Louis Adrien Brice de Montigny

Louis Adrien Brice de Montigny (9 December 1731 – 6 May 1811) was a French infantry officer whose career spanned the Seven Years’ War, the Revolutionary Wars, and the early Empire, culminating in promotion to général de division and appointment to senior administrative and territorial commands. He was born at Kitzingen in the Electorate of Bavaria and entered French service on 12 April 1757 as a soldier in the régiment Royal-Suédois, serving in Germany from 1757 to 1763 during the Seven Years’ War.

After the war he continued in the army in staff and administrative regimental functions. He was appointed trésorier on 25 January 1763 and was réformé in 1764. Returning to service, he was promoted quartier-maître on 19 July 1765 and lieutenant on 10 January 1772. He became sous-aide-major on 1 March 1774, then lieutenant en premier in 1776, and capitaine en second on 1 May 1778. Between 1781 and 1783 he took part in the French intervention in the American War of Independence. He was made chevalier de Saint-Louis (year not securely established in the record summarized here).

In the Revolutionary period he rose quickly into senior field rank. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 14 February 1792. After France declared war on Austria on 20 April 1792, he served with the armée du Rhin from 30 April 1792 to 1 January 1793. He was promoted colonel on 25 February 1793 as commander of the 65th line infantry regiment, and promoted général de brigade on 30 July 1793. During the internal political purges of the year he was suspended from duty on 17 November 1793, without further penalty recorded in the same narrative sequence, and he was authorized to retire on 31 December 1793.

He was restored to employment after the fall of Robespierre. He was reinstated on 7 March 1795 and was assigned to the armée du Nord on 11 March 1795. He subsequently served with the armée des côtes de Cherbourg. On 4 April 1796 he received command of the maison nationale des Invalides (Hôtel des Invalides) and on 10 April 1796 was promoted général de division. He was again réformé on 11 September 1797.

Under the Consulate he returned to duty. On 15 February 1800 he resumed service as commander of the 7th military division at Besançon, holding that post until 24 September 1801. He was admitted to retirement in 1802. He later returned to active duty as commandant d’armes at Strasbourg on 23 March 1803. In the system of Imperial honors he was appointed chevalier de la Légion d’honneur on 14 June 1804 and commandeur on 14 June 1804. He was again placed on retirement on 11 August 1805. Napoleon granted him the title baron de l’Empire in 1808, and he was also made a knight of the Bavarian ordre militaire de Maximilien-Joseph (year stated in the same sequence as 1808). He died at Strasbourg on 6 May 1811.

Sources

• Wikipedia (French): Louis Adrien Brice de Montigny