Barthélemy Catherine Joubert

Barthélemy Catherine Joubert (April 14, 1769—August 15, 1799) was a French general.

Early life and career

The son of an advocate, Joubert was born at Pont-de-Vaux (Ain), and ran away from school in 1784 to enlist in the artillery. He was brought back and sent to study law at Lyon and Dijon. In 1791, during the French Revolutionary Wars, he joined the French Revolutionary Army regiment of the Ain, and was elected by his comrades successively corporal and sergeant. In January 1792 he became "Sous-lieutenant", and in November lieutenant, having in the meantime experienced his first .

In 1793, Joubert distinguished himself by the defence of a redoubt at the Col de Tende, with only thirty men against a battalion of the enemy. Wounded and made prisoner in the battle, he was released on parole by the Austrian commander-in-chief, Devins, soon afterwards. In 1794 he was again actively engaged, and in 1795 promoted to brigadier general.

1796-1798

In the , Joubert commanded a brigade under Pierre François Augereau, and soon attracted the special attention of Napoleon Bonaparte, who caused him to be made a "général de division" in December 1796, and repeatedly selected him for the command of important detachments. Thus, he was in charge of the retaining force at the battle of Rivoli, and in the (invasion of Austria) he commanded the detached left wing of Bonaparte's army in the Tirol, and fought his way through the mountains to rejoin his chief in Styria.

1799

He subsequently held various commands in the Low Countries, on the Rhine and in the Italian Peninsula, where up to January 1799 he served as commander in chief. Resigning the post in consequence of a dispute with the civil authorities, Joubert returned to France and married (June 1799) Mlle de Montholon (daughter of Charles Louis Huguet de Sémonville, and future wife of Étienne-Jacques-Joseph Macdonald). He was almost immediately summoned to the field again, and took over the command in Italy from Jean Victor Marie Moreau about the middle of July 1799 (but he persuaded his predecessor to remain at the front, and was largely guided by his advice - as France risked suffering major defeats).

Joubert and Moreau were quickly compelled to give battle by their major adversary Aleksandr Suvorov, the Imperial Russian general. The battle of Novi was disastrous to the French arms, not only because it was a defeat, but also because Joubert himself was amongst the first to fall.

Joubert had been marked out as a future great captain by Napoleon himself. After the battle, his remains were brought to Toulon and buried in Fort La Malgue, and the French Directory paid tribute to his memory by a ceremony of public mourning (16 September 1799). A monument to Joubert at Bourg-en-Bresse was razed by order of Louis XVIII, but another memorial was afterwards erected at Pont de Vaux.

References

*1911 "In turn, it cites as references:"
**Chevrier, "Le Général Joubert d'après sa correspondance" (2nd ed. 1884).
**Guilbert, "Notice sur la vie de B. C. Joubert"