General Auguste-François-Marie Colbert de Chabanais

Auguste-François-Marie Colbert de Chabanais was a distinguished cavalry general whose life was unfortunately cut short. His older brothers Edouard and Louis-Pierre-Alphonse also had notable careers as cavalry officers.

At the young age of 15, Colbert embraced the Revolution and volunteered in the National Guard of Tarbes in 1792. Over the next few years, he served in the Army of the West, becoming a chasseur in the 7th Regiment in early 1794, and in August of 1795 joining the 15th Chasseurs à Cheval. In October of that year he was promoted to lieutenant and placed in the 1st Batallion of Volunteers of Loire-Inférieure, now Loire-Atlantique. In 1796 General Grouchy noticed Colbert and made him an aide-de-camp, and so Colbert participated in the failed expedition to Ireland.

In 1797 Colbert joined the Army of Italy where he met Murat, who promoted him to captain and took him on as an aide-de-camp. Accompanying the expedition of Egypt, he fought at Salahieh, and was later promoted by General Bonaparte to chef d'escadrons of the 4th Chasseurs à Cheval. At the Siege of Acre in May of 1799, Colbert was wounded when he was shot in the thigh.

Returning to France with Desaix, Colbert was also able to rejoin the army shortly before the Battle of Marengo, where he served as an aide-de-camp to Murat again. A promotion to chef de brigade of the 10th Chasseurs à Cheval followed. Murat served as one of his witnesses when in 1803 he married the daughter of General Canclaux.

After taking part in the campaigning of 1805, Colbert was promoted to general de brigade at age 28. Sent on a mission to St. Petersburg, he returned to the army to command a brigade of light cavalry of VI Corps under Marshal Ney. Ney once said that he always slept peacefully when Colbert was in command of his outposts. With VI Corps Colbert fought throughout the campaign, notably at Jena and Friedland.

1808 was a notable year for Colbert de Chabanais, as he was made a Baron of the Empire and fatefully sent to Spain. After serving under Bessières at Medina del Rio Seco, he later fought at Tudela under Lannes before taking command of a brigade of light cavalry under Ney again. Two months later, at Cacabellos he led an attack on a well-defended bridge. Noticing the dashing cavalry general leading the French, the British offered a reward to anyone who could bring down the gallant Frenchman. A sharpshooter took aim and with a single shot, hit Colbert de Chabanais in the head, nearly killing him. Fifteen minutes later, he was dead, and the British later denied having offered a reward for his death.

Sources:

Haythornthwaite, Philip J. Who Was Who in the Napoleonic Wars. London: Arms & Armour, 1998.

Senior, Terry J. The Top Twenty French Cavalry Commanders. 2005. <http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/commanders/c_twenty.html>

Six, Georges. Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux & Amiraux Français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). Paris: Gaston Saffroy, 2003.

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