Alexis-Michel Eenens
Encyclopedia
Alexis Michel Eenens was a Belgian lieutenant-general, military historian, and politician.
, and the French Republican Calendar
was still in force, and his birthday is therefore properly 10 messidor An XIII. He married Adélaïde Barbe Joseph Gilain in Tienen on 8 August 1869. They had one daughter, Thérèse Marie Euphrasie Josèphe, who married a future procureur-général at the Belgian Supreme Court, Georges-Marie Viscount Terlinden
http://gw0.geneanet.org/index.php3?b=antterli&lang=fr;iz=2;p=alexis+michel;n=eenens. and http://gw2.geneanet.org/index.php3?b=lard&lang=fr;pz=felix;nz=terlinden;ocz=0;p=alexis+michel;n=eenens
in Delft
on 15 July 1825 as a cadet. On 20 November 1828 he was promoted to sergeant-major and allowed to study at the Royal Military Academy
in Breda
. He was promoted to second lieutenant in the artillery and assigned to the 5th battalion Militia Artillery at Namur
on 5 January 1830, on the eve of the Belgian Revolution
.
Eenens joined the revolutionaries by taking part in a mutiny of the Namur garrison in September 1830. As a reward he was breveted lieutenant by the Belgian Provisional Government and soon after promoted to captain. Stationed in Antwerp, he refused to defect to the Dutch with General Van der Smissen on 25 March 1831. He then joined the Belgian troops at Leuven
and helped to defend that city in August.
In 1834 he killed another Belgian captain in a duel on the battlefield of Waterloo. He was acquitted by the court martial, because Belgium at that time did not have a law against duelling. That same year he tried to resign his commission, but was not allowed to, because he had promised to serve ten years after his admission to the Royal military academy.
In 1839, at the suggestion of King Leopold I of Belgium
, he took a leave of absence to act as an observer in Egypt. He explored commercial possibilities for Belgium and visited Ethiopia
(then known as "Abyssinia") together with the Belgian consul in Alexandria
to try to establish a Belgian colonial outpost on the west coast of the Red Sea
. However, illness forced him to return to Belgium in December 1840.
He was promoted to major in 1842 and to lieutenant-colonel in 1845. Then in 1846 he tried to go into politics as a Liberal Party
representative. As this was an oppositional party, the king put him on non-active status. He was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives on 8 June 1847, but a new law prohibiting military officers to sit in parliament forced him to give up his seat in May 1848. He then reentered active duty.
Eenens was promoted to colonel on 24 June 1853, and put in charge of an artillery regiment in Tournai
. On 8 May 1859 he was promoted to major-general and given the command of the First Artillery Brigade. He also became a member of the Munitions Committee and other advisory commissions. On 24 June 1866 he was promoted to lieutenant-general and Inspector-general of the Belgian Artillery. On 15 July 1870 he was put in charge of the army at Antwerp where he became military governor (and at the same time aide de camp of King Leopold II of Belgium
) on 6 October 1870.
In view of the dangerous international situation (the Franco-Prussian War
had just started), Eenens now pleaded for strengthening the Belgian defenses, but the Cabinet of prime minister Jules Malou
opposed this, supported by the Catholic party of Charles Woeste
. Disgusted, Eenens retired from active service on 18 May 1873. He remained aide de camp of the king, who conferred the Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold on him.
He also became a prolific writer on military history, specializing in the history of the Belgian Revolution. In 1875 he published Documents historiques sur l'origine du royaume de Belgique. Les conspirations militaires de 1831 (Bruxelles, 1875, 2 vols.), which caused quite a furore, because he accused a number of prominent people of treasonous behavior during the revolution, in favor of the Orangist cause. This caused a fervent polemic, both with Belgian politicians and historians, and with Dutch military historians, because he also accused the future king William II of the Netherlands
(then commander-in-chief of the Dutch forces that attempted to suppress the revolution of 1830) of violating an armistice. Because of the scandal this polemic caused, the king asked him to relent, and when he demurred, relieved him of his function as aide de camp.
Eenens also became involved in the controversy about the accusations of cowardice the British military historian William Siborne
had leveled at the Dutch-Belgian troops at the Battle of Waterloo
in his 1844 book History of the War in France and Belgium in 1815. The Belgian general Renard had in 1855 already attempted a refutation as had the Dutch general Willem Jan Knoop
in 1846. Eenens published his own "Dissertation sur la participation des troupes des Pays-Bas à la campagne de 1815 en Belgique" in 1879. This critical assessment of Siborne's work is still relevant.
Eenens died in Schaarbeek
on 9 January 1883.
Family life
Eenens was the son of a wealthy merchant in textiles, Louis Eenens, and Anne-Marie Carlier. He was born in Brussels when Belgium was annexed to the French EmpireFirst French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, and the French Republican Calendar
French Republican Calendar
The French Republican Calendar or French Revolutionary Calendar was a calendar created and implemented during the French Revolution, and used by the French government for about 12 years from late 1793 to 1805, and for 18 days by the Paris Commune in 1871...
was still in force, and his birthday is therefore properly 10 messidor An XIII. He married Adélaïde Barbe Joseph Gilain in Tienen on 8 August 1869. They had one daughter, Thérèse Marie Euphrasie Josèphe, who married a future procureur-général at the Belgian Supreme Court, Georges-Marie Viscount Terlinden
Terlinden
Terlinden is a noble family of the Kingdom of Belgium with origins in Germany and established in the Spanish Netherlands around 1580. Their titles are Viscounts and Barons....
http://gw0.geneanet.org/index.php3?b=antterli&lang=fr;iz=2;p=alexis+michel;n=eenens. and http://gw2.geneanet.org/index.php3?b=lard&lang=fr;pz=felix;nz=terlinden;ocz=0;p=alexis+michel;n=eenens
Military and political career
He was admitted to the Artillerie- en Genieschool (Artillery and Engineering School) of the army of the United Kingdom of the NetherlandsUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name used to refer to Kingdom of the Netherlands during the period after it was first created from part of the First French Empire and before the new kingdom of Belgium split out in 1830...
in Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
on 15 July 1825 as a cadet. On 20 November 1828 he was promoted to sergeant-major and allowed to study at the Royal Military Academy
Koninklijke Militaire Academie
The Royal Military Academy is the service academy for the Dutch Army and the Dutch Air Force. Located in Breda, the Netherlands, the KMA has trained future officers since 1828.-Description:...
in Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
. He was promoted to second lieutenant in the artillery and assigned to the 5th battalion Militia Artillery at Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....
on 5 January 1830, on the eve of the Belgian Revolution
Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the Southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium....
.
Eenens joined the revolutionaries by taking part in a mutiny of the Namur garrison in September 1830. As a reward he was breveted lieutenant by the Belgian Provisional Government and soon after promoted to captain. Stationed in Antwerp, he refused to defect to the Dutch with General Van der Smissen on 25 March 1831. He then joined the Belgian troops at Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
and helped to defend that city in August.
In 1834 he killed another Belgian captain in a duel on the battlefield of Waterloo. He was acquitted by the court martial, because Belgium at that time did not have a law against duelling. That same year he tried to resign his commission, but was not allowed to, because he had promised to serve ten years after his admission to the Royal military academy.
In 1839, at the suggestion of King Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
, he took a leave of absence to act as an observer in Egypt. He explored commercial possibilities for Belgium and visited Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
(then known as "Abyssinia") together with the Belgian consul in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
to try to establish a Belgian colonial outpost on the west coast of the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
. However, illness forced him to return to Belgium in December 1840.
He was promoted to major in 1842 and to lieutenant-colonel in 1845. Then in 1846 he tried to go into politics as a Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Belgium)
The Liberal Party was a Belgian political party that existed from 1846 until 1961, when it became the Party for Freedom and Progress, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès or PVV-PLP, under the leadership of Omer Vanaudenhove.-History:The Liberal Party was founded...
representative. As this was an oppositional party, the king put him on non-active status. He was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives on 8 June 1847, but a new law prohibiting military officers to sit in parliament forced him to give up his seat in May 1848. He then reentered active duty.
Eenens was promoted to colonel on 24 June 1853, and put in charge of an artillery regiment in Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
. On 8 May 1859 he was promoted to major-general and given the command of the First Artillery Brigade. He also became a member of the Munitions Committee and other advisory commissions. On 24 June 1866 he was promoted to lieutenant-general and Inspector-general of the Belgian Artillery. On 15 July 1870 he was put in charge of the army at Antwerp where he became military governor (and at the same time aide de camp of King Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
) on 6 October 1870.
In view of the dangerous international situation (the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
had just started), Eenens now pleaded for strengthening the Belgian defenses, but the Cabinet of prime minister Jules Malou
Jules Malou
Jules Edouard Xavier Malou was a Belgian statesman, a leader of the clerical party.He was born at Ypres. He was a civil servant in the department of justice when he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies by his native constituency in 1841, and was for some time governor of the province of Antwerp...
opposed this, supported by the Catholic party of Charles Woeste
Charles Woeste
Charles, Count Woeste was a Belgian Roman Catholic politician of German descent.He was born in Brussels, the son of Edouard Woeste, who was of Prussian descent and who became a naturalized Belgian on 15 January 1841. Edouard Woeste was consul for Prussia from 1843 to 1853, and married Constance...
. Disgusted, Eenens retired from active service on 18 May 1873. He remained aide de camp of the king, who conferred the Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold on him.
Scholarly work
Besides his military career Eenens also pursued a more scholarly career. In the 1840s he promoted the involvement of the Belgian army in the agricultural development of the poorer parts of Belgium. In 1844 he published Notes sur le défrichement de la Campine par l'armée, a pamphlet containing his proposals, but his ideas were rejected by the agricultural establishment.He also became a prolific writer on military history, specializing in the history of the Belgian Revolution. In 1875 he published Documents historiques sur l'origine du royaume de Belgique. Les conspirations militaires de 1831 (Bruxelles, 1875, 2 vols.), which caused quite a furore, because he accused a number of prominent people of treasonous behavior during the revolution, in favor of the Orangist cause. This caused a fervent polemic, both with Belgian politicians and historians, and with Dutch military historians, because he also accused the future king William II of the Netherlands
William II of the Netherlands
William II was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg from 7 October 1840 until his death in 1849.- Early life and education :...
(then commander-in-chief of the Dutch forces that attempted to suppress the revolution of 1830) of violating an armistice. Because of the scandal this polemic caused, the king asked him to relent, and when he demurred, relieved him of his function as aide de camp.
Eenens also became involved in the controversy about the accusations of cowardice the British military historian William Siborne
William Siborne
William Siborne, Sibourne or Siborn was a British officer and military historian whose most notable work was a history of the Waterloo campaign.-Early life:...
had leveled at the Dutch-Belgian troops at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
in his 1844 book History of the War in France and Belgium in 1815. The Belgian general Renard had in 1855 already attempted a refutation as had the Dutch general Willem Jan Knoop
Willem Jan Knoop
Willem Jan Knoop was a Dutch lieutenant-general, military historian, and politician...
in 1846. Eenens published his own "Dissertation sur la participation des troupes des Pays-Bas à la campagne de 1815 en Belgique" in 1879. This critical assessment of Siborne's work is still relevant.
Eenens died in Schaarbeek
Schaarbeek
Schaerbeek or Schaarbeek is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. The first mention of the name was Scarenbecca, recorded in a document from the Bishop of Cambrai in 1120...
on 9 January 1883.