Jacques-Pierre-Louis Puthod

Jacques Pierre Louis Marie Joseph Puthod was a French general of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. He entered the army as a volunteer on 26 October 1785 in the Régiment de la Couronne (later the 45e). After service as a gendarme and sous-lieutenant, he was discharged and re-entered during the Revolution, becoming a Lieutenant in the 3rd battalion of volunteers of Ain on 12 December 1791, and joining the Régiment d’infanterie colonel-général on 20 May 1792. Admitted to the general staff on 22 August 1792, he became a captain on 13 September. In 1793 he served on mission for the levy decreed earlier that year and was present at the defence of Lille; he was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 3 October 1793. Promoted adjudant-général chef de brigade on 13 June 1795, he served with distinction with the Armies of the Rhine and of Italy through the later Revolutionary campaigns.

During the War of the Second Coalition, Puthod was raised to général de brigade after the battle of the Trebbia (June 1799). In 1800 he took part in operations on the Danube and in the Alpine theatre, being credited with large captures of prisoners and guns during the Danube crossing and subsequent actions in the Tyrol and around Salzburg. Placed in non-activité on 23 September 1801, he returned to employment in the military divisions system (notably the 5th and then the 6th). He became a member of the légion d'honneur on 11 December 1803 and was promoted commandeur on 14 June 1804.

In the Empire, Puthod served with the Armée du Nord and later in campaigns against Prussia. In 1807 he commanded the advance guard at the combat of Dirschau and served at the siege of Dantzig. Sent to Spain in 1808, he was promoted général de division on 24 November 1808. In 1809 he held divisional command within the Armée d’Allemagne, and on 15 October he took command of the 4th infantry division of IV Corps. He was created baron de l’Empire on 23 May 1810 and held senior territorial and administrative commands in the military divisions (including the 25th, and later the 31st). Reassigned in 1813 to field command with the corps observing the Elbe, he fought in Silesia, including actions around Breslau and the series of engagements near Goldberg in August. Isolated by flooding at the Bóbr (Bober) during the 1813 operations, he capitulated at Löwenberg on 29 August 1813 and returned to France only after the Emperor’s abdication.

Under the Bourbon Restoration he was named chevalier de Saint-Louis and appointed inspector general of infantry in the Haut-Rhin (29 July 1814). During the Hundred Days he was given command of the National Guards of the 19th military division (9 May 1815). In July 1815 he took part, with Generals Curial and Puniet de Monfort, in presenting the submission of the Army of the Alps to Louis XVIII; he was subsequently placed in non-activité (14 August 1815). Restored to senior command thereafter, he received the command of the 14th military division on 30 March 1820, was made grand officer of the légion d'honneur on 1 May 1821, and was created vicomte by royal ordinance on 11 August 1822. He retired from active service on 1 October 1834 and died at Libourne on 31 March 1837. His name, “PUTHOD,” is among those inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe (north pillar).

Sources

• Base Léonore: Jacques Pierre Louis Marie Joseph Puthod
• Wikipedia (French): Jacques Pierre Louis Puthod
• Wikipedia (English): Jacques-Pierre-Louis Puthod
• Napoleon Series: Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789–1814 (Puthod entry)
• Wikisource: Charles Mullié, “Biographie des célébrités militaires… de 1789 à 1850” (Puthod)