Jean Raymond Charles Bourke
Command Ratings
Jean Raymond Charles Bourke (born 12 August 1772 at Lorient; died 29 August 1847 at Ploemeur) was a French Army officer of Irish family background who rose to the rank of général de division and served through the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods before continuing under the Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy.
He entered military service on 10 January 1788 as a cadet in the Irish Brigade (brigade irlandaise), part of the long-established Irish military tradition in French service. He became sous-lieutenant on 10 July 1788. After the outbreak of the French Revolution, he continued to serve; he was promoted to Lieutenant on 5 September 1792 and to Capitaine on 3 November 1792.
In 1798 he was promoted to chef de bataillon and served on a staff appointment under General O’Meara. In the same period he participated in the French attempt to support rebellion in Ireland (the 1798 expedition), during which he was captured by the British.
After returning to French service, he later became associated with Louis-Nicolas Davout. After his return to France on 27 Nivôse An XI (17 January 1803), he was selected on 11 Fructidor (in the Revolutionary calendar year then current) as aide de camp to Davout. In that capacity he was involved in operations connected to the Boulogne coastal concentrations and flotilla activity between Flessingue (Vlissingen) and Ambleteuse, including an action at Cap Gris-Nez in Messidor An XIII (mid-1805 by the Gregorian calendar).
He was appointed membre de la Légion d’honneur on 4 Germinal An XII (25 March 1804) and promoted within the order as officier on 25 Prairial An XII (14 June 1804). He was promoted to adjudant-commandant on 25 Fructidor An XIII (12 September 1805), placing him in the senior staff officer tier used by the Napoleonic army.
During the 1805 campaign against Austria and Russia, he led a small mounted detachment and in one reported action overthrew Russian troops and captured two guns. At the battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805), he was employed on the French right and was credited with holding off enemy efforts to turn that flank with a detachment of light troops.
In the 1806 campaign against Prussia, on 12 October 1806 he entered Naumburg at the head of about 100 horsemen, seized a bridging train on the Saale, and pushed French light cavalry posts forward as far as Freiberg. These actions occurred during the rapid operational advance preceding the decisive battles that destroyed the main Prussian field forces later in October.
He continued in senior service through the Napoleonic wars, ultimately attaining général de division (date not provided in the available short-form references). Under the Empire he received noble status as baron de l’Empire, and later held the title of comte. He was also awarded the Grand-croix of the Légion d’honneur and was a commandeur of the Order of Saint-Louis, reflecting continued standing after the Restoration.
In the post-Napoleonic period he held high state and court rank, including appointment as a peer of France . His name was included among those engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Sources
X 12 Spain – L; XX 14 Defense of Wesel (12/18/13 – 5/10/14) (D); XX 15 defense of Givet & Charlemont (L)