Claude Pierre Rouget
Command Ratings
Commands
- Commands the 4th Young Guard Division of The Southern Wing of the French Grande Armée at Liebertwolkwitz (1813, age 43)
Claude Pierre Rouget (1770–1833)
Claude Pierre Rouget, known as Le Batave, was born at Lons-le-Saunier on 3 April 1770 and died in Paris on 14 October 1833. He was the younger brother of Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, the author of La Marseillaise. After completing his studies, he entered military service in 1793 as a lieutenant. Early in 1794 he served with the Army of the North in the 181st demi-brigade of line infantry, and he later transferred to the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse. On 8 July 1795 he was appointed capitaine d’état-major in the service of the Batavian Republic, after which he returned to the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse. Promoted lieutenant-colonel on 16 July 1798, he was assigned to the Batavian Army in 1799.
During the 1805 German campaign, Rouget served on the staff of General Dumonceau (under General Marmont) and was present at Elchingen on 14 October 1805. He campaigned in Prussia and Poland in 1806–1807 and was promoted colonel on 5 November 1806. On 9 February 1807 he was appointed général-major in the Kingdom of Holland for service intended to support General Daendels in Batavia, but he was captured by the British during the outward voyage. After returning to France in 1809, he was placed in non-activité. He was promoted général de brigade on 11 November 1810 and soon thereafter served in the Peninsular War, commanding a brigade under General Caffarelli. On 22 April 1812 he commanded the 1st brigade of General Vandermaesen’s division in the Army of the North in Spain. In 1813 he transferred to the Army of Portugal in General Foy’s division and fought at Tolosa, after which he served under General Clauzel in the Army of the Pyrenees. He was appointed chevalier of the Légion d’honneur on 14 April 1813. In February 1814 he held divisional command by interim appointment and fought at Orthez (27 February) and Toulouse (10 April).
Under the First Restoration, Rouget received a departmental command (Lot) in May 1814 and was made chevalier of the ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis on 31 August 1814. During the Hundred Days he commanded in Lot-et-Garonne (1815). He was placed in non-activité at the end of 1816. From 1818 he held a sequence of territorial and subdivision commands within the post-war military divisions, including appointments in the 12th and later the 19th military divisions. He advanced within the Légion d’honneur as officier (18 May 1820) and commandeur (29 October 1826), and he was made commandeur of Saint-Louis in 1829. He entered the framework of the general staff in 1831, was retired in 1832, and died the following year.
Sources
Generals "Rouget" and "Roguet" are frequently confused and the spellings of their names interchanged. General Rouget spent much of his military career in Spain while General Roguet usually served in the Imperial Guard. Both may be mistakenly rendered as "Roget." X 14 Orthez, Toulouse