Claude Carra Saint-Cyr
Encyclopedia
Claude Carra Saint-Cyr was a French general and diplomat, noted for his participation to the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
.
Carra Saint-Cyr entered active service in 1774, with the Bourdonnais regiment, and was a part of the French expeditionary corps during the American War of Independence. He was a captain and held a position in the military commissariat. With the outbreak of the Wars of the Revolution
, Carra Saint-Cyr resumed active duty, serving in the army of the West as aide-de-camp
to general Jean-Baptiste Annibal Aubert du Bayet
, subsequently accompanying Aubert du Bayet to Constantinopole, where the latter was appointed ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
. Carra Saint-Cyr then served as consul in Wallachia
, before returning to France, in 1798. He was at Marengo in 1800 and became a general of division in 1803. Named governor of Magdeburg
in 1806, he was created baron of the Empire two years later and in 1809 he held the command of an infantry division during the War of the Fifth Coalition
, playing an important role at the battle of Aspern-Essling
. He was named governor of Dresden
and in 1813 governor of Hamburg
and in this capacity evacuated the city with his troops and was defeated on the Elba
. For this, he was disgraced, but general Dominique Vandamme
still gave him the command of a division, with the mission of defending the Ems river. With the Bourbon Restoration
of 1814, Carra Saint-Cyr was created count and named governor of the French Guiana
, a position that he would hold from 1814 to 1819. His name appears on the Arc de Triomphe
in Paris
.
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Carra Saint-Cyr entered active service in 1774, with the Bourdonnais regiment, and was a part of the French expeditionary corps during the American War of Independence. He was a captain and held a position in the military commissariat. With the outbreak of the Wars of the Revolution
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, Carra Saint-Cyr resumed active duty, serving in the army of the West as aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to general Jean-Baptiste Annibal Aubert du Bayet
Jean-Baptiste Annibal Aubert du Bayet
Jean-Baptiste Annibal Aubert du Bayet was a French General and politician during the period of the French Revolution.Aubert du Bayet was born in Baton-Rouge in the French American colony of Louisiana in 1759...
, subsequently accompanying Aubert du Bayet to Constantinopole, where the latter was appointed ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Carra Saint-Cyr then served as consul in Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
, before returning to France, in 1798. He was at Marengo in 1800 and became a general of division in 1803. Named governor of Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
in 1806, he was created baron of the Empire two years later and in 1809 he held the command of an infantry division during the War of the Fifth Coalition
War of the Fifth Coalition
The War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria. Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with...
, playing an important role at the battle of Aspern-Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
. He was named governor of Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and in 1813 governor of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and in this capacity evacuated the city with his troops and was defeated on the Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
. For this, he was disgraced, but general Dominique Vandamme
Dominique Vandamme
General Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme, Count of Unseburg was a French military officer, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars....
still gave him the command of a division, with the mission of defending the Ems river. With the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
of 1814, Carra Saint-Cyr was created count and named governor of the French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
, a position that he would hold from 1814 to 1819. His name appears on the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Sources
- Fierro, Alfredo; Palluel-Guillard, André; Tulard, Jean - "Histoire et Dictionnaire du Consulat et de l'Empire”, Éditions Robert Laffont, ISBN 2-221-05858-5