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Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier, 1st Comte Sérurier (8 December 1742 – 21 December 1819) led a division in the War of the First Coalition and became a Marshal of France under Emperor Napoleon. He was born into the minor nobility and in 1755 joined the Laon militia which was soon sent to fight in the Seven Years' War. After transferring into the regular army as an ensign, he was wounded at Warburg in 1760. He fought in the Spanish-Portuguese War in 1762. He married in 1779 after a promotion to captain. A newly minted major in 1789, the French Revolution sped up promotion so that he was colonel of the regiment in 1792. After leading Army of Italy troops in a number of actions, he became a general of brigade in 1793 and a general of division the following year. Sérurier led a division in Napoleon Bonaparte's Italian campaign of 1796, except during bouts of illness. He especially distinguished himself at the Battle of Mondovì and the Siege of Mantua. In 1799, he again fought in Italy during the War of the Second Coalition at Verona, Magnano and Cassano, being captured in the latter action. After being paroled, he supported Napoleon's rise to political power in the Coup of 18 Brumaire in late 1799. The apex of his career occurred on 19 May 1804 when Napoleon appointed him a Marshal of the Empire. His active military career over, Sérurier served in the French Senate and was ennobled by Napoleon. In 1814 as the First French Empire was crumbling, he burned all the many flags captured by the French armies. His troops called him the "Virgin of Italy" for his rigorous standards of discipline and honesty in an army known for generals who enriched themselves by plundering the conquered territories. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 24. ==Early life== Sérurier was born at Laon on 8 December 1742, the son of Mathieu-Guillaume Sérurier. The family formed part of the minor provincial nobility, his father holding the title Seigneur de Sort and the job of mole-catcher to the king's breeding stud. After 1750 his father's title became Seigneur de Saint-Gobert. Sérurier got a good education and was of sober character. He received a commission as lieutenant in the Laon militia battalion on 25 March 1755, his uncle being the unit's commander. He transferred to the Soissons militia battalion on 12 June 1758. When he heard that the Laon battalion was called to serve in the Seven Years' War he switched back to his old unit on 30 November 1758. After sustaining a bayonet wound, he transferred into the Mazarin Infantry Regiment as a cadet on 1 October 1759. At the Battle of Warburg on 31 July 1760, Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick surprised the French under Louis Nicolas Victor de Felix d'Ollieres, Count Du Muy. While defending a critical post, Sérurier was hit on the right side of his face by a bullet, which broke his jaw and left a lasting scar. The injury also cost him most of his teeth. He was promoted to second lieutenant on 25 April 1762. Sérurier's regiment was ordered to Bayonne where it joined a force under Charles Juste de Beauvau, Prince of Craon. These troops entered Spain on 3 June 1762 to take part in the Spanish-Portuguese War. The first battalion, in which Sérurier served, participated in the siege of Almeida which fell to the Franco-Spanish on 25 August 1762. The unit returned to France in November that year and after the Treaty of Paris was renamed the Beauce Regiment. After the peace Sérurier was demoted to ''sous-lieutenant'' and spent six years as a drill instructor. He was promoted to second lieutenant again on 21 February 1767 and was shipped to Corsica in 1770. The Republic of Genoa transferred Corsica to France in 1764 but Pasquale Paoli led an insurrection against the occupiers which resulted in a few skirmishes. His superiors called Sérurier an "excellent officer" but he was not promoted to first lieutenant until 28 February 1778. A year later he was promoted to captain. He married Louise-Marie-Madeleine Itasse on 3 July 1779. Her father was the Registrar of the bail bondsmen of Laon. On 29 July 1781 Sérurier was awarded the Order of Saint-Louis. On 10 May 1782 he assumed the rank of captain commandant and on 1 June 1783 he took command of the regiment's Chasseur company. Irked by the lack of promotion, he asked to retire on pension on 8 September 1788. His commanding officer argued to retain such a good officer and Sérurier transferred into the Médoc Regiment as a major on 17 May 1789. He became lieutenant colonel on 1 January 1791. Since the French Revolution the garrison at Perpignan became agitated so the regiment was sent there to calm down the other troops. Instead, the Médoc Regiment itself became affected by the troubles. On 23 July 1791, fearing that Sérurier was about to leave the country with the regiment's colors, a body of soldiers removed them from his quarters. In January 1792, 19 officers from the regiment emigrated to Spain. A story existed that Sérurier and a companion tried to flee to Spain but were nearly caught by a patrol and only his companion made it across the border. In June 1792 the Médoc, renamed the 70th Infantry Regiment, marched to the Camp of Tournoux in the Alps. Sérurier became the commanding officer of the 70th with the rank of colonel on 7 August 1792. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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