François Roguet

François Étienne Roguet was a French infantry officer of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, later styled comte de l’Empire and a Peer of France. Born at Toulouse, he entered military service as a private soldier in May 1789 in the Guyenne regiment (later the 21st Line). He advanced through the non-commissioned grades, became adjudant in a volunteer battalion of Haute-Garonne in 1791, and served with the Army of the Var during the 1792 campaign, including operations around Nice.

From 1792 to 1800 he served in Italy, where he combined staff and field responsibilities as adjudant-major and later chef de bataillon. He was wounded in June 1795 at Savona during an assault on a fortification. In late 1796 he was promoted chef de bataillon and in January 1797 commanded a battalion at Rivoli. During the 1799 campaign he was again seriously wounded at Verona (Santa Lucia). Later in 1799 he was employed in operations against insurgent activity in the valleys of Oneille and the Tanaro, after which he was promoted chef de brigade and continued to serve in northern Italy.

Promoted général de brigade in 1803, Roguet held command appointments in the camps assembled for the projected invasion of Britain and then joined the Grande Armée in 1805. He served under Marshal Ney’s VI Corps in Germany and distinguished himself in actions connected with the Ulm campaign, including engagements at Elchingen and in Tyrol. In 1807 he was wounded and taken prisoner during the campaign culminating at Friedland. After his return he held responsibilities for organizing and instructing infantry units in the Paris garrison and received successive grades within the Légion d’honneur; he was also created baron de l’Empire.

In 1808 Roguet was sent to the North Sea coast and then to Spain. In 1809 he became Colonel of the 2nd chasseurs à pied of the Imperial Guard and served with the Guard infantry at Essling and Wagram. He returned to the Peninsula with Guard light infantry formations and held senior commands in Spain; in 1811 he was promoted général de division and appointed to command responsibilities connected with the French military administration there.

In 1812 he joined the Grande Armée for the invasion of Russia, leading a Guard infantry division. During the retreat he was engaged in the fighting around Smolensk and Krasnoi. In 1813 he served in Germany, including at Wachau (Leipzig) and Hanau, and in that year he was created comte de l’Empire. During the 1814 campaign in the Low Countries he held command over Guard troops operating in the region of Antwerp and Ghent.

During the First Restoration Roguet retained a place in the reorganized royal guard and received the Order of Saint Louis. In March 1815 he returned to Napoleon’s service with the Guard and fought in the Waterloo campaign, including Ligny and Waterloo, where he commanded a division of the Moyenne Garde. After the Second Restoration he was placed on inactive status and later retired.

Following the July Revolution of 1830, Roguet returned to senior command, including the leadership of a military division at Lyon. In November 1831 he was made a life Peer of France and thereafter participated in the Chamber of Peers, speaking on military questions in the late 1830s. He died in Paris in December 1846 and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery. His name is among those inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe. He was the father of Christophe Michel Roguet, later a general officer.

Sources

• Sénat (France): Pair de France — ROGUET François, comte Roguet
• BnF Catalogue: Roguet, François (1770-1846)
• Wikipedia (French): François Roguet
• Wikipedia (English): François Roguet
• The Napoleon Series: The 1799 Campaign in Italy (includes biographical note on Roguet)
• L’Empire: François Roguet (biographical profile)