General Anne-Charles Lebrun, 1775-1859

General Anne-Charles Lebrun (1775-1859) was a French general who served on Napoleon's staff during most of his campaigns from 1805 until the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Lebrun's father was Charles-François, duc de Plaisance (1739-1824), a lawyer and writer whose survived the terror and became a supporter of Napoleon, served as Third Consul, arch-treasurer of the Empire, Governor-General of Liguria and who became duke of Plaisance (Piacenza) in 1808.

Anne-Charles Lebrun joined the French Army in 1799, by which time his father was a prominent supporter of Napoleon. He became an aide to General Desaix, and was at his side when he was killed at Marengo (1800).

Lebrun then became one of Napoleon's aides, and served in that role during the campaign of 1805.

In 1806 he fought with the cavalry at the battles of Jena and Eylau.

By the time of Friedland he had been promoted to général de brigade. At that battle he served on Napoleon's staff, and was wounded. He remained on Napoleon's staff during his only campaign in Spain, for the Franco-Austrian campaign of 1809, the invasion of Russia in 1812, the German campaign of 1813 and the defence of France in 1814.

After Napoleon's first abdication Lebrun accepted a post under the Bourbons, but he sided with Napoleon in 1815.

His career survived Napoleon's second abdication. He joined the reserve of the general staff, succeeded his father as duc de Plaisance in 1824 (a rather hollow title by then, given that Piacenza was then in the hands of the Hapsburgs), and became a Senator in 1852 during the reign of Napoleon III.

Lebrun married a daughter of Francois Barbé-Marbois, a politician who served the pre-Revolutionary Royal government, the Revolutionary government, Napoleon and the post-war Bourbon regime.

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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (24 February 2016), General Anne-Charles Lebrun, 1775-1859 , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_lebrun.html

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