Filippo Severoli (1762-1822)

Filippo Giacomo Severoli was born on 16 November 1762 in Faenza, the second son of the conte Giacomo Severoli and Livia Rondinelli. He studied at the Collegio dei Nobili in Ravenna and entered the Pontificia Accademia ecclesiastica in 1783, but by 1796 he had left the ecclesiastical path and associated with the filo‑revolutionary movement in Romagna. He took part in the events of early 1797 that followed the French advance into northern Italy and, after the engagement at the ponte di San Procolo (the action on the Senio) on 3 February 1797, he joined the civic and provisional authorities established in Faenza and the regional government at Forlì. On 15 February 1797 he was appointed capo battaglione of the coorte dell'Emilia and on 8 May 1797 he was recorded as comandante di battaglione after fighting and receiving a wound in the combats at Toirano and at La Pietra near Loano.

Severoli's service continued through the revolutionary and coalition wars. He was promoted to colonnello on 17 January 1798 and commanded the 1ª mezza brigata di linea, serving in operations in Tuscany and later re‑forming with the surviving units of the cisalpino contingents after the reverses of 1799. On 15 August 1799 he took part in the battle of Novi, where his half‑brigade held together while much of the French centre collapsed, and thereafter he retreated beyond the Alps with the remnants of the cisalpini. In the spring of 1800 he served under Giuseppe Lechi as a brigadier of the Cisalpine troops, protecting the flank and rear of the French manoeuvres on the Mincio and the crossings of the Po in the campaign that concluded with the action at Marengo. On 22 September 1800 he was promoted generale di brigata and, after the conclusion of peace, he spent the years 1801–1806 in garrison duties in Puglia, Milan and his native Romagna.

In 1805 Severoli was appointed comandante della guarnigione di Milano. In 1806 he joined the field army under André Masséna in operations that secured the continental portion of the Kingdom of Naples; he took part in the operations surrounding the capitulation of Gaeta and in measures to suppress brigandage in the newly occupied territory. In 1807 he was detached to northern Europe with the Italian division commanded by Pietro Teulié to reinforce the siege of the Prussian fortress of Kolberg. After Teulié was mortally wounded on 12 June 1807 Severoli assumed command of the division ad interim; the siege of Kolberg capitulated on 1 July 1807 and the same force subsequently took part in operations against the Swedish‑held positions at Stralsund in Pomerania. On 7 October 1807 he received promotion to generale di divisione and in February 1808 he returned to Italy with his troops, being stationed at Padua and then at Milano.

At the opening of the campaign of 1809 Severoli commanded a division under the orders of Eugenio di Beauharnais. On 16 April 1809 his division fought at Sacile where Severoli received a severe wound that shattered an arm and forced him temporarily from command. After convalescence he resumed command and on 14 June 1809 he led his division at the battle of Raab (Győr). At Raab he was wounded again, had two horses killed under him and personally led a bayonet counterattack to secure the village of Szabadhegy; his division then supported the siege operations that led to the reduction of Raab on 22 June 1809. He took part in subsequent operations directed against the Austrian forces in northern Italy and in the sieges of positions around Pressburg (Bratislava), and after the armistice he was employed in operations against the Tyrolean insurrection, during which his troops were used to secure principal rebel leaders and to occupy Bolzano. For his services in the 1809 campaign he was made a member of the Légion d'honneur on 15 August 1809; in 1810 he received from Napoleon a dotation of 10,000 lire on demesne property in Tyrol and was created comte de l'Empire, and in March 1812 he was promoted to officier de la Légion d'honneur.

In March 1810 Severoli was selected to assume command of the Italian division serving in Catalonia, replacing General Domenico Pino. Arriving in Catalonia on 20 March 1810, he marched on Valls and pressed operations against the Spanish formations gathering about Tarragona and the guerrilla bands in the hills. Logistical difficulties forced a night withdrawal to Barcelona on 6–7 April 1810; shortly afterwards Severoli received orders from Marshal Augereau to invest the fortress of Hostalric. He conducted the siege operations on Hostalric through April and May 1810, repulsed attempts to supply or reinforce the garrison, and on 12 May a Spanish sortie under Colonel Julián Estrada attempted to break out. Severoli detached two brigades in pursuit; Estrada and some 300 men were captured while the remainder escaped through the mountains. The garrison surrendered on 14 May 1810. Thereafter Severoli assumed control of the coastal sector around Tossa de Mar and the Costa Brava until he asked for leave on grounds of health in November 1810.

At the beginning of 1811 Severoli was charged with organizing Italian reinforcements destined for the Spanish theatre. He was named comandante della 3ª divisione italiana, a formation of two brigades numbering roughly 9,000 men with about 1,000 horses, and on 4 July 1811 he led his division into Navarra with orders to suppress and combat the guerrilla bands operating under Francisco Javier Mina. His division spent the end of 1811 and 1812 on operations in Catalonia and the central provinces of the peninsula. He took part in the sieges and captures directed against Valencia and Peñíscola in January–February 1812 as part of the forces operating in the eastern theatre; during 1812 his division continued active service in Catalonia and in interior operations against irregular forces and conventional Spanish units.

During 1813 the Italian contingents in Spain were consolidated and placed under Severoli's command; he commanded the unified Italian division in the later stages of the Spanish war while the allied French commanders sought to contain and defeat growing Spanish resistance and Anglo‑Portuguese support. In 1813 Severoli intervened to intercede in a disciplinary case involving an Italian officer condemned by the French commander in chief, securing the officer's release and offering the man a post on his stato maggiore.

At the end of 1813 Severoli was recalled from Spain to northern Italy where the army under Eugène de Beauharnais was engaged in operations against the Austrians and the forces of the King of Naples, Gioacchino Murat. He was assigned to hold Piacenza and to occupy Parma; his division entered Parma and then Reggio. On 7 March 1814 at the bridge of San Maurizio near Reggio Emilia his command was attacked by Austro‑Neapolitan forces under Murat's co‑operating generals. Severoli was struck by a cannon shot to the right leg during the fighting and, after a protracted effort to remain on the field, underwent amputation of the limb. He relinquished command and was evacuated from the front.

After the cessation of hostilities Severoli entered the service of the Imperial‑Regio authorities and on 16 March 1815 he was placed on the retired list with the rank of luogotenente feldmaresciallo; on 17 December 1820 he was recalled to active duty and named comandante della fortezza di Piacenza. He was returned to retirement on 16 April 1822 with the decoration of the Ordine della Corona di Ferro di 2ª classe. Filippo Severoli died at Fusignano on 6 October 1822.

Sources

• Treccani: SEVEROLI, Filippo Giacomo - Dizionario Biografico
• Rivista Militare (Iacopi): Filippo SEVEROLI, generale italiano di Napoleone (PDF)
• Napoleon-Series: The Memorie Zucchi: an Extrapolation of the 1809 Italian Campaign (Italian HQ Relations)
• FrenchEmpire.net: General Filippo Severoli (biography)