Martin Charles Gobrecht (1772-1845)

Martin Charles Gobrecht (born 11 November 1772 at Cassel, in French Flanders; died 7 June 1845 at Saint-Omer) was a French cavalry officer of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period, who rose from volunteer service to general rank, served in multiple field armies and cavalry regiments, and held brigade-level command during the 1813 campaign and again in 1815. He was created baron de l’Empire and received senior grades in the Légion d’honneur.

He entered service as a volunteer on 13 September 1792 in Vandamme’s compagnie franche, serving that year at the siege of Lille. He was commissioned sous-lieutenant in the armée du Nord (4 March 1793), promoted Lieutenant (5 September 1793), and was wounded in action early in his career (including at Hondschoote, 8 September 1793). During the winter operations of 1794–1795, he distinguished himself at the passage of the Waal (10 January 1795), where—according to later summaries—he was wounded, had his horse killed, carried a redoubt, and took artillery pieces; soon after, he served as aide de camp to Vandamme (from April 1795), and was promoted captain (2 November 1795).

From the later 1790s he served primarily with cavalry formations along the Rhine and in the Netherlands theatre. In January 1798 he joined the 6th Hussars in the armée de Rhin, and in 1799 he was promoted chef d’escadron (notably after Bergen, 19 September 1799) while continuing staff service under Vandamme. He was wounded again at Castricum (6 October 1799) and his promotion was confirmed shortly thereafter.

Under the Consulate and early Empire he held field and regimental appointments in mounted troops, including dragoons (from February 1803). In June 1804 he was named among the early members (légionnaires) of the newly created Légion d’honneur at the camp d’Amiens. Assigned to the Grande Armée (division Klein) from late Year XIII, he is credited with a notable cavalry action at Wertingen (8 October 1805), where he led a charge against enemy infantry and captured cannon. He became a Major in the 24th Dragoons (16 May 1806), subsequently serving in Italian garrisons, and he was promoted to officier of the Légion d’honneur (27 July 1809).

In 1811 Gobrecht reached regimental command: he was appointed Colonel (14 March 1811) of the 30th chasseurs à cheval, which was converted that year into the 9th chevau-légers lanciers. In the 1812 campaign he served with this lancer regiment; later French compilations associate his elevation as baron de l’Empire with his conduct in the fighting at Ostrowno (25 July 1812). In 1813 he was promoted général de brigade (July 1813) and given cavalry command within I Corps; he was shut up in Dresden and became a prisoner following the capitulation (and its subsequent violation, as described in French accounts), returning to France in March 1814.

During the first Restoration he received the croix de Saint-Louis (6 August 1814). In 1815 he reappears in orders of battle for the Hundred Days as a brigade commander in Jacquinot’s light cavalry division, with a brigade including the 3rd and 4th chevau-légers lanciers during the Waterloo campaign.

After 1815 his active employment diminished; he was placed on retirement in 1825. He later received the rank of commandeur of the Légion d’honneur (5 January 1834). He died in 1845.

Sources

• Wikipedia (French): “Martin Gobrecht”
• Base Léonore (Archives nationales): “GOBRECHT Martin Charles”
• FranceArchives authority notice: “Gobrecht, Martin Charles (1772–1845)”
• Persée: J. Milot (1989), “La compagnie franche de Vandamme”
• Napoleon Series: “9e Regiment de Chevau-Legers-Lanciers”
• Napoleon Series: Waterloo order of battle (French) — Jacquinot’s cavalry division / Gobrecht brigade
• Wikipedia: “Armée du Nord (Cent-Jours)”