Jean-Baptiste Jourdan

Definition

Jean-Baptiste Jourdan (1762-1833) was a French general who held significant commands in the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). He won a major victory for the French Republic at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794 and was among the first 14 men to be appointed marshal of the empire by Napoleon I in 1804.

More about: Jean-Baptiste Jourdan

Timeline

  • 29 Apr 1762 - 23 Nov 1833
    Life of Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, marshal of the French Empire.
  • 1778
    Jean-Baptiste Jourdan enlists in the French Royal Army at the age of 16, is deployed to the West Indies.
  • 9 Oct 1779
    Jean-Baptiste Jourdan sees combat during the failed French assault at the Siege of Savannah in the American War of Independence.
  • Jul 1791
    Jean-Baptiste Jourdan enlists in the French Revolutionary Army with the 2nd Haute-Vienne Volunteers, is elected chef de bataillon.
  • 27 May 1793
    Jean-Baptiste Jourdan is promoted to general of brigade.
  • 22 Sep 1793
    Jean-Baptiste Jourdan takes command of the Armée du Nord.
  • 15 Oct 1793 - 16 Oct 1793
    Battle of Wattignies results in victory for the French Republic over an Austrian army.
  • 24 Jun 1794
    The French are victorious at the Battle of Fleurus; their armies remain ascendent for the rest of the War of the First Coalition.
  • 3 Sep 1796
    Jean-Baptiste Jourdan is defeated at the Battle of Würzburg, leading to the failure of his Rhineland campaign.
  • 5 Sep 1798
    The 'Jourdan Law' is passed, ordering all French unmarried males between the ages of 20-25 be available for conscription.
  • May 1804
    Jourdan is among the first 14 men to be made marshals of the empire by Emperor Napoleon I.
  • 21 Jun 1813
    A French army under Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jourdan is defeated by Wellington's Allied army at the Battle of Vitoria.
  • 1819
    Jourdan is made a Peer of France by the restored Bourbon monarchy.
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