Allegiance France Rank Major general | Years of service 1767–1816 Service/branch French Army | |
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Born August 24, 1750
Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye (Nièvre) ( 1750-08-24 ) Battles/wars French Revolutionary Wars
Napoleonic Wars Died 14 September 1825, Paris, France Awards Order of Saint Louis (1816), Legion of Honour (1804) Battles and wars French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleonic Wars | ||
François Barthélemy Guillaume Laurent, 24 August 1750 in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye (Nièvre) – 14 September 1825 in Paris, was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
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Biography
He was the son of François Laurent, a clothier, and Françoise Bergery. He married Marie-Anne Mallet and his son, Louis François Alcindor Laurent (1802–1850) also embraced a military career. He joined the Régiment Royal on 10 May 1767. Part of the regiment participated in the Siege of Yorktown, 1781, although it is not clear if Laurent was with the battalions that served there; another battalion served in Martinique under command of François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé.
Laurent was a simple soldier at the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789. Based on meritorious actions, he was promoted to brigadier general in 1794 and served in several different armies in France's campaigns against the First and Second coalitions. He was at the Battle of Valmy. He also participated in the first and the second battles at Lines of Weissenburg in 1793, as well as battles at Battle of Saverne and Landau with the Army of the Moselle; he was wounded twice in the leg, once traveling between Sluis where he was headquartered, and Brussels. He was responsible for defending the coast of Zeeland. He served continuously until the Treaty of Campo Formio, despite his leg injury, often on the front line. He was made a Commander of the Legion of Honor on the recommendation of Jean François Aimé Dejean June 1804. Subsequently he was employed in the department of Jemmapes.
Russian campaign of 1812
In preparation for the Russian campaign of 1812, Laurent was restored to active service; he commanded the third brigade of the National guard with the troops of Magdeburg.
He was appointed major general on July 13, 1813, and commanded the military base at Montmedy. Upon the Bourbon Restoration, he received the Order of St. Louis (Chevalier), and retired from the military in 1816.