Antoine Adolphe Marcelin Marbot[a] (/mɑːrˈboʊ/mar-BOH, French:[ɑ̃twanadɔlfmaʁsəlɛ̃maʁbo]; 22 March 1781 – 2 June 1844), known as Adolphe Marbot,[b] was a French general. He belongs to a family that has distinguished itself particularly in the career of arms, giving three generals to France in less than 50 years. His younger brother, Marcellin Marbot, was also a general.
In 1802, he was arrested on the ground of being concerned in a Republican plot against the Consulate. General Bernadotte was suspected of being at the head of this plot and his aide-de-camp, the young Lieutenant Marbot, was interrogated at the Temple Prison in Paris, with the aim of obtaining a confession from him which he would not provide. He was released after 3 months in detention, although First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte continued to regard him as an opponent of the established regime.[3]
After his release, he was exiled and was sent on various overseas missions, which he performed with the greatest distinction. He was promoted to the rank of captain before returning to France.[4]
Napoleonic wars
In 1806, he became aide-de-camp to Marshal Pierre Augereau and took part in the Prussian and Polish campaign, distinguishing himself particularly at the Battle of Jena, where he was wounded, and at the Battle of Eylau, where his horse was killed under him. Marshal Augereau, having been forced to take leave from the army as a result of his wounds, obtained that his aide-de-camp would join Marshal André Masséna, under whose orders Marbot served until the Treaties of Tilsit.[4]
After the capture of Madrid and the evacuation of the British forces at the Battle of Corunna, he left Astorga to carry letters from Emperor Napoleon I to his brother Joseph Bonaparte, who had become the King of Spain. He was injured during an ambush by guerrillas on 4 January 1809 and was imprisoned, almost dying from his wounds, in Cádiz. In February 1810, he managed to recover his liberty along with Chef d'escadron de Turenne. He reached the coast of Africa through many dangers, and finally joined Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin's corps during the Siege of Cádiz by the French forces.[4]
In 1812 he joined the 16th cavalry regiment of chasseurs as chef d'escadron and took part in the Russian campaign. He was wounded during the fierce combats of the Battle of Vitebsk, after having his horse killed under him. He was made prisoner by the Russian army and was sent to Saratov, where he shared the captivity of a large number of captured officers, including General de Saint-Geniès, Colonel de Saint-Mars and Captain de Ségur. He did not return to France until the end of the war in 1814, and subsequently joined the État-Major in Paris.[4]
^Dawson, Paul L. (2019). Napoleon's Waterloo Army: Uniforms and Equipment. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN978-1-5267-0530-3. The regiment was led in 1815 by Colonel Marcelin Marbot, who left a vivid set of memoirs about his military career under Napoleon; these give a picture of the Napoleonic age of warfare [...].
^Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (1814–1830). "List of recipients" (in French). Marbot, Antoine. 5 November 1814. Knight.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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