Louis Charbonnier

Louis Charbonnier was a general of mediocre talent who commanded a French army for several months during the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1780 he enlisted in the French Royal Army. With the advent of the French Revolution his promotion became very rapid. In 1792 he was elected second in command of a volunteer battalion. He led his troops at Jemappes and Neerwinden. He was promoted to general of brigade in November 1793 and general of division in January 1794. A week later he was appointed commanderinchief of the Army of the Ardennes.

OnOctober 1754, Charbonnier was born the son of a shoemaker in Clamecy, a town in what later became the Nivre departement. As a young man, he enlisted in the Vintimille Regiment as a simple soldier in 1780. The regiment was later renamed the 49th Line Infantry. His fellow soldiers gave him the nickname Fleur dOrange . OnJuly 1789 he joined the National Guard of Paris. Later that same year, he emerged as captain in the Clamecy National Guard. Soon appointed captain of a company in the 1st Nivre Volunteer Battalion, he rose in rank to chef de bataillon by the start of 1792. OnSeptember 1792 he was elected secondincommand of the 21st National Volunteers Battalion. While with the Army of the North he fought under Charles Franois Dumouriez in the battles of Jemappes and Neerwinden. A French order of battle for Jemappes does not list the 21st Battalion. However, the 1st Nivre Battalion served in the 14th Brigade in the Left Wing under Jean Henri Becays Ferrand. Charbonnier was pr

Source: Wikipedia