Generale de Division
Philibert-Jean-Baptiste-Francois
Comte Curial
Profile
Terry J. Senior UK
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Having read Dave Commerford’s very interesting war gaming article in FE58 “Concerning the Experiences of Generale de Division Comte Curial at Chateauneuf 1814”, I thought that readers might like to know a bit more about Curial, his family and his career.
The Family and It’s Origins
The origins of the Curial family can be traced back to the late 17th century. They were not of a wealthy stock, one branch were small time farmers while another were merchants. There were also a number of Notaries in the family. Curial’s father Francois-Joseph Curial who had a profession connected with the law, first married on 1st September 1764 a young girl by the name of Gabrielle Chabert but she sadly died a few years later and as far as is known there were no children of this alliance. In June 1771 Francois-Joseph was married again, to a distant cousin
Marie Domenget whose family lived in another local village.
Marie bore him four children, two girls and two boys. The first was a daughter, Florentine-Antoinette-Josephte born in 1772, a second girl they called Remire Michelle was born in the following year. Next came the future General, Philibert who arrived into this world on 21st April 1774, and the family was completed with the birth of the second son Roch-Francois-Louis in 1776.
The eldest girl Florentine was married at the age of 17 to Joseph Conseil but the relationship did not last and the couple were divorced in January 1794. Florentine remarried within a few days of the divorce her second husband being 25 year old Louis-Emmanuel Rey who was from Grenoble and a Capitaine de la 14eme regiment de Chasseurs a Cheval, who, like his brother-in-law was later to become a Generale and Baron de
l’Empire..
The Beginning of a Career
Philibert first enlisted in the legion des Allobroges in 1792 at the age of 16. He was closely followed by his cousin Jacques Curial, who was one of Philibert’s uncle Joseph-Marie Curial’s five children. Jacques barely 16 when he joined the 3eme bataillon de Mont Blanc. Philibert also then joined the same regiment and became Capitaine 1er bataillon de volontaires de Mont Blanc which later became the 18eme regiment de ligne and served in l’armee du Midi under the command of 42 year old Generale Jean-Francois Carteaux.
In 1793 there was an epidemic which caused a sickness the symptoms of which were severe diarrhoea and congestion of the liver and spleen and Philibert who had fallen victim to this epidemic was taken to the military hospital at Perpignan. He made a full recovery and was soon back with his regiment.
In 1796 and 97 the cousins were to see service in l’Armee des Pyrenees Orientales and l’Armee d’Italie. At 23 years of age the promising young officer was slim, 1.75m tall with grey eyes and a mass of black hair and black eyebrows. He had a pleasant face and
had already displayed a degree of courage under fire on a number of occasions.
Exploits in Egypt
Both Philibert and his brother Roche, who had in the meantime followed his elder siblings example and enlisted in the army, embarked with the fleet bound for Egypt in l’Armee d’Orient, Philibert having been named provisional Chef de Bataillon by the Generale en Chef Napoleon Bonaparte himself. He took part in the siege of Saint Jean d’Acre and raised a scaling ladder. Leading his men in an assault on the fortress he received a wound to his knee, which rendered him hors de combat. Lifting the unsuccessful siege the disconsolate French army made it’s
perilous and uncomfortable way back across the burning sands to Cairo.
On 22nd August of that same year Bonaparte unexpectedly and without notice embarked on the frigate “La Muiron” and returned to France taking with him a number of very senior officers including Murat, Lannes, Marmont and Bessieres.
Command of the Army then handed over to the popular and talented Generale Jean-Baptiste Kleber, who at that time had no idea of what was
happening. Kleber a native of Strasbourg, was a highly competent soldier who knew how to command and get the best out of his men. He also
possessed a degree of diplomatic skills, which he displayed in negotiating with British Admiral Sir Sidney Smith the Treaty of El Arish. When the English government failed to ratify the Treaty, Kleber lead his army in a successful battle against the Turks at Heliopolis on 20th March 1800.
A few months later, in the afternoon of 14th June 1800 while strolling apparently alone, in the gardens of the house in Cairo of his Chef d’Etat Major, Generale Francois-Etienne Damas, Kleber was brutally attacked by a fanatical Moslem named Suliman-el-Halepi . He received at least six stab wounds from which he died. The assassin was caught and executed but that is another story.
With Kleber’s demise, the command of the French forces devolved to an ageing, eccentric, portly, balding Generale Jacques-Francois de Boussay Menou who had already been in military service for over 50 years, and was, prior to Kleber’s death Gouverneur de Rosetta. While there, he had adopted the Moslem faith, changed his name to Abdullah and then married the daughter of a Rosetta bathkeeper.
It is true to say that both Kleber and Menou had been impressed by the actions of the young Curial and he was promoted to Commandant de la 88eme demi brigade which he lead at the battle of Canopus near Alexandria on 21st March 1801.In this battle the French were defeated by an English force under the command of General Sir Ralph Abercromby.
During the conflict the English commander suffered a serious leg wound from which he later died en route to Malta. Curial meantime also
suffered a musket ball, which went through the fleshy part at the top of his arm and then penetrated his chest. He then shortly found himself repatriated back to France along with the rest of the defeated French army.
Promotions and Decorations
The upward trend of Curials career continued when by order of the Consuls dated 5th July 1802 he was confirmed as Chef de Brigade. Then on 4th December 1803 he was promoted to Colonel of the 88eme regiment de ligne a l’Armee des Cotes de l’Ocean where he was
employed in the division of Generale Louis-Gabriel Suchet,. The remaining regiments which made up Suchet’s 3eme Division of Generale Jean Lannes V Corps were the 17e infanterie legere and the 34e, 40e,and 64e regiments de ligne. The Corps was present at Austerlitz in December 1805 and were posted on the Santon which they were ordered to hold. The brigade commanders were Generale Nicolas-Bagert Beker, Generale Michel-Marie Claparede and the 41 year old Avranches born Generale Jean-Marie-Mellon-Roger Valhubert who during the battle was struck by an exploding grenade and later died from his wounds. Curial for his exploits and conduct that day was decorated with l’Ordre de la Legion d’Honneur.
By the middle of the following year, 1806, the now 32 year old soldier found himself in the elite Garde Imperiale as a Major in the Chasseurs a Pied in which capacity he was present at Jena on the 14th of October. During the day his regiment successfully repulsed six
successive Prussian attacks during one of which his horse had a shoulder carried away by a ball from the enemy artillery.
Curial continued to enhance his career with outstanding performances on the bloody fields of Eylau in February 1807 and at Heilsberg on 10th June where he was to suffer a serious head wound. In the same action, 36 year of Generale Francois-Xavier Roussel, the likeable chef d’Etat major to Marechal Jean-Baptiste Bessieres, the Commander of the cavalry of the Garde Imperiale was decapitated by a Prussian round
shot.
Two weeks later, Curial, and the Emperor’s cousin, Corsican born Jean Toussaint Arrighi di Cassanova each received well earned promotions to Generale de Brigade. Just two days later, on 29th June 1807 Philibert was decorated as Chevalier de l’Ordre de St Henri de Saxe, and appointed Colonel du 2e regiment de chasseurs a pied de la Garde Imperiale. An eventful year closed with him being decorated again, this time as Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Couronne de Fer.
1808 began in much the same vein that 1807 had finished when he was given an annual pension of 30,000 francs drawn on the Kingdom of
Westphalia. In March Curial took a short period of leave and returned home and married pretty, 21 year old Marie-Clementine Beugnot who was the daughter of Comte Beugnot Minister of Finances du Grand Duche du Berg. There is no doubt that Marie-Clementine was a very beautiful young lady and that Curial was marrying into a very notable and influential family.
His good fortune continued when on 6th June he was elevated to the Imperial nobility and created Baron de l’Empire.
Towards the end of 1808 Curial and his command went to Spain with the Emperor for what was to be a very brief visit. He was present at the incident at Somo Sierra but took no real part.
During this period, rumours started arriving that the Austrians were entertaining thoughts of aggression. The Emperor soon decided that this
particular threat must be dealt with, and leaving command in Spain to others, left with numerous regiments to deal with these new threats from an old adversary. At Aspern Essling in May 1809 Curial commanded the 1er Jeune Garde Division which comprised two bataillons Tirailleur Chasseurs and two bataillons Tirailleur Grenadiers under the command of Generale de Brigade Claude-Pierre Rouget and a similar force
under Generale de Brigade Jean-Louis Gros The Division was committed to the action and during an attack at Essling on 22nd May Gros, received a wound to his right side
On 5th June the same year Curial was promoted to Generale de Division but retained his appointment as major-colonel des chasseurs a pied de la Garde and commandant de la 1er division de la Garde Imperiale which now numbered some 6,100 effectives. At the battle of Wagram on 5 and 6 July 1809, Generale Pierre Dumoustier replaced Generale Gros as that soldier was not sufficiently recovered from his wounds.
Enter the Children
Later that year Curial’s wife, Marie-Clementine gave birth to the couples first child, a boy they called Napoleon-Joseph.
Curial had a number of cousins through his father’s brothers and sisters. Joseph-Marie Curial, himself a Notary, by his wife Josephte Aude, who was herself the daughter of a Notary, had three girls and two boys of which only Jacques born in 1777 became a soldier and served as a lieutenant at Austerlitz. Curial’s aunt Francoise-Claudine remained a spinster all her life and had no children, while his other aunt Anne-Marie-Philiberte also married yet another Notary called Jean-Francois Mollot. They produced a total of eight children of which five were boys. At
least two of the boys saw military service Hippolyte Mollot died in Egypt, while his brother Michel became a Colonel seeing much service in Naples.
It was in 1810 that Curial’s second child, another son they called Adolphe-Philibert was born. In the same year the Generale was granted another award of 10,000 francs drawn on Galicia in Spain.
1812 became a year that Curial was to remember for a number of reasons. Firstly his two daughters were born. Marie-Clementine (named after her mother) later married the Marquis de St Clou, but the second girl they named Bathilde sadly died at the age of 15. It is not known whether the two girls were twins or born quite separately at the extreme ends of the same year.
Russia and the Consequences
For the invasion of Russia, the Grande Armee numbering in excess of 400,000 men started to cross the Nieman on the 22nd June. On arrival at Vilna, Curial established his head-quarters in a local convent while the remainder of his division utilised the many surrounding barns and outhouses. The commander of the vieille garde for the Russian Campaign was le Marechal Francois-Joseph Lefebvre, le duc de Dantzick. Curial commanded the 3er division which consisted of two brigades under Generals Joseph de Boyer Rebeval and Claude-Etienne Michel. The ler brigade comprised two bataillons each of the 1er and 2er Chasseurs a Pied plus artillery while Michels 2er brigade was made up of two bataillons each from the 1er, 2er, and 3er Grenadiers a Pied.and six canon.
Curials’ command numbering approximately 6,400 men. Curial managed to survive both the battles and the extremes of weather that were encountered especially on that disastrous retreat. He was recalled to France in January 1813 and later that year served in Saxony where he commanded the 1er brigade de la vieille garde (chasseurs a pied) under the brilliant General Louis Friant. At the end of August he took command of the 1ere division jeune garde replacing General Pierre Dumoustier who had been seriously wounded in the left leg at the battle of Dresden on the 27th of that month.
With the 2eme division de la vieille garde at the battle of Wachau on 16th October he seized the position of Dolitz and saw further action two weeks later at Hanau on the 30th.
Curial received another honour when on 20th November 1813 he was decorated with the grande croix de l’Ordre de la Reunion. At the beginning of 1814 he went to Metz to join up with the remainder of the garde imperiale. On January 25th 1814 Curial was rejoined at Metz by the Emperor, who placed him under the orders of Marechal Nicolas-Charles Oudinot, duc de Reggio. Just six days later he was called to replace the 39 year old General Pierre Decouz who died in Paris from wounds received when he took two musket balls full in the chest at the battle for Brienne. Curial therefore became commandeur 2e division de la jeune garde under the overall command of Marechal Michel Ney, duc d’Elchingen.
Curial continued to be present at many actions with the remnants of the once invincible Grande Armée in their attempts to prevent the Allies taking Paris. It was during this period that the Emperor at times showed flashes of his old brilliance and displayed outstanding skills against vastly superior odds but could not sustain it. Curial was at La Rothiere on 1st February, Vauchamps on the 14th, Craonne on 7th March, and Laon on 9/10th. On 22nd March Curial was created Comte de l’Empire and saw further service at Fere-Champenoise on 25th March and again five days later at Villette. It was all to no avail however, and the Emperor found himself with no alternative but to abdicate and allow himself to be exiled to Elba.
On 4th June, the returning Bourbon monarch created Curial Pair de France and on 14th February 1815 was made colonel commandant les chasseurs a pied to the re-named chasseurs de France located at Nancy where he was placed under the orders of le Marechal Nicolas-Charles Oudinot again. On the same day he received the le Grand Croix de la Legion d’Honneur.
The Beginning of the End
Curial’s next appointment was a Gouveneur du palais de Rambouillet and then Commandant de la 19e division militaire replacing General Michel-Sylvestre Comte Brayer under the orders of Le Marechal Gabriel Suchet duc du Albufera who was Commandant en chef de l’Armee des
Alpes on 13th May. He did not retain his appointment as Pair de France during the hundred days.
On the 12th June, less than a week before the battle of Waterloo, Curial succeeded Generale Michel-Marie Pacthod as Commandant la 22eme division infanterie still under Suchet’s command in the same army.
With the eventual fall of Napoleon, Curial was placed on the in-active list and was re-created Pair de France. When le Marechal Michel Ney was put on trial and found guilty at the end of 1815 Curial was one of those who voted for Ney’s deportation rather than the death penalty but he was heavily outvoted and the former Prince de la Moscowa was executed by firing squad the very next morning.
The Final Years
Curial served the Bourbons quite easily and became Inspecteur Generale d’infanterie on 21st April 1820 and was then appointed Gentilhomme de la Chambre du Roi on 26th November the same year.
He returned to active service for a brief period in 1823 when he was made Commandant de la 5e division d’infanterie du 4e Corps de l’Armee des Pyrenees under the command of the ageing 69 year old veteran le Marechal Bon Adrien Jannot Moncey, duc de Conegliano, and fought at Medina del Rey on 9th July that year. Further honours came his way when he became Commandeur de Saint Louis, and was then given le grand croix de l’Ordre de Saint Ferdinand d’Espagne.
The following April he was again rewarded this time with le Grand Cordon de l’ordre Russe de Saint Alexandre Newski.
In June 1827 he was appointed Premier Chambellan et maitre de la garde robe du Roi and finally chevalier commandeur des orders du Roi.
Curial was attending the coronation of Charles X in 1829 when during the procession which preceded the ceremony, the horses pulling his coach
were frightened by guns firing a salute. Apart from Curial there were three other dignitaries in the coach namely le Marechal le duc de Damas, le Marechal le duc d’Aumont and le Marechal le duc de Cosse Brissac. There were three serious casualties including Curial who had sustained injuries from which he never recovered. He died on the 30th May 1829 at the age of 55
Summary
Philibert Curial was not a dashing commander in the manner of a Lannes, a Vandamme, or a LaSalle. Neither was he a Bonapartiste like
Lefebvre-Desnouettes, Bertrand, Rapp, or the Lallemand brothers. He was a very steady, knowledgeable and dependable commander who cared for the welfare of the men under his command and appeared to enjoy their trust and loyalty.
He made the transition to the Bourbon rule without much fuss or trouble because he was not a professional soldier for what he could
get out of it, although he was well rewarded, but for the love of his country. That he was so decorated by both Napoleon and Louis XVIII as well
as receiving foreign awards serves to illustrate the high esteem in which so many held him. However, he did have his detractors too, one of whom thought him no better than a mediocre officer. He was also a good family man and doted on his children. A man of integrity he was opposed to looting. As far as is known no hint of scandal financial or otherwise was ever suggested of him.
The picture of him illustrated in Dave Commerford’s article in FE58 (and repeated here at the start of the article because I can’t find another! Ed.) is the most commonly published portrait of him, but I do not think it is very flattering. There is in existence another, very much better three quarter length portrait in colour showing him as a General around his mid forties. I do not know who the artist is or where the
portrait is located. It may even be in private hands, but I have seen a photograph of it.
Les Etoiles de Napoleon by Alain Pigeard
I am indebted to M. Maurice Messiez principal du college de St Pierre d’Albigny who very kindly sent me a copy of his book and also to Miss Jean Lucas for her invaluable help with translations
Related
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General Philibert-Jean-Baptiste-Francois Curial was born in the small village of Saint Pierre d’Albigny in the Department of Savoy in the east of France. The Department was not a very productive one for Revolutionary and Napoleonic commanders there being just six Savoyard Generals out of a total of more than 2,200. The others were Francois Doppet (1753-1799), the Forestier brothers Gaspard and Francois,
Pierre Guillet (1765-1836) and Jean Monfalcon (1767-1845).
General de Division 1812. Vernet. Editor’s Collection