Auguste-Julien Bigarré

French General who was aide-de-camp to King Joseph and Colonel of the 1st Line

Auguste-Julien Bigarré’s service in the Kingdom of Naples was short yet very profitable for the Army. Born in Le Palais on Belle-Île on 1st January 1775, Bigarré was the son of the local magistrate and enlisted in the Navy at age 16 as a volunteer. He served on Saint-Domingue before transferring as a Sous-Lieutenant in the 9e de Ligne in 1793. Appointed as a staff officer to the Army of the West in 1795, he was wounded in the left shoulder in the Quiberon landings before transferring to the 1st Legion des Francs as captain in October 1797.

Early Career & French Army

He participated in General Hoche’s expedition to Ireland on board the Les Droits de l’Homme, where he distinguished himself in saving the vessel from burning once it was shipwrecked; he was hence recommended by Admiral Lacrosse and served in Germany (where he was captured at Neuwied) and Switzerland, distinguishing himself at Soleure, Lucerne and later Hohenlinden. Serving briefly as captain in the Chasseurs à pied of the Consular Guard, he transferred as Major of the 4e de Ligne where he met Joseph Bonaparte, Colonel of the same regiment. At Austerlitz Bigarré commanded the 4e’s first battalion.

Separated in the attack on the Pratzen Heights at the end of the morning, it was charged by the Russian Chevalier Guard and lost its eagle standard. Although rebuked by Napoleon, the battalion redeemed itself by capturing the Russian Moscow regiment, along with its colonel and two flags, and hence was eligible to receive another eagle, while Bigarrè was made officer of the Légion d’Honneur. This action had no lasting consequences, although there have been multiple paintings and prints done commemorating it. The eagle is nowadays displayed in the Hermitage Museum in Moscow.

Service in Naples

On 15th August 1806 Bigarré was given approval to transfer into the service of the Kingdom of Naples and was promised a regiment in the Royal Guard; this never came, as the commands had already been given to other officers. Hence, he was first appointed aide-de-camp to Joseph (30th November) and then Colonel of the 1st Line Regiment on 3rd February 1807, stationed in Capua. He took over the regiment alongside Major Pégot, and assisted greatly in uniforming it adequately before teaching it French discipline and manoeuvres. Bigarré commented on the regiment’s initial state as “pitiful, so devoid of everything”, but then asserted that on March 19th he presented to Joseph the regiment at the strength of 1,800 “well-dressed, well-armed and well-equipped” men. Bigarré’s success in making the 1st Line combat-worthy would manifest itself well in the coming Spanish campaign, where the regiment’s performance far outshined that of other Italian contingents in Duhesme’s corps.

Later that year Bigarré spent several months commanding mobile columns in the war against brigandage, notably in Molise, before being dispatched to Northern Italy with his regiment in July 1807. During this excursion the 1st Line was reviewed by Napoleon, who praised Bigarré’s efforts to make the regiment battle-worthy. At the end of the review, the Emperor remarked: “Messieurs les Napolitains, je suis très content de vous.”

Bigarré left the regiment en route to Toulouse to take command of the 2nd Line in Mantua. The regiment had been suffering from major supply problems and desertion was rife, and only recently the previous colonel (de Gambs) had been fired. After fixing the regiment’s discipline, Bigarrè relayed command to Major Carrascosa on 23rd May 1808 and then set off to join Joseph’s court en route to Spain.

Later Career

Promoted to Général de Brigade on 9th June that same year, he transferred into Spanish service and took part in the war in Spain as a brigade commander in the Spanish Royal Guard. In 1813 he was made lieutenant-general in Spanish service and then returned to France as a Général de Brigade, serving as a brigade commander in the Young Guard (in Brayer’s 8th Division) in the defence of France, by the end of which he was a Général de Division. When Napoleon returned in the Hundred Days, he was sent alongside Lamarque to quell the Vendée revolt, and defeated the Chouans at Auray on June 21 with an inferior force; unfortunately, this was in vain as Napoleon was beaten at Waterloo 3 days prior.

He was put on non-activity by the Bourbons in July but then reinstated as commander of the 13th Military Division in 1830, and nominated Grand Officer of the Légion d’Honneur by King Louis Philippe. He died childless in Rennes on 14th May 1838, where he was buried. His name is on the Arc de Triomphe (Southern Pillar).