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Guilin Laurent Bizanet

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Guilin Laurent Bizanet
Born(1755-08-10)August 10, 1755
Grenoble
DiedApril 18, 1836(1836-04-18) (aged 80)
AllegianceFrance France
RankDivisional general
AwardsLegion of Honour

Guilin Laurent Bizanet (French pronunciation: [ɡilɛ̃ lɔʁɑ̃ bizanɛ]; 10 August 1755 – 18 April 1836) was a Republican French Revolutionary General who served during the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.

Life

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Born in Grenoble, capital of the French department of Isère, Bizanet began his career as a sailor-gunner on 4 November 1780 and was aboard the Majestueux during the American Revolutionary War from 11 June 1781 to 24 January 1783.[1] After volunteering for the army, he became a brigadier-general on 22 August 1793 and a divisional general on 10 April 1794. He was a defender at Monaco in 1793 and at the end of the French Consulate in 1804 became the commander of the armies in Marseille.[2]

He was named commandant at the fortress of Bergen op Zoom in 1810 and successfully repelled a night attack on 8 March 1814 led by General Sir Thomas Graham.[1][3] After the attack, Graham wrote in a despatch to London:

"Sir ... I am anxious too to do justice to the conduct of General Bizanet, which, truly characteristic of a brave mun, has been marked from the first with the most kind and humane attentions to the prisoners."[4]

Bizanet was commander of Marseille during the Hundred Days under Marshal Guillaume Brune.

Awards

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He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour on 12 December 1803 then an Officer of the same order on 14 June 1804. On 19 July 1814 he was made a Knight of the Order of Saint Louis by Louis XVIII of France.[2] His name is engraved on the 40th Column of the Arc de Triomph

References

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  1. ^ a b Tulard, Jean (ed.). Dictionnaire Napoléon. Vol. A–H. Fayard. p. 229. ISBN 2-213-60485-1. (in French)
  2. ^ a b "LEONORE". Archives nationales (France). (in French)
  3. ^ Smith, Digby George (1998). The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book. Greenhill Books. p. 508. ISBN 978-1-85367-276-7.
  4. ^ The Military Panorama, Or, Officer's Companion. 1814. p. 382.