Jean René Moreaux

Jean René Moreaux was born on 14 March 1758 in Rocroi, France. He enlisted in the French Royal Army in 1776 in the Régiment d’Auxerrois, serving as fusilier and later grenadier. He participated in the Capture of Saint Lucia during the American Revolutionary War in December 1778, where he sustained a broken leg from a musket ball. After leaving military service in 1779, he returned to Rocroi to manage the family building business. In February 1782 he married Marie Françoise Collardeau and resided in Rocroi until the Revolution.

In September 1789 he was elected major of the Rocroi National Guard. On 20 September 1791, he became lieutenant-colonel en premier of the 1st Battalion of the Ardennes Volunteers and was assigned to the garrison of Thionville. He took part in the defense of Thionville from 24 August to 18 October 1792. Later he served at Longwy. On 15 May 1793 he was promoted to général de Brigade in the Army of the Moselle, serving under Général Pully at the camp of Ketterich. On 22 July 1793 he seized Leimen and suffered a wound in the process. On 30 July 1793 he advanced to général de Division and took command of the Corps des Vosges, replacing Pully on 6 September.

On 14 September 1793 he led approximately 12,000 troops in an assault at the Battle of Pirmasens, where his forces were repulsed with heavy casualties. In December 1793 he commanded a division under Général Hoche in the Second Battle of Wissembourg. His division included the 1st Battalions of the 30th, 44th, and 81st Line Infantry Demi-brigades, the Lot and Ardennes Volunteers, the 2nd Battalions of the 54th Line, 99th Line, and Loiret, the 4th and 6th Battalions of the Haute-Saône, the 5th Battalion of the Orne, three squadrons of the 10th Cavalry, and four squadrons of the 9th Chasseurs à Cheval. When Hoche fell ill at the end of January 1794, Moreaux temporarily assumed command of the army until Jourdan succeeded Hoche two months later, with the force withdrawing to positions between Thionville and Sarrebruck.

On 25 June 1794 he was formally appointed commander of the Army of the Moselle. In July the army captured Trier, and on 23 October it took Koblenz. On 2 November a French division under Moreaux’s army captured Rheinfels Castle, narrowing the enemy hold to Mainz and Luxembourg. In November 1794 he was assigned to invest the fortress of Luxembourg. He assembled approximately 19,800 soldiers in the divisions of Ambert, Debrun, and Péduchelle, forming two columns: Debrun’s column approached via the Liège road beginning on 19 November. A blockade was established by 21 November, and Moreaux’s force was designated the Army before Luxembourg. He arranged deployment of Taponier’s, Debrun’s, and Ambert’s divisions across key access routes, with his headquarters at Weiler‑la‑Tour. The winter proved extremely severe, with temperatures dropping to –20 °C, and supply convoys struggled to reach the siege lines. Bread was baked at Grevenmacher and convoyed to the front. By 15 December the force numbered approximately 25,500 men. The neighboring Army of Sambre‑et‑Meuse assumed portions of the west bank of the Rhine.

In early February 1795 Moreaux contracted a fever at his headquarters in Weiler‑la‑Tour. He was evacuated to Thionville, where he died during the night of 9–10 February 1795. His surname, MOREAUX, is inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe on Column 13.

Sources

• Wikipedia (English): Jean René Moreaux
• Wikipedia (French): Jean René Moreaux