Louis Friant

Louis Friant was born at Villers-Morlancourt (Somme). He enlisted in the Gardes françaises on 9 February 1781 and left that service in 1787. After the outbreak of the French Revolution, he entered the Paris forces on 4 September 1789 as a non-commissioned officer and served with volunteer formations on the frontier. In 1792–1793 he was with the Army of the Moselle; he fought at Kaiserslautern (8–9 Frimaire an II), was wounded in the operations before Wissembourg, and was present at the siege of Charleroi (21 Prairial an II) and the battle of Fleurus (8 Messidor an II). He was promoted général de brigade in August 1794. With the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse he served under Kléber at the sieges of Maastricht and Luxembourg, and subsequently held responsibilities connected with the province of Luxembourg.

Assigned to the Italian theatre under Bernadotte, Friant took part in operations including the crossing of the Tagliamento and fighting around Gradisca, and then joined the armée d’Orient. In Egypt he served under Desaix and fought at the battle of the Pyramids (21 July 1798). He operated in Upper Egypt and was promoted général de division in 1799. After the battle of Heliopolis (March 1800) he participated in the re-establishment of French control in Cairo, and after Kléber’s death he received commands in the Rosetta and Alexandria districts. He fought the British at Aboukir (8 March 1801) and held Alexandria during the final phase of the expedition, returning to France with the evacuation of 1801. He then served for approximately two years as an inspector-general of infantry.

From 1803 Friant commanded a division under Davout, including in the 1805 campaign. His division was engaged at Austerlitz (2 December 1805), and he received the grand aigle de la Légion d’honneur later that year. He fought with Davout’s corps at Auerstädt (14 October 1806), and in the 1806–1807 operations in Poland, including Golymin and Eylau (where he was wounded). He was created comte de l’Empire on 5 October 1808. In 1809 he served at Eckmühl, Ratisbonne, Essling, and Wagram, and was wounded at Wagram.

In 1811 he was named commander of the grenadiers à pied of the Imperial Guard while continuing field service. During the 1812 campaign he commanded a division of I Corps; he was wounded at Smolensk (17 August 1812) and again in the fighting around Semenovskoye during the battle of the Moskva (Borodino) on 7 September 1812, after which he was temporarily incapacitated. He returned to active command in 1813; he held divisional command in the German campaign, including at Dresden and Hanau. In 1814 he was present in the principal actions of the campaign in France, including Champaubert, Montmirail, and Laon.

Following the abdication in 1814, Friant accepted the regime change and received the cross of the ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis (June 1814). During the Cent-Jours he returned to Napoleon’s service and was appointed a pair de France on 2 June 1815. At Waterloo (18 June 1815) he commanded the 1st infantry division of the Old Guard (including the 1st and 2nd grenadiers à pied) and was wounded. He was retired from active service on 4 September 1815. His name is among those inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe. He died on 24 June 1829 at Seraincourt (Seine-et-Oise; later Val-d’Oise).

Sources

• Fondation Napoléon: FRIANT, Louis Comte (1758-1829), général de division de l’Empire, puis lieutenant-général
• Sénat (France): FRIANT Louis, lieutenant-général comte Friant
• Service historique de la Défense (Bibliothèques numériques): Vie militaire du Lieutenant-Général Comte Friant
• Google Books: Vie militaire du lieutenant-général comte Friant
• BnF Data: Louis Friant (1758-1829)
• Wikipedia (English): Louis Friant
• Wikipédia (français): Louis Friant