Jean-Baptiste Bessières

Duke of Istria

Jean-Baptiste Bessières was born on August 6, 1768 in Prayssac , near Cahors, Quercy [now Lot], to a father who was a doctor. He had just completed his medical studies when the Revolution made him an officer in the National Guard. He was first assigned to the king's constitutional guard, then, when this corps was disbanded, moved to the Pyrenees army, where he came to the attention of Charles Augereau.

In 1796, he was transferred to the Army of Italy, where, following the Cremona affair, he was given command of the company of guides. This corps, responsible for protecting the general-in-chief, was to become the embryo of the future consular and then imperial guard. Bessières remained attached to it for the rest of his life.

Napoleon Bonaparte naturally took this exceptionally brave soldier with him to Egypt, where he had several times had him cited in the army order for his exploits. Nor did he part with him when he left the country on the sly, the hour of the coup d'état having struck. And so it was that, on 18 Brumaire, Bessières was entrusted with the task of providing close protection for his general.

Appointed commander of the horse grenadiers of the consular guard, he was promoted to brigadier general a month after his charge at Marengo. Divisionnaire in 1802, marshal in 1804, he commanded the guard cavalry at Austerlitz, where his charge, which toppled the Russian imperial guard, was one of the great moments of the battle.

He distinguished himself again at Preussisch-Eylau in February 1807, then in Spain, winning the battle of Medina del Rio Seco on July 14, 1808.

Recalled for the war against Austria, Bessières crushed enemy cavalry at Landshut (April 21, 1809) and became Duke of Istria in May.

A short stay in Spain in 1811, where he refused to support André Masséna against Duke of Wellington, added nothing to his glory and earned him an acerbic remark from Napoleon I.

Still at the head of the Guard cavalry, he distinguished himself during the

Russian campaign, clearing the Emperor's headquarters attacked by eight thousand Cossacks at Maloïaroslavets on October 24 and 25, 1812.

In 1813, Napoleon I gave him overall command of the army's cavalry for the German campaign. But as soon as hostilities began, on May 1, a cannonball pierced his chest at Rippach  , near Weißenfels, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Marshal Bessières' remains  lie at Les Invalides, in the crypt of the governors  of Saint-Louis cathedral (Paris), and his heart inside the Prayssac church .

A similarity of origin (both from the Lot), career and intrepidity has often led to comparisons between Bessières and Joachim Murat. But just as Bessières was outspoken and fiery, Murat was taciturn and thoughtful. Napoleon I, while recognizing his qualities, found Bessières a little cold: he had less of what Murat had too much. This did not prevent the Emperor from helping the Duke of Istria's destitute widow, nor the captive of St. Helena from including his son in his will.

Bessières' name is inscribed on the 13th column (east pillar) of the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile , while a full-length statue of the Duc d'Istrie by Louis Latour honors his memory on the north façade of the Louvre, rue de Rivoli , and another pays tribute to him in his hometown .