Jean-Mathieu Philibert Sérurier

Count of the Empire

Born in Laon, Picardy, on December 8, 1742, Jean-Mathieu Philibert Sérurier took part in the Seven Years' War (he was a lieutenant as early as 1755, at the age of thirteen), but was still only a colonel in 1792, after having waited more than twenty years to be promoted to captain.

Suspected for a time of royalism, and perhaps tempted to emigrate, he was deposed, arrested, released through the intervention of Paul-François de Barras and finally appointed brigadier general in June 1793, then division general in December 1794, still with the Army of Italy.

Sérurier was a rigorous disciplinarian - which on several occasions brought him into conflict with soldiers unaccustomed to such high standards - and he never hesitated to share the hardships of his troops, or to make personal sacrifices. Placed at the head of the army's right wing, he took part in the successes of Lonato (November 23, 1795), Mondovi (April 21, 1796) and La Favorita (January 16, 1797), and received the capitulation  of Mantua  on the following February 2.

After bringing the flags taken from the enemy during the last campaign to the Directoire, which Napoleon Bonaparte accompanied with a letter praising his messenger, Sérurier was given the task of preparing the evacuation of Venice. In the mind of the general-in-chief, this involved stripping the city, which had come under Austrian domination as a result of the Treaty of Campo-Formio, of all its precious and useful assets. Sérurier carried out this mission with no qualms, taking with him the curses of the population (January 18, 11798798).

Although appreciated by Napoleon Bonaparte for his devotion and integrity, he was not included in the Egyptian expedition, having been judged too old.

He therefore continued to serve in Italy. First in Lucca, where he presided over the establishment of a sister republic (December 1798-January 1799), while raising the city's war dues.

Hostilities resumed, and he distinguished himself at Pastrengo on March 26, 1799, but his division became disorganized after a long and difficult retreat necessitated by its numerical inferiority - some officers were murdered by the troops - and he was forced to capitulate at Verderio on April 28.

Alexander Suvorov allowed him to return to France on his word of honor not to serve against Russia or Austria until the end of the war. Sérurier, a particularly honest officer, scrupulously respected his oath.

Left without a job by the Directoire, he joined the conspiracy that led to the 18 Brumaire, but played only a passive role on the day of the coup d'état.

Appointed senator in December 1799, he became governor of the Invalides  in 1803, received the title of marshal in 1804, and count in 1808. Napoleon 1st considered giving him the title of Duke of Mondovi, but gave up for an unknown reason.

On the night of March 30 to 31, 1814, having learned of the capitulation of Paris, Sérurier had the 1,417 flags entrusted to his guard burned and their staffs thrown into the Seine, along with Frederick II's sword and decorations, kept at Les Invalides  since 1806.

Having rallied to Napoleon I during the Hundred Days, he lost his governorship, his peerage (although he did vote for Marshal Ney's death) and his marshal rank on Louis XVIII's return.

He was not restored to his full rights until January 1, 1819, but succumbed on December 21 to a "paralysis of the brain" secondary to the gout from which he had been suffering for many years.

Sérurier's name is inscribed on the 24th column (south pillar) of the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile .

His tomb  is in Paris, in the Père Lachaise cemetery, division 39. However, his body was transferred to Les Invalides on February 26, 1847, where it rests  in the crypt of the governors  of Saint-Louis cathedral.

The nickname "Virgin of Italy", sometimes attributed to him and supposed to celebrate his integrity, is not fully attested.