Charles Antoine Morand

Charles-Antoine-Louis-Alexis Morand was a French general whose active service began in the early Revolutionary levies and continued through the Major campaigns of the Consulate and Empire. Born at Pontarlier (Doubs) and trained in law at Besançon, he entered military service as a volunteer in August 1792 with the Doubs volunteers. In the wars of the First Republic he served with the Armies of the Rhine and the North, taking part in actions including Hondschoote and Wattignies, and later with the Army of the Sambre-et-Meuse, where he was engaged in the 1794–1796 campaigns. He subsequently served with the Army of Italy in 1797–1798, and was present during operations associated with the French occupation of Rome.

In 1798 Morand joined the expedition to Egypt in Desaix’s division. He fought at the battle of the Pyramids (21 July 1798), where he was appointed chef de brigade on the field. He accompanied Desaix into Upper Egypt and held administrative and security responsibilities as governor at Girgeh, while conducting operations against Mamluk forces. In August 1799 he led a night action against the camp of Murad Bey at Samahout. Under Kléber he became adjudant-général, and in September 1800 he was promoted général de brigade. During the final phase of the expedition he was charged with defensive responsibilities around Damietta and the eastern Delta, and he was involved in negotiations connected to the evacuation of French forces. He left Egypt in August 1801 and returned to France the following month.

After commands in metropolitan France, Morand joined the camps that formed the nucleus of the Grande Armée. In 1805 he served in Soult’s IV Corps, and at Austerlitz (2 December 1805) he took part in the assault on the Pratzen Heights. He was promoted général de division late in 1805 and appointed governor of Vienna. In February 1806 he assumed command of the 1st Division of Davout’s III Corps, a post he retained through the Prussian and Polish campaigns of 1806–1807, including Auerstädt, Czarnowo, Golymin, and Eylau. In 1808 he was created a comte de l’Empire. During the 1809 campaign against Austria, his division served in operations including Abensberg, Landshut, Eckmühl, and Wagram, where he was again wounded.

From 1810 Morand served in northern Germany, associated with the French occupation of Hamburg and the Hanseatic region. In 1812 he campaigned in Russia with the corps operating under Davout, crossing the Niemen in June and fighting at Smolensk. At Borodino (Moskva) he was severely wounded in the jaw but continued in command during the retreat. In 1813 he served under Bertrand in IV Corps and fought at battles including Lützen, Bautzen, Dennewitz, Wartenburg, and Hanau. Late in 1813 he took command of IV Corps and directed the defence of Mainz through the winter of 1813–1814, holding the fortress until news of Napoleon’s abdication.

Under the First Restoration, Morand received the order of Saint-Louis. During the Hundred Days he rallied to Napoleon, was appointed aide-de-camp, and became Colonel of the chasseurs à pied of the Imperial Guard; he was also named to the Chamber of Peers in June 1815. At Waterloo he commanded Guard infantry formations engaged in the late fighting around Plancenoit and during the final French withdrawal.

After the Second Restoration, Morand was removed from active employment and ordered to leave France. He lived in exile near Kraków and, in 1816, was condemned to death in absentia by a military court. He returned in 1819, was acquitted by a council of war, and later received formal reinstatement before retiring. Following the July Revolution, he was recalled to service in 1830 as commander of a military division at Besançon, received the grand cross of the Légion d’honneur, and was appointed a peer by Louis-Philippe in 1832. He died in Paris on 2 September 1835. He also published a work on military affairs in 1829, De l’armée selon la Charte, et d’après l’expérience des dernières guerres.

Sources

• Napoleon.org: MORAND Charles Antoine Louis Alexis (1771-1835), général, comte de l’Empire
• Sénat: MORAND Charles-Alexis-Louis-Antoine, lieutenant-général comte Morand
• BnF Data: Charles-Antoine-Louis-Alexis Morand (1771-1835)
• Base Léonore (Archives nationales): MORAND Charles Antoine Louis Alexis
• Wikipédia (français): Charles Antoine Morand