Things had begun improving when the powers that be replaced General Doppet (never employ an officer whose name is pronounced 'Dopey', that's my advice) with the far more able Dagobert. This worthy quickly advanced, but was unfortunately mortally reduced by fever, turning command over to the able Dugommier.
A thorough reorganisation – much needed – was put in place, helped enthusiastically by Perignon, who was something of an old fashioned stickler when it came to a spot of order and discipline. What had become the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees soon became combat ready, including amongst its commanders, two other future marshals, Victor and Augereau. Throughout the summer of 1794, Perignon distinguished himself as the Spaniards were forcibly ejected from French soil. The highlight was when Perignon, ordered to push forward with his division to reconnoitre the Spanish positions, he was attacked by the whole Spanish army whom he promptly fought to a standstill, although a lack of supplies forced the French to halt, giving La Union, the Spanish commander, time to gather 50,000 troops with which he attacked Perignon and Augereau on August 13th. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the French thoroughly trounced their opponents.
Dugommier rapidly followed up this success, and three days later he ordered a night assault on the line of redoubts which ran from St Laurent to the coast. Perignon's luck was in again, although conversely it meant that Dugommier's was out, as the general was killed by a Spanish howitzer shell during the attack. Perignon was immediately given the command of the army, and he reacted with commendable verve and aggression, and by November 27th, he had captured Figuieras and besieged Rosas, killing La Union on the way, and thoroughly trouncing the Spanish. With the capture of large amounts of provisions, it meant that the French could winter in comfort for a change. Come the spring of 1795, Perignon began a series of inconclusive engagements with the new Spanish commander, Urrutia, who was made of sterner stuff than La union, as it turned out. On May 6th, trying to force the Fulvia crossings at Bascara, Perignon was defeated, and it was only a matter of time before of local People's Representatives got to work. He was replaced by Scherer on May 30th.
This did not mean disgrace, though. Perignon got promoted sideways to command the Army of Brittany on September 15th, 1795. Additionally, unable to resist the lure of politics, he also managed to get himself elected as a deputy to the Council of Five Hundred. Within days, he was then appointed ambassador to Spain, where it was believed that his fair and honourable reputation might be of benefit. He was instrumental in the conclusion of the Treaty of St Ildefonso, signed on April 19th, 1796. At the Spanish court, he was made most welcome, helped by the fact that he was, in the eyes of the Spanish, effectively still an aristocrat, and it was primarily down to Perignon's machinations that the Spanish entered the alliance against England. Perignon seems to have thoroughly enjoyed his time meddling in the intrigues of the Spanish court, but in December 1797 he was replaced by the inept Truguet, whilst he himself was placed on the retired list. This was not to last long, though.
Army of Italy
On October 14th, 1798, Perignon was posted to the Army of Italy, commanding the French troops in Liguria. At this time, the position in Italy was not good. Joubert, the French commander, was outnumbered two to one by the Russian Suvavrov, who was no slouch himself. Suvarov's allied army pushed the French back through the Alps, with Perignon now commanding the left wing. Despite the serious difficulties, the politicos at the Directory comfortable in Paris ordered Joubert to stand at Novi. It was August 15th, 1799. By the evening, Joubert and 11,000 Frenchmen were dead. Perignon commanded the rearguard, and showed exemplary courage, being wounded four times, including one serious injury to the head, before finally being taken prisoner. It would be a year before he was released.
Perignon returned to France in 1800, and was made a senator the following year. In November of 1801 he formally retired, but within months his acute political knowledge of Spain was again required. As Commissaire Extraordinaire, he conducted the tricky negotiations over a definitive border through the Pyrenees. Then on October 27th, 1802, he was appointed vice-president of the Senate. Finally, on May 19th, 1804, Napoleon made Perignon a marshal, seventeenth in seniority, in acknowledgement of his sterling work, both military and politic, against Spain.
From 1806 to 1808, Perignon served as Governor General of Parma and Piacenza, being made a Count of the Empire on his departure from the post. He was transferred to the Governorship of Naples, working under Murat. During this period, Perignon brought his family with him. He had been happily married the whole time, and had fathered eleven children. His eldest son, Pierre, was killed serving with the carabiniers at Friedland, but another, Henri, survived Russia in Murat's company. Perignon himself remained in Naples until 1813, despite falling out with Murat in 1811. With the collapse of the empire, Perignon pretty much kept his head down. He played no part in the plot to abdicate napoleon, but once the Bourbons returned he was happy to embrace them and was made a peer of France, as well as carrying out a number of political appointments for his new masters.
What Perignon could not have envisaged was Napoleon's return in 1815. He was struck of the list of marshals in dishonour, having refused to go back over to Napoleon in breach of his oath to the Bourbons. Restored after the Hundred Days, Perignon received a number of awards before his death on Christmas Day, 1818.
So, what do we think of this final marshal? As with several of the others, he did most of his fighting in the Revolutionary Wars, but it should not be looked upon as less for that. He sustained wounds in battle, which is more than some of his more conspicuous associates did. Throughout his life, suspicion has been cast on Perignon's loyalties by a number of historians, alleging varied degrees of Royalist sympathies. This may well be so. He certainly did not have the background to be a Bonapartist. He was also as much a politician as he was a soldier, which is unappealing to many, myself included. I prefer my heroes to be out there knee-deep in blood and guts, not conniving around the courts of Europe. This does not mean that Perignon was without worth, however. He was successful as a soldier and politician, without really ever achieving stellar heights in either. It wasn't a bad career, though.
Or was it? How many times have we been here? At the last, so many of the marshals prostituted themselves to the Bourbons, and they all have one thing in common. As a peer, Perignon voted for the execution of Ney. Enough said.
Over
So, at last, the series is over. We have come across rogues, heroes, madmen, the lot, amongst the fantastic group that comprised the marshals of the French Empire. In many ways I am chronically envious. We in England, with all our history, have nothing to match them. For a short period of time, such men lit up the civilised world, yet in the end, for me it comes down to the one fact: Did they, or did they not, vote for Ney's death. Perhaps for others things are not so comfortably simple, but as I see it Ney was the very epitome of everything glorious about this short period that so fascinates us. Not the best general, by any means, but that was not what was important. In my opinion, he was simply a thoroughly exciting man. A man worthy of loyalty. We all have our favourite marshal. You know mine.
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Welcome to the final instalment of what has turned out to be a veritable exodus on the road to History Lite. Initially I envisaged a series of perhaps half a dozen articles on the most famous of the Fighting Marshals, but as I went on, it became apparent that at one time or another they had all put it about a bit, and it was at the editor's behest that the complete series was undertaken. Whether we are indeed now scraping the bottom of the barrel I leave it for you to judge. Suffice to say, that with Christian names like Perignon's, he would have got filled in very quickly over here…