Pierre Thouvenot facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pierre Thouvenot
General Baron Thouvenot by Antoine-Claude Fleury
Born	9 March 1757 Toul, France
Died	21 July 1817(1817-07-21) (aged 60) Orly, France
Allegiance	Kingdom of France  Kingdom of the French  French First Republic  First French Empire
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1779–1793
Rank	General
Awards	Baron de l'Empire Officier de la Légion d'honneur Chevalier de Saint-Louis

Pierre Thouvenot (born March 9, 1757 – died July 21, 1817) was a French Army officer. He served bravely in the American Revolutionary War. During the French Revolution, he had to leave France. But he returned later and served in the Napoleonic Wars.

Thouvenot is best known for defending the city of Bayonne in 1814. He also led a surprise attack, called a sortie, when the war was almost over. This attack was criticized by many, especially by the Duke of Wellington, who called him a "bad guy."

Early Life and Military Start

Thouvenot was born on March 9, 1757, in Toul, France. He didn't join the military until 1779. Before that, he spent five years working as a geographical engineer, someone who mapped land.

In December 1779, he joined a military school for artillery in La Fère. He became a Second-lieutenant in 1780. He then went to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. He showed great bravery in a battle at St. Lucia in May 1781. He also took part in the invasion of Tobago.

Thouvenot was promoted to Lieutenant in 1783. He continued to serve in the Caribbean after the Treaty of Paris. In 1788, he became a Captain. In 1791, he was made a Chevalier de Saint-Louis (Knight of Saint Louis). He was then put in charge of a factory that made metal weapons near Nantes. By late 1792, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel. He was then transferred to a similar factory in Malines.

Time in Exile

In December 1792, Thouvenot left his work with naval weapons. He returned to serving with the army in the field. He became the commander of the Belgian artillery. In February 1793, he became chief of staff to General Charles François Dumouriez.

About two months later, the new government in France wanted to arrest him. So, Thouvenot had to flee Belgium. Austrian soldiers captured him, and he was held in prison. After his release in 1794, Thouvenot found safety in a neutral area called the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He stayed there until Napoleon allowed him to return to France in 1800.

Back to Service

Thouvenot returned to France and the military. He was promoted to colonel. He was sent to Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) to fight against a slave uprising. He served as chief of staff to several generals there.

He was recognized for his actions, including freeing Port-de-Paix from the rebels. On October 15, 1802, Thouvenot was promoted to general of brigade. He was given command of the artillery for the Army of Santo Domingo. On April 10, 1803, he became the army's chief of staff. However, he and another general, Bertrand Clausel, planned to have their commanding officer removed. When their commander found out, he accused them of stealing supplies and had them sent away. Thouvenot returned to France a few months later.

Napoleon accepted Thouvenot's side of the story. In 1805, Thouvenot was sent to the Rhineland. He joined the II Corps of the Grande Armée (Napoleon's main army). He took part in battles in Prussia and Pomerania. Thouvenot served as governor of several cities, including Würzburg, Erfurt, Stettin, and Stralsund. In 1807, he was wounded during the siege of Kolberg.

Military Governor in Spain

Thouvenot was known for being a good administrator. Because of this, Napoleon put him in charge of an important area in Spain called Guipúzcoa. This region was key because most of the French troops entered Spain through it. On March 5, 1808, Thouvenot took control of San Sebastián without any fighting.

In his new role, Thouvenot was very active and honest. He kept strict discipline and punished those who resisted. But he was not cruel. He understood the situation well, but he always followed orders. When Joseph Bonaparte arrived in San Sebastián in June 1808, Thouvenot reported that the people were not welcoming and were hostile.

Local priests in Gipuzkoa stopped holding church services. To solve this without force, Thouvenot increased their pay. He also often pardoned prisoners or reduced their sentences when asked by local leaders.

On July 18, 1809, Thouvenot started the first Masonic lodge in Spain. All its members were French soldiers. They hoped important local people would join, but in this very Catholic region, only one person joined.

During these years, Thouvenot mostly focused on managing the area. He had very few soldiers. In July 1809, when British forces and Spanish rebels attacked the coast, Thouvenot could not fight back. He reported that he had fewer than 300 men and could not send any forces against the enemy.

Governor of the Basque Country

In February 1810, Napoleon created four military governments in Spain. Thouvenot was made governor of the 4th Military Government, which covered the three Basque Provinces. He set up councils in each province to help him, made up of local leaders and businessmen. Above these, there was a main council that reported to Thouvenot. Members had to be wealthy and speak French, as Thouvenot did not speak Spanish.

Thouvenot tried to gain the support of the people through good management. He knew a lot about the local situation. He issued pardons and let local authorities handle many matters. He also organized many parties in San Sebastian. On April 17, he ordered the creation of public libraries using books from closed religious buildings. He appointed architects to work on public projects like bridges and roads. He also took steps to prevent diseases.

Thouvenot created an official newspaper, La Gaceta de Vizcaya, which came out three times a week. It had news, official messages, and propaganda. Thouvenot stayed in his position until the end of the war, which helped his work. Other governors were often replaced. For example, the Navarra region had six different governors during the six years of French occupation. Thouvenot had a high salary and lived well, but he did not steal from the occupied territory. This made him better than many other French military leaders in Spain.

Thouvenot's government was very strict and controlled everything. He appointed and removed mayors. Many people tried to avoid being appointed mayor because it was no longer a desired position. The military governments were created to collect taxes to pay for the French army. In 18 months, Thouvenot collected a huge amount of money. This made many people poor, and they joined the rebel groups.

To fight the rebels, Thouvenot tried to create local groups called Civic Guards. These were made up of mayors and wealthy people from each town. Some of these groups caused problems for the rebels in 1810 and 1811. But by the end of 1811, most had left or been disarmed by the rebels.

Baron of the Empire

In January 1811, Thouvenot's government moved its main office from San Sebastian to Vitoria. This was a more central location. In 1811, he was rewarded for his service. He was made a Baron de l'Empire (Baron of the Empire) and an Officier de la Légion d'honneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour).

In 1812, the harvests were very bad, and it was called "The Year of Hunger." In August, there was a severe food shortage in Bilbao. Thouvenot organized the distribution of "economic soup" to help people. Few other French commanders would have thought to do something like this for ordinary people. Towns stopped paying taxes. In Bilbao, Thouvenot had local officials arrested and taken to Vitoria as hostages. This was to force the town to pay taxes.

From 1812 to 1813, the Basque rebels grew stronger. They could even defeat French forces in open battles. The French lost control of the countryside and were forced out of Bilbao. This was a serious threat to Napoleon's supply routes, as most troops and supplies from France crossed the Basque Provinces. Thouvenot had to focus on protecting these supply convoys. He showed great skill and cleverness in this difficult situation. Even as the Battle of Vitoria was about to begin on June 21, 1813, he still found time to deal with complaints from a priest and order soldiers to stop looting a town.

Battle of Bayonne

The surprise attack from the city of Bayonne on April 14, 1814. This happened even though news of Napoleon's surrender had reached both sides.

After the Battle of Vitoria, General Thouvenot joined Marshal Soult's army in the Pyrenees. He held various commands before being promoted to General of division on November 25, 1813. In February 1814, Thouvenot was made governor of the city of Bayonne.

On February 27, 1814, Wellington's army began to surround the city of Bayonne. During a fight for a suburb, Thouvenot was wounded in the thigh by a bullet. The British and their allies were slow to prepare their attack. So, the city had not surrendered by April 13, 1814. On that day, news of Napoleon's surrender reached the British lines.

Even though Thouvenot had heard this news unofficially on April 12, he ordered a surprise attack. This attack, on the morning of April 14, was the last major action of the Peninsular War. Thouvenot attacked the British with 6,000 men. The French attack failed, but both sides suffered heavy losses. The Allies lost 838 men, including Major General Andrew Hay who was killed. Sir John Hope was wounded and captured. French losses were 905 men, including 111 killed and 778 wounded.

The siege of Bayonne continued until April 27. Finally, written orders from Marshal Soult forced Thouvenot to hand the fortress over to the British.

Thouvenot's actions were criticized by both sides as a needless waste of lives. The Duke of Wellington was especially harsh, calling Thouvenot a "bad guy." However, in Bayonne, a monument was built, and an annual celebration of Thouvenot's "brave" defense still takes place. Sir Charles Colville did not criticize Thouvenot. He thought Thouvenot was "a well-meaning and gentlemanly person." He suggested that Thouvenot might have been forced into the attack by his officers.

Thouvenot was sent back to Bayonne when Napoleon returned from exile. But after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo and the return of the monarchy, Thouvenot was no longer given active military roles. He died in Orly on July 21, 1817. Pierre Thouvenot is one of the 660 names carved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.