Gustave Paul Cluseret facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gustave Paul Cluseret
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
General Gustave Paul Cluseret, during the American Civil War
|
|
| Born | June 13, 1823 Suresnes, France |
| Died | August 22, 1900 (aged 77) Toulon, France |
| Place of burial |
Suresnes Old Cemetery, Suresnes, France
|
| Allegiance | Second French Republic Second French Empire United States of America Union |
| Service/ |
French Army United States Army / Union Army Communards |
| Years of service | 1843 - 1860 (France) 1861 - 1863 (USA) |
| Rank | Captain (France) Brigadier General (USA) |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War Paris Commune |
Gustave Paul Cluseret (born June 13, 1823 – died August 22, 1900) was a French soldier and politician. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He also held an important role as the "Delegate for War" during the Paris Commune, a revolutionary government in France.
Contents
Gustave Paul Cluseret: A Life of Action
Early Life and French Army Service
Gustave Paul Cluseret was born in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, France, on June 13, 1823. In 1841, he joined the Saint-Cyr military academy. He became an officer in the French Army in 1843.
After the February Revolution of 1848, he became a captain. He took part in stopping the June Days Uprising. This event later caused some people who supported socialist ideas to dislike him. He had to leave his command in 1849. He then went to London after Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte's government change in 1851.
Cluseret rejoined the army in 1853. He went on several trips to Algeria. He also fought in the Crimean War. He was hurt during the siege of Sebastopol. During this time, he got the nickname "Captain Tin Can." This was because he saved canned food for himself, even when his soldiers had less. He left the French army in July 1858.
Helping Italian Unification
After spending some time in Algeria and New York City, Cluseret went to Naples in 1860. He helped start a French group called the De Flotte Legion. This group helped fight for Italian unification, which was the process of bringing different Italian states together into one country. Cluseret was soon given command of this group. However, the legion later joined the Piedmontese army, and Cluseret lost his high rank.
Fighting in the American Civil War
In 1861, Cluseret returned to America. He wanted to help the cause of freedom. He served under generals Fremont and McClellan. He worked hard to become a brigadier general. He achieved this rank but resigned from the army in March 1863.
After leaving the army, he helped start a newspaper in New York City called New Nation. He co-founded it with Fremont. The newspaper supported strong Republican ideas. It criticized President Lincoln's slow approach to ending slavery. Cluseret and Fremont later had a disagreement that led to a lawsuit. Cluseret had to pay a fine, but he continued to own the newspaper for another year.
The Fenian Brotherhood and Reform League
In 1866, the governor of New York, Reuben Fenton, asked Cluseret to help organize the Fenian Brotherhood. This group aimed to challenge British influence. Cluseret took part in the Fenian movement in 1866–67. He managed to avoid being arrested when the movement faced difficulties.
He then went to London in 1867. There, he met members of the Reform League, a group working for political change. Cluseret suggested they work together. John Bedford Leno, a member of the Reform League, disagreed with Cluseret's ideas. He felt they were too risky and would not succeed. Other members of the Reform League also did not agree with Cluseret's plans. Cluseret's ideas were not accepted, and he left England for Paris.
Role in the Paris Commune
In France, Cluseret soon faced trouble with the authorities. He was put in Sainte-Pélagie Prison for two months. This was because of an article he wrote that was against military actions. While in prison, he met members of the International Workingmen's Association, a group focused on workers' rights. He later claimed to have joined this group earlier. He briefly went back to America to avoid more prison time. He returned to France when the Third Republic was declared in 1870.
At first, the French army did not want to give him a position. So, he began to organize social change in Lyon and then in Marseilles. When the Paris Commune uprising began on March 18, 1871, he quickly went to Paris. The Commune's Executive Commission appointed him as the "Delegate of War." He worked to reorganize the National Guard, a citizen militia. However, his efforts to create a more centralized military caused friction with other groups.
On April 16, he was elected a member of the Commune. He was then re-elected as its Delegate of War. He had disagreements with other leaders of the Commune. This led to his arrest on May 1, based on a false accusation. On May 21, he was found innocent by a special court. During the time Paris was occupied by government troops, he hid at a priest's house. In November, he left the city disguised as a priest. He went to Belgium and then to Switzerland, where he stayed until 1877. Cluseret later wrote his memories of the Commune, which were published in Paris in 1887–88.
Life After the Commune
After the Paris Commune ended, many of its supporters, called Communards, went to Geneva. This allowed Cluseret to stay involved in politics. His time in Geneva was mostly quiet. With new adventures in mind, he left for the Ottoman Empire in September 1877. He hoped to find volunteers to start a new government in Turkey. After traveling through the Balkans, Cluseret reached Constantinople. Not much is known about his involvement in the Russo-Turkish War at that time.
He briefly returned to France in 1880. This was after an amnesty (a pardon) was offered to Communards. But he had to leave again. This time it was for writing an article that criticized General Ernest Courtot de Cissey. He returned to Constantinople and stayed there until 1886. He earned a living as an artist and made porcelain. He also provided the US government with a report on Turkish cotton.
After returning to France, he settled in Hyères, a town near Toulon. From 1888 to 1898, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies (a part of the French government) as a socialist by the people of Toulon. However, he gradually moved away from socialist ideas. He left the International Workingmen's Association in 1893. He then sided with those who were against Alfred Dreyfus during the Dreyfus Affair. From this point on, he focused more on nationalist ideas than socialist ones.
Cluseret died on August 22, 1900.
