General Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes
Profile
by Terry J Senior, UK
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He was born in Paris on the 14th September 1773 and was the son of Jean-Claude Lefebvre and his wife Mlle A. Leduc. Jean-Claude was a cloth merchant
by profession who had a business in the Pont Neuf district of Paris and was a supplier to the French army. Being a Parisian by birth makes the tracing of the Generals genealogy that much more difficult. During Napoleonic times Paris consisted of just twelve arrondissements but following the redesigning of the city by Baron
Haussmann during the nineteenth century the number of arrondissements was increased to twenty and to make matters that much more difficult, several street names were changed.
It is thought that there was at least one other son, may be more, but this has not so far been confirmed. Charles received a good education at the College of Grassins, which had some connection with the Sorbonne. He was not a willing student however. Three times he absconded to join the army and three times his parents purchased his release. His first experience of military life was soon after his 16th birthday when he enlisted as a chasseur in the bataillon de l’Oratoire de la
Garde Nationale.
His persistence for a military life paid off however, when he was commissioned as a sous lieutenant in the 5eme regiment des dragons in February 1793. He then saw service successively with l’Armee du Nord, l’Armee du Sambre et Meuse, l’Armee du Rhin et Moselle and l’Armee d’Italie where he performed with distinction. It was at this last posting that Lefebvre first made the acquaintance of Generale en Chef Napoleon Bonaparte.
Lefebvre was disappointed that his unit was not selected for service with l’Armee d’Orient in Egypt, but was instead sent to Belgium in order to quell unrest in that
country. He returned to the service of Napoleon in 1800 and was present at the battle of Marengo on 14th June, when the hero of the hour Generale Louis-Antoine Desaix, having received a mortal wound, died in the arms of the young officer.
Lefebvre-Desnouettes received rapid promotion, and following an appointment as adjoint a l’etat major de la Garde Consulaire, by 30th December 1802 he was chef de brigade de la 18eme regiment des dragons.
During the years 1803/05 Lefebvre-Desnouettes served with le Marechal Jean de Dieu Soult in l’Armee des Cotes de l’Ocean and during this period so impressed Napoleon that he made him honorary ecuyer cavalcadour de l’Empereur.
1805
August 1805 saw him in 4eme division des dragons a la reserve de la cavalerie at that time commanded by the stern 45 year old, expert equestrian, Generale
Francois-Antoine-Louis Bourcier. Displaying great courage at Elchingen on 14th October 1805, and then again on the glorious field of Austerlitz, Lefebvre was made a Commandant de la Legion d’Honneur. He also took part in the campaigns of 1806 and 1807 in Austria, Prussia and Poland, and while in Prussia in September 1806, received further promotion to Generale de Brigade.
Lefebvre then took some well deserved leave and briefly returned to Paris where he married a cousin of Napoleon, niece and lady-in-waiting to Madame Mere,
the very pretty Stephanie Rolier. It is here that we enter an area of some uncertainty. To begin, it is suggested that Stephanie may have been married before and may even have had a son.
More than one source also claim that Lefebvre married a Mlle LaFitte, the daughter of a prominent Parisian banker. It is possible that Mme Lefebvre may well
have been Mlle LaFitte before becoming Mme Rolier.
The actual date of the marriage is also open to question as some suggest that the Emperor did not give Lefebvre and Stephanie, permission to marry until the
period immediately preceding Waterloo. This uncertainty is confirmed in the documents relating to Lefebvre in the “Collection Moskova” in le Musee de l’Armee in Paris where for the date of the marriage, they have a question mark. However, all the other evidence seems to point to July 1806, which is when Georges Six says that the Emperor gave the Lefebvre the house in the rue Chantereine.
At this time Lefebvre took command of a brigade of Bavarian cavalry and was premier aide de camps to Prince Jerome Bonaparte, the Emperor’s youngest brother who commanded the 9eme Corps de la Grande Armee.
He then saw service at Glogau, Kalisch and Breslau during the winter of 1806/7 and was present at the seizure of Brieg on 11th January 1807. Then he defeated the Prussian commander Friedrich Kleist von Nollendorf close to Frankenstein in April before recording further victories at Breslau and Glatz in May and June of the same year. All this success resulted in Lefebvre being decorated on 27th July as Commandeur du Lion du Baviere.
Then for a brief period he was transferred to the service of the Kingdom of Westphalia and was appointed Grand Ecuyer de la Couronne de Westphalie.
A few weeks later he returned to his native France where he was made major-colonel des Chasseurs a Cheval de la Garde. This was soon followed by the
award of an annual pension of 30,000 francs drawn on the kingdom of Westphalia. He was also elevated to the Imperial nobility being created Comte de l’Empire on the 19th March.
Lefebvre-Desnouettes stood around 5’ 10” tall, was of slim build, with a handsome well-defined face and a mass of dark wavy hair. He was at this time clean-shaven. He was utterly fearless and liked to be in the thick of the action. Time after time he was to display his loyalty to Napoleon and was a true Bonapartiste.
He became chef d’etat major to le Marechal Jean-Baptiste Bessieres who commanded the Corps d’Observation des Pyrenees Occidentales in March 1808 to
whom he was also appointed ADC.
Lefebvre was present at Tudela, Mallen, Alagon, Epila and the first siege of Sarragossa where he was wounded during an assault on 4th August. At the end of that
month he was recalled to France and promoted to Generale de Division. After a period in Paris as Commandant les detachements de la Garde Imperiale he
returned to Spain with the Chasseurs de la Garde Imperiale and was present at Tudela for a second time, with, for my money, the greatest of all Napoleonic commanders, the brilliant, reliable and utterly fearless Marechal Jean Lannes, duc de Montebello.
Just one week later, on 30th Novembre 1808, Lefebvre, while serving with Bessieres, was present at the incident at the Somo Sierra, which occurred during the
Emperor’s very brief excursion into the Peninsular. This was the episode which saw the advancing French armies halted at a narrow pass which was defended at the
summit by a strong Spanish force. The defenders were well deployed and had thirteen artillery pieces expertly placed to afford the Spanish maximum protection.
This ensured that any attack must first overcome a murderous converging barrage of firepower. The first French assault, on the Spanish stronghold, was made by the
squadrons of the lanciers polonais who were repelled with ease, suffering some 40 casualties, in dead and wounded. Having regrouped the lanciers prepared
to make a second assault this time lead by another favourite of mine the 38 year old, Florensac born Generale Louis-Pierre Montbrun. The task was a difficult one, the
Spanish guns had been well sited and the pass was in places no more than three or four metres wide and uphill. Montbrun was successful and his squadrons overthrew the Spanish who fled down the other side of the mountain taking with them their commander who they subsequently unmercifully beat to within an inch of his life. He was later rescued by the advancing French units, but died of his wounds a few hours later. The lanciers polonaise in recognition of their exploits and achievements that day were elevated to Imperial Guard status.
A few weeks later, after learning that the English army of General Sir John Moore was making a dash for the port of La Coruna, Napoleon ordered a pursuit, with
every intention of overhauling the English before they could make their destination. Coinciding with this, despatches were received from Paris which, alerted the
Emperor to increasing threatening behaviour on the part of Austria. Within a few days he had decided that the Austrian situation must be dealt with as soon as possible and promptly left Spain with a number of regiments, leaving the pursuit of Moore’s army and the general conduct of the war in Spain to others.
1808: Capture
In late December 1808, the career of Lefebvre-Desnouettes was to suffer a severe and somewhat embarrassing setback. On the morning of the 29th Lefebvre was leading a detachment of his Chasseurs-a-Cheval (Georges Blond in his book “La Grande Armée” page 201 says in was the 30th December and that Lefebvre’s command comprised his own regiment and a squadron of mamelukes and numbered 1500 men in total) (Anne S K Brown and Henry Lachouque in their book “The Anatomy of Glory” page 141 say that Lefebvre had “three squadrons of chasseurs and a small detachment of mamelukes and light horse numbering 550 troopers in all”) across the River Esla, at this point some 100 metres wide, opposite the town of Benevente. Having successfully crossed to the other side the French believed the town to be unoccupied, when they were suddenly first attacked by some 350 English light dragoons, which they successfully repulsed. They then found themselves assailed by the 7th and 10th Hussars, some 2,400 men (Blond page 219 says 5,000 men) under the command of General Sir Henry William Paget.
Lefebvre ordered a retreat intending to regain the opposite bank of the river from which they had just come, but a running battle took place. Lefebvre himself suffered three sabre wounds before reaching the river. The French lost some (Brown/Lachouque) 165 in killed wounded and captured. The fighting continued in the river, Lefebvre’s horse was killed and he lost his sabre in the river and was taken prisoner by a German dragoon named Bergman who is alleged to have given up his captive officer to a Private Grisdale of the 10th Hussars. (Why would anyone want to give up the prize of a captured enemy General?).
According to reports, Lefebvre’s sabretache and the scabbard of his sabre were subsequently displayed at the Royal United Services Museum in London. These items were much later loaned to the National Army Museum and have since been returned to the RUSM. I made enquiries at the NAM and was told that while they had displayed the sabretache and the scabbard, they had not seen the sabre. It is understood that Lefebvre-Desnouettes was taken before Sir John Moore who had the Generals wounds dressed and invited him to dine with him. When he noticed that the French officer had no sabre, he made him a gift of a high quality jewelled Indian sabre as a replacement.
Lefebvre was escorted to England, and as a high ranking officer, having given his parole, he was allowed to live at an impressive building in Cheltenham together
with two other captured Generals. One is believed to be General Pierre-Francois-Joseph Boyer who, during his period of detention, was a difficult man to deal with. There were several other Generals in captivity at this time including Francois-Nivard-Charles-Joseph d’Henin, Jean-Augustin Carrie de Boissy, Claude-Pierre Rouget, Louis Vasserot, Jean-Leonard Barrie and Edouard-Francois Simon to name but a few. Any one of these could have been Lefebvre’s other companion.
The building in which the General was held is there today and is “Boots” the chemist at number 135, High Street. Having given his parole, the General was required to remain within one mile of the centre of the town and was believed to be under a 9pm curfew. Towards the latter part of his captivity, Lefebvre’s wife was granted a passport by Napoleon and permitted to travel to England to be with her husband. She was said to have made the journey with her son (this is believed to be Lefebvre’s step son, but is not confirmed). The idea to permit the General’s wife to be with her husband was thought up by another captured General, the.talented artist Francois Lejeune who had been taken near Toledo in April 1811.
While being held at Ashby de la Zouch, he had made good his escape and had managed to get back to Paris after only having spent only four brief months as a prisoner. Some sources claim that Lejeune was exchanged, but the general belief is that he escaped. Lejeune’s suggestion was agreed to by Napoleon and Madame Lefebvre duly joined her husband. The couple were extremely popular within the social circles in Cheltenham at that time and were much sought after guests. In this situation, it would seem that the parole conditions concerning the curfew and the restriction within the one mile radius of the town were either generally overlooked or their breech was officially sanctioned by the Agent responsible for the prisoners. Numerous attempts to secure Lefebvre’s release through exchange were made, but all proved unsuccessful.
Escape
At the end of April, beginning of May 1812, Lefebvre did the unthinkable and absconded from Cheltenham with his wife and step son under disguise and using, to smooth the way for his escape, a ring given to him by the Emperor, as a bribe. The escape was made good and Lefebvre, in due course was received with rapture in the Imperial Court circles in Paris. The ring he used to make his get away is made of gold and had a little inner compartment in which is to be found a tiny embossed head of Napoleon. The ring, a real work of art, at present remains in Cheltenham museum and can be viewed by appointment.
The news of Lefebvre’s escape was viewed as an outrage by the citizens of Cheltenham. In a book entitled “At Cheltenham Spa” by Edith Humphris and
Captain E C Willoughby (page 149) it is stated that Lefebvre did not arrive in Cheltenham until 1811, and that his wife was the daughter of a Parisien banker. The
book goes on to say that The Cheltenham Chronicle stated that they were sure that Bonaparte, as he was still referred to by the English, would almost certainly return
Lefebvre to his captors or at least refuse to use his services again. Later, in January 1813 the same paper claimed that Lefebvre had been taken by the Russians at Vilna, and suggested that the English Government were making application to Saint Petersburg for the return of the Frenchman. The book also claims on page 153 that
Lefebvre was severely wounded in the conflict at Brienne in January 1814 and failed to recover from his wounds.
However, the book was wrong on at least two counts. Firstly, the General was never captured at Vilna so whoever the English government were negotiating over at Saint Petersburg is a mystery. Secondly, although it is agreed that Lefebvre was indeed wounded by two bayonet thrusts at Brienne, these were not fatal and he was to live a further eight years.
The book was not the only source to suggest that Lefebvre’s wife was the daughter of a notable French banker. An American source suggested that she was the
daughter of M LaFitte who was indeed a very prominent banker in Paris during those times.
Whilst in captivity, Lefebvre’s command was given to another highly competent cavalry officer, namely Generale de Division Claude-Etienne Guyot. The
Emperor welcomed Lefebvre back with open arms and immediately restored him to command of the Chasseurs a Cheval de la Garde Imperiale. Like Generale d’Henin who had also made his way back to France but through the routine of being exchanged, Lefebvre had returned just in time to take part in the disastrous Russian campaign and with hindsight perhaps d’Henin and Lefebvre may well have preferred to have remained prisoners for a little longer and avoided the catastrophe that was to unfold. Having served with distinction in most of the major events of that disastrous expedition, Lefebvre was wounded at Inkovo on the 18th October. He survived the difficult and dangerous crossing of the Berezina and having reached Smorgoni, was one of the few very elite officers who were chosen to accompany the Emperor to proceed to Paris with all possible speed, ahead of the remnants of le Grande Armée.
1813
Lefebvre served in Saxony in 1813 and was soon decorated with le Croix de l’Ordre de la Reunion. He was also present at Bautzen on the 22nd May where he was under the overall command of le Marechal Adolphe-Edouard-Casimir-Joseph Mortier, le duc de Trevise. Lefebvre then seized Rimbourg on the 19th August and one month later defeated the Prussian General Johann Adolf Friherr von Thielman the Dresden born officer who had previously served Napoleon and was later to command the Prussian III Corps at the battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Lefebvre’s victory over Thielman was recorded at Mersebourg. Lefebvre was then himself defeated at Altenbourg and subsequently served at Hanau on the 30th October.
Soon after this he was appointed Commandeur de la Cavalerie de la Jeune Garde and later joined l’Armee de Champagne where he served with the
haughty and very correct Generale de Division Etienne-Antoine-Marie Champion de Nansouty. He served at Brienne, where as previously stated, he suffered two bayonet wounds to his left side following which he was still fit enough to fight at La Rothiere, Montmirail, Chateau Thierry, Vauchamps and Arcis sur Aube.
After the defeat of the French and following the Emperors first abdication in April 1814, Lefebvre was placed in command of the escort to the deposed Emperor as far as Roanne. That decision would appear surprising given the knowledge of Lefebvre’s utter devotion to Napoleon.
On the restoration of the Bourbons to the throne of France, Louis XVIII made Lefebvre, as he did so many of Napoleons former commanders, Chevalier de Saint
Louis and permitted him to retain command of the Chasseurs a Cheval which were renamed Corps Royale des Chasseurs a Cheval de France and returned to Cambrai where his regiments were garrisoned.
On receiving the news of Napoleon's return from exile on Elba, Lefebvre-Desnouettes was one of a small group of officers (which included the two Metz born Generals Francois-Antoine Lallemand and his younger brother Henry-Dominique along with General Antoine Baron Rigau) who led troops loyal to the Emperor and attempted to capture the garrison and arsenal of La Fere. They were foiled by soldiers remaining faithful to Louis XVIII lead by the one armed Generale de
Division Augustin-Marie d’Aboville. The General was the elder brother of Generale Augustin-Gabriel d’Aboville who was also an accomplished artillery commander as was their father before them. Augustin-Marie had lost his arm at the battle of Wagram in July 1809.
After Napoleon had been restored to power, Lefebvre-Desnouettes took his rightful place at his side as commander de la Chasseurs a Cheval de la Garde
Imperiale and saw service at Fleurus, Quatre Bras and Mont Saint Jean, which we know better as Waterloo. Lefebvre had a total of 13 squadrons in his command comprising Chasseurs a Cheval and Chevauxlegers lanciers, a total of just over 2,000 men under Generale Francois-Antoine Lallemand and Generale Edouard de Colbert Chabanais respectively.
To America
After the defeat at Waterloo, where he was once again wounded, Lefebvre-Desnouettes feared for his life and as did both the Lallemand brothers and Generale Rigau, he made plans to leave the country, his destination being America. His fears were proved right when he was on the list of officers condemned to death in his absence, by the military tribunal and Proscribed by Article 1 of the Ordonnance of the 24th July 1815.
Rigau was not at Waterloo. Like Lefebvre, he was a fugitive after the failed attempt to take La Fere but went to Epernay and took with him the 12eme regiment de ligne and 5eme regiment des hussards in spite of the efforts of le Marechal Victor. He took possession of the department de la Marne in the name of the Emperor and.issued orders for the arrest of le Marechal Victor who fled to Ghent to be with the King. Rigau defended Chalons sur Marne from the advancing Russians with just 150 men. He was captured on 2nd July 1815, stripped of his awards and decorations and also proscribed by the Ordonnance of 24th July.
Tried by a second Council of War in May 1816 he too was sentenced to death but he escaped and travelled to Ghent from where he began his journey to America.
Francois-Antoine Lallemand arrived in America having travelled by way of Plymouth, Malta, Smyrna (Izmir) and Egypt. Both he and Rigau arrived during 1817. Lefebvre-Desnouettes and the other Lallemand went sooner, almost immediately after Waterloo and therefore arrived much earlier.
Lefebvre remained in America living as a merchant in Alabama trading in molasses, corn, whisky, rum and other commodities. He set up a business in a place he called Demopolis on the banks of the Tombigbee River, a second settlement was established at Aigleville. Another Napoleonic commander who also emigrated
to America after Waterloo was Generale Bertrand Clausel who established himself near to Mobile and over the ensuing six years or so communicated with Lefebvre on quite a regular basis.
Some of Lefebvres fellow compatriots who set themselves up as farmers did not have a great deal of success. The Generals wife did attempt to join him but only got as far as England having been violently seasick on that relatively short passage. She returned to France and continued to campaign for a pardon for her husband. Eventually, having received assistance from a most unlikely source in the form of M Hyde de Neuville, a staunch Bourbon supporter who was in Washington at that time, she achieved some progress. Lefebvre was instructed to go to New York and take passage to Amsterdam and there to await permission to re-enter France.
Death
On 1st April 1822, Lefebvre boarded a vessel of the Black Ball Line called “Albion”. The ship, which was only about two years old, was approaching the southern coast of Ireland when it ran into very bad weather and on the night of the 22nd April foundered on the rocks off Garretstown. Of the 54 passengers and crew on board, only nine survived. The General was among those who perished. Some sources say that his body was never recovered, while others claim that he is buried in an unmarked grave in Templetrine churchyard. Lefebvre was said to be travelling in the company of three other unidentified Frenchmen and was wearing a beard and whiskers in an attempt to conceal his identity.
The General's wife Stephanie had a monument erected to her husband’s memory at Ste Adresse near Le Havre. It is known as “le Pain du Sucre” and exists today. It’s purpose was to act as some sort of beacon to aid navigation by those at sea. It is thought that the General had just one child, a girl, Charlotte-Lavinie who was
born in 1816 and must have been conceived just prior to the battle of Waterloo. This is a little strange, during a period when large families were fashionable, that having been married some seven years, Charlotte was their only child. It is also ironic that the General did not live to see her. In 1836, the Charlotte married one M de Sancy-Parabere.
Lefebvre-Desnouettes name is inscribed on the west face of l’Arc de Triomphe Etoile and the Musee de l’Armee in Paris has a portrait of him by Weygandt painted in 1807 and shows him wearing the decorations of Bavaria and Westphalia. There is a further portrait of the General believed to be in private hands in New Orleans. The Emperor held Lefebvre in very high esteem and in his Will, left the General a bequest of 100,000ff and another of 50,000ff In Napoleon’s Will and Testament published by Paddington Press (UK) Limited in 1977. Lallemand (senior) was left 100,000ff (that would be Francois-Antoine).
In a Codicil dated 24th April 1821 at Longwood, the Emperor leaves “100,000ff to General Rigaud - the one who was exiled” (page 70/71). The publishers call him Rigoud but the text clearly reads Rigaud.
Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes was an excellent commander who served Napoleon well, and was devoted to his Emperor. He also enjoyed the confidence and trust of those who served under him. He was not garish or flashy in the mould of a Murat or Bruyeres, neither was he reckless by nature, like, for example, Fournier Sarlovese or Junot. The only real misjudgement of any significance in his career came at Benevente in December 1808 when he fell prisoner to the English. He should have established for certain, the strength of the enemy presence in the town before leading his commandacross the river.
There are still one or two areas of mystery about the General (a) is whether he had any brothers or sisters (b) is whether his wife Stephanie was married before and really was the daughter of the banker LaFitte (c) whether the boy referred to on pages 2 and 6 was indeed Stephanie’s child by a first marriage or whether he was
Lefebvre’s own son. The exact date of the marriage is still uncertain although July 1806 appears to be the favourite.
“Dictionnaire Biographique des Generaux et Amiraux de la Revolution et de l’Empire” by Georges Six
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General Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes was a talented and brave light cavalry commander who loyally served the Emperor Napoleon on battlefields across the continent of Europe for over twenty years.