- Jacques Leroy de Saint Arnaud
Armand-Jacques Leroy de Saint-Arnaud (
August 20 ,1801 -September 29 ,1854 ) was a French soldier andMarshal of France during the 19th century. He served as French Minister of War until theCrimean War when he became Commander-in-chief of the army of the East.Biography
Born in Paris, he entered the army in 1817, but after ten years of garrison service, he still held only the lowest commissioned grade. He then resigned, led a life of adventure in several lands and returned to the army at the age of thirty as a sub-lieutenant. He took part in the suppression of the "Vendée émeute", and was for a time on the staff of General (Marshal) Bugeaud. However, his debts and the scandals of his private life compelled him to go to
Algeria as a captain in theFrench Foreign Legion . There he distinguished himself on numerous occasions, and after twelve years had risen to the rank of "maréchal de camp" (major general).In 1848 Saint Arnaud commanded a brigade during the revolution in Paris. On his return to
Africa , possibly becauseLouis Napoleon considered him a suitable military head of a potential "coup d'état ", an expedition took place into LittleKabylia , in which Saint Arnaud showed his prowess as a commander-in-chief and provided his superiors with the pretext for bringing him home as a general of division (July 1851).He succeeded Marshal Magnan as minister of war and superintended the military operations of the "coup d'état" of
December 2 ,1851 , which placed Louis Napoleon on the throne asNapoleon III . A year later he became aMarshal of France and a senator, remaining at the head of the war office till 1854, when he set out to command the French forces in theCrimean War , alongside his British colleague Lord Raglan. He died on board ship, shortly after commanding at the Battle of the Alma (20 September 1854 ). His body, returned to France, lies buried inLes Invalides .Legacy
The town of
St Arnaud, Victoria , Australia was named after Jaques and has a commemorative statue of him in the towns botanical gardens on Napier Street. Another town located in Algeria, was called Saint Arnaud under French rule, currently, its name isEl Eulma . TheSaint Arnaud Range and the nearby locality of Saint Arnaud inNew Zealand both derive their name from him.Further reading
*"Lettres du Maréchal de Saint Arnaud" (Paris, 1855; 2nd edition with
memoire by Sainte-Beuve, 1858).References
*1911
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