Gabriel Marie Joseph, comte d'Hédouville
Encyclopedia
Gabriel-Marie-Théodore-Joseph, comte d'Hédouville (1755, Laon
, Aisne
— 1825) (also Thomas Hedouville) was a French soldier and diplomat.
, he became a lieutenant in 1788 and rose to adjutant-general and lieutenant-colonel in 1792. He fought at the battle of Valmy
on 20 September that year and was made général de brigade and chief of staff to the armée de Moselle the following March. He then distinguished himself at Kaiserslautern. However, he was then suspended and imprisoned as a noble and thus as a suspect, but was freed on 9 Thermidor year II (27 July 1794), brought back into the army at the rank of général de brigade and sent to the armée des côtes de Cherbourg
(then at Brest
). He became général de division in November 1795 and the armée des côtes de Cherbourg's chief of staff in January 1795, under Lazare Hoche
. Under Hoche's orders he carried out a policy of pacification and appeasement in the west, which had revolted against the Republican regime.
in 1798, where he had been sent to be governor during Sonthonax
's second commission. He encouraged the dissension between André Rigaud
and Toussaint Louverture which helpef to fuel the Haitian Revolution
.
Toussaint's military leadership during the Haitian Revolution
enabled the rebellious slaves to gain the upper hand and to restore most of Saint-Domingue to France. Now that he ruled the island, Toussaint did not wish to surrender power to France and continued to effectively rule the country autonomously. Hédouville was one of the rivals to power Toussaint had to overcome. Hédouville was eventually forced to flee. However, before he left he was able to fatally divide Toussaint and André Rigaud
.
, where he again negotiated a peace settlement with the Royalists. He was then the Consulate
's minister pleniplotentiary at Saint Petersburg
from 1801 to 1804, when the Tsar broke relations with France; Hédouville left Saint Petersburg 7 June 1804. On 1 February 1805 he became a member of the Sénat conservateur
, and he was also ennobled as a comte d'Empire. Remaining a monarchist at heart, he enthusiastically rallied to Louis XVIII
in 1814.
Laon
Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-History:The hilly district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance...
, Aisne
Aisne
Aisne is a department in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River.- History :Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France, Picardie, and Champagne.Most of the old...
— 1825) (also Thomas Hedouville) was a French soldier and diplomat.
Early life
A student at the royal collège at La FlècheLa Flèche
La Flèche is a municipality located in the French department of Sarthe and the region of Pays de la Loire in the Loire Valley. This is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton. This is the second most populous city of the department. The city is part...
, he became a lieutenant in 1788 and rose to adjutant-general and lieutenant-colonel in 1792. He fought at the battle of Valmy
Battle of Valmy
The Battle of Valmy was the first major victory by the army of France during the French Revolution. The action took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops commanded by the Duke of Brunswick attempted to march on Paris...
on 20 September that year and was made général de brigade and chief of staff to the armée de Moselle the following March. He then distinguished himself at Kaiserslautern. However, he was then suspended and imprisoned as a noble and thus as a suspect, but was freed on 9 Thermidor year II (27 July 1794), brought back into the army at the rank of général de brigade and sent to the armée des côtes de Cherbourg
Armée des côtes de Cherbourg
-History:Formed by splitting the Army of the Coasts in April 1793, it was put under the command of Georges Félix de Wimpffen and charged with defending the coasts of Manche against British invasion, and fighting against the federalist revolt in Normandy and Caen...
(then at Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
). He became général de division in November 1795 and the armée des côtes de Cherbourg's chief of staff in January 1795, under Lazare Hoche
Lazare Hoche
Louis Lazare Hoche was a French soldier who rose to be general of the Revolutionary army.Born of poor parents near Versailles, he enlisted at sixteen as a private soldier in the Gardes Françaises...
. Under Hoche's orders he carried out a policy of pacification and appeasement in the west, which had revolted against the Republican regime.
Saint-Domingue
He then spent short stay on Saint-DomingueSaint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
in 1798, where he had been sent to be governor during Sonthonax
Léger-Félicité Sonthonax
Léger-Félicité Sonthonax was a French Girondist and abolitionist during the French Revolution who controlled 7,000 French troops in Saint-Domingue during part of the Haitian Revolution. His official title was Civil Commissioner. From September 1792 - December 1795 he was the de facto ruler of...
's second commission. He encouraged the dissension between André Rigaud
André Rigaud
Benoit Joseph André Rigaud was the leading mulatto military leader during the Haïtian Revolution. Among his protégés were Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer, both future presidents of Haïti.-The revolutionary:...
and Toussaint Louverture which helpef to fuel the Haitian Revolution
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
.
Toussaint's military leadership during the Haitian Revolution
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
enabled the rebellious slaves to gain the upper hand and to restore most of Saint-Domingue to France. Now that he ruled the island, Toussaint did not wish to surrender power to France and continued to effectively rule the country autonomously. Hédouville was one of the rivals to power Toussaint had to overcome. Hédouville was eventually forced to flee. However, before he left he was able to fatally divide Toussaint and André Rigaud
André Rigaud
Benoit Joseph André Rigaud was the leading mulatto military leader during the Haïtian Revolution. Among his protégés were Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer, both future presidents of Haïti.-The revolutionary:...
.
Consulate to Restoration
After his time on Saint-Domingue, Gabriel Marie Joseph Hédouville was employed by the armée d'Angleterre before returning to western France in January 1800 to take over from Hoche as commander-in-chief of the Armée de l'OuestArmée de l'Ouest
The Army of the West was one of the French Revolutionary Armies. It was created on 1 August 1793 by merging the armée des côtes de Brest, the armée des côtes de La Rochelle, and the armée de Mayence, and was sent to fight the revolt in the Vendee.- Reorganisation :Visiting Republican soldiers of...
, where he again negotiated a peace settlement with the Royalists. He was then the Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
's minister pleniplotentiary at Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
from 1801 to 1804, when the Tsar broke relations with France; Hédouville left Saint Petersburg 7 June 1804. On 1 February 1805 he became a member of the Sénat conservateur
Sénat conservateur
The Sénat conservateur was a body set up in France during the Consulate by the Constitution of the Year VIII. With the Tribunat and the Corps législatif, it formed one of the three legislative assemblies of the Consulate...
, and he was also ennobled as a comte d'Empire. Remaining a monarchist at heart, he enthusiastically rallied to Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
in 1814.