After serving in the cavalry and general staff and commanding the 12th Regiment of Mounted Hunters at the Battle of Marengo in 1800, General Defrance became stable master to Emperor Napoleon I. He distinguished himself in Russia in 1812 when he commanded the carbine brigade, and then during the French campaign of 1814 at the head of the Imperial Guard's Honour Guard. The Restoration entrusted him with the command of the Paris Military Division, after which he took up the post of Inspector General of the Cavalry, which he held until his death in 1835. He had been a lieutenant general, i.e. major general, since 1811, was appointed Count of the Empire in 1808 and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1814. This is the first new edition of the work by Colonel d'Astier, who completed this rich and magnificent biography in October 1910 and dedicated it to his wife, the granddaughter of General Defrance. The work was published in 1911 in a limited edition of only 200 copies, while Colonel d'Astier died on 19 April of the same year.
Author
d'Astier, Colonel
Title
Le général Defrance
Details
French text, paperback. 272 pages.
State
new
Subtitle
Écuyer de Napoléon & commandant la division des gardes d'honneur de la Garde impériale
