Baron André Joseph Boussart

André Joseph Boussart was one of the most prominent Belgians to have served in the Revolution and in the French Napoleonic army. During his life he served in the Austrian army, the army of the United Belgian States and the French army, seeing action in Europe, Africa and the East. He was born on 13 November 1758 in Binche, Hainaut. At the time Belgium was officially the Austrian Netherlands and he wanted adventure so he joined the Austrian army and by 1789 had become a junior lieutenant in the Austrian cavalry (which they were famous for). When the Brabant Revolution began he immediately left the Austrian service to give his full support to the revolutionary patriots and the United States of Belgium. He easily became a captain because of his prior military service but the United States of Belgium did not last long, being crushed by the Austrians, and Boussart escaped to France where he joined the army there, still determined to carry on the fight and joined other Belgians in the Hainault Dragoon Regiment in which he fought the Austrians again. Later he fought with the “Army of Italy” and earned many promotions because of his daring and fearlessness which also caused him to be frequently and badly wounded. By 1797 he was chef de brigade.

Boussart was a supporter of Napoleon Bonaparte and he accompanied Napoleon on his grand campaign to North Africa and the Near East. He fought at the epic battle of the Pyramids in 1798 and the battle of Aboukir in 1799. In 1800 he was promoted to general and in 1801 he fought the British at the battle of Alexandria where he was wounded three times and had to be sent back to France. For his bravery he was made a member of the legion d'honneur in 1803. During the Third Coalition War he led a cavalry brigade of dragoons at the stunning French victory at Austerlitz. In the next war he missed out of the battle of Jena but earned great fame for his participation in the pursuit of the Prussians after. His victories over the Prussians were probably the most remarkable of his career. He played a critical part in the battle of Prenzlau against the Prussians and later also captured the port of Wolgast on the Baltic. He served also under Grouchy at the battle of Lübeck and the battle of Czarnowo where he was wounded. He was badly wounded again at the battle of Pultusk where he fought with the unit of Nicolas Léonard Beker. He fought also at the battle of Eylau and in 1808 Napoleon made Boussart a Baron of the Empire and transferred him to the front in Spain.

He defeated superior Spanish forces at the battle of Margalef and then fought at the victorious siege of Lerida and later the victorious siege of Tortosa. He fought at the siege of Tarragona where he killed far more of the enemy than his own forces lost. Later his participation was also crucial in a victorious attack at the siege of Valencia despite being almost killed. In 1812 he was promoted to general of division and served at the battle of Castalla. He had to leave the front to recover from his bad wounds but was unable to and finally died because of his injuries on 11 August 1813.

Charles van der Burch

Charles Albert Alexandre Louis Henri van der Burch was born into a prominent Belgian noble family in Aubry-du-Hainaut on April 24, 1779, the first born of three brothers. As a boy he served as a page to King Louis XVI of France. His brothers, Aimé and Louis chose to fight for the Emperor Napoleon after France annexed Belgium but Charles refused to do so. He showed his political opinions to a degree when he married the noble daughter of an Austrian baron, Baron von Vincent who was the Governor-General of the Austrian Netherlands for three months in 1814. When the French were first expelled from Belgium, Charles was one of the first to wear the red, yellow, black cockade of Brabant. The Allied commander in Belgium, Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar, gave Charles permission to raise a light cavalry regiment for Allied service in the Belgian Legion.

He became colonel and on February 13, 1814 was given his commission. On March 31, 1814 the Tsar of Russia awarded him the Order of St Vladimir for his commitment to the coalition. Unlike his brothers, he had no military experience but his younger brother Aimé served in his regiment as a lieutenant before his resignation on January 7, 1815. On April 10, 1815 Count van der Burch and his light cavalry were transferred to the command of his lieutenant-colonel Edward Mercx of Corbais. He was then made an aide-de-camp to King Willem I of Orange. This was compensation since, as in the days of the ancien regime, he viewed his regiment as his own property. His regiment then became the 5th Light Dragoons in the new Dutch-Belgian Army.

On February 20, 1816 for his service Charles was made Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion and later on May 6, 1816 was promoted to major-general and appointed military governor of the southern province of Brabant. He was made an honorary lieutenant-general in 1830 because of his distinguished record and he resigned on October 28, 1830 because of the political situation. He retired on November 24, 1838 and was made a Knight of the Order of Leopold by the new King of the Belgians. He died on March 4, 1854 at his estate d’Ecaussines. He is buried in the church there next to his wife along with his ancestors.

Lt. Col. Lambert-Paul Coenegracht

Lambert-Paul Coenegracht was one of the many Belgian officers who lost their lives at the epic battle of Waterloo in the Dutch-Belgian Army contingent of the Allied forces under the overall command of the British Duke of Wellington and HRH Willem, Prince of Orange. Coenegracht began his military career in 1790 and like many of the Belgian soldiers who fought with the Allies at Waterloo he had previously served with the armies of Napoleon. He became a captain in 1804 and later reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Dutch army of King Louis Bonaparte of Holland (brother of Napoleon I). He commanded the 2nd Curassier Regiment (heavy cavalry) and, also like many others, he passed from the Kingdom of Holland into the service of the French Empire military and he commanded the troops that served as escort to French Marshal Auguste de Marmont during the campaign in Spain. Marmont is remembered for owing his rank of Marshal of France mostly to his friendship with Napoleon and for remaining loyal to the Bourbon monarchy throughout the return of Napoleon and the Waterloo campaign. In 1814 Coenegracht left the French army and took command of the Dutch 1st Carabiniers in Trip's brigade (Dutch-Belgian Army) which he led into the battle of Waterloo. During the battle he was badly wounded at the intense fighting around La Haye Sainte and died the next day. Today his sword and watch can still be seen at the Wellington Museum at Waterloo. Because so many Belgians (and Dutch) had, like Coenegracht, served previously with the French army some of the British doubted their loyalty but obviously there could be no question of the devotion of men like Coenegracht who gave their lives to the Allied cause and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in which Belgium was supposed to be an equal partner.

Belgium and the Bonapartes

The Brazen Bonapartist reports on Belgium and the Bonapartes. Also, this is an opportunity to look back on some past posts dealing with that subject: The Duchess of Richmond Ball, General Van Merlen, General Dumonceau, Regent Chokier (an admirer of Napoleon) and the Children of King Leopold II. It was Leopold II's daughter Princess Clementine who married Prince Victor Napoleon (Napoleon V for the Bonapartists) and only recently I again happened to see some pictures of the modern Bonaparte family and had to smile. You can definitely see the genes of King Leopold in them with their prominent noses! The King was, I think, not so happy about his daughter marrying a relative of Napoleon but he seems to have left his mark on the House Bonaparte.

Duchess of Richmond Ball

If you have read some of the history of the downfall of Napoleon or seen the famous movie "Waterloo" you will remember the glamorous ball held by the Duchess of Richmond in Brussels. This was held for the officers of the Allied army, local officials and celebrities and everyone was there when word came from the Germans that Napoleon was advancing on Brussels. That is when the Duke of Wellington, the Prince of Orange and the Allies all left to join the army and stop Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo.

This year the ball is being held again at the British embassy in Brussels. In 1965 and 1995 it was also held to commemorate the anniversaries of the battle of Waterloo (you can see Queen Paola at the ball in the picture in 1965). This year the ball will be to benefit many Anglo-Belgian charities such as the Royal British Legion, Belgian Red Cross and others.

Major General Jean-Baptiste Van Merlen

One of the remarkable Belgian soldiers of the Napoleonic period and who played a key role in the crucial Waterloo campaign was Major General Jean-Baptiste Van Merlen. He was born in Antwerp on 15 April 1773 and had a long record of service in the Dutch army before 1811. He excelled to the rank of colonel on 11 November 1810 as commander of the Hussards de la Garde du roi de Hollande. When Napoleon annexed Holland to the French Empire he transferred to the 5th Squadron of the new 2nd Regiment de Chevau Lanciers de la Garde, better known as the Dutch or “Red” Landers of the Guard. Most of this regiment had been previously members of the Dutch Royal Guard and they retained their red uniforms from this service. It was a very colorful unit with their red Dutch uniforms, lances and Polish drill sergeants (the Poles being considered the sort of experts on lancer cavalry troops). With this unit Colonel Van Merlen served in Russia where his troops fought in fierce battles and suffered heavy casualties in the French service from 1813-1814. On 12 January 1813 he was given the rank General de Brigade and on 13 September 1813 was awarded the medal of Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur.

When Napoleon abdicated (the first time) as emperor General Van Merlen returned home and joined the military forces of the newly planned United Kingdom of the Netherlands (which was to be a dual Dutch-Belgian state) thinking, like many, that Napoleon was gone forever. However, in 1815, Europe was surprised when Napoleon came back and quickly assumed power for himself again. Belgians like General Van Merlen who had fought in the French service were looked at with some suspicion, however, he was loyal to his new country and remained in the service of the Dutch-Belgian Army. This was particularly painful for General Van Merlen since his younger brother was, at the same time, on the other side, fighting in the service of the French II Corps of General Reille. At the battle at Quatre-Bras General Van Merlen led his forces into battle against the French. He commanded the 2nd Netherlands Light Cavalry Brigade which consisted of two regiments: the 6th Dutch Hussars and the 5th Belgian Light Dragoons.

At 3.00 PM General Van Merlen charged his horsemen into the battle against Foy and his advancing infantry. His men cut and slash in the French lines but were hopelessly outnumbered by the arriving cavalry of Piré. Everyone was hard pressed and the fighting was desperate, even the Duke of Wellington had to jump behind the line of the 92nd Highlanders to save himself from the French. General Van Merlen and his brigade lost 171 men at Quatre-Bras. When the main battle of Waterloo began, Van Merlen was kept back with Collaert in reserve in the fourth line near Mont St Jean farm. However, when the French cavalry charged the Allied lines, riding through the infantry who formed squares, Van Merlen had numerous occasions to make counter-attacks against the French horsemen all afternoon. There is a story that in one such frenzied fight he captured a French general who had been an old acquaintance of his when in the service of Napoleon. Rather than make him a prisoner, Van Merlen saluted the Frenchman and said, “General, this is my side of the battlefield, yours is over there. Take care of yourself; farewell!” and let him go back to his side. However, only a short time after this act of chivalry, he was badly wounded and taken to the Mont St Jean farm where he suffered for two hours before finally his death came. He had fought all over Europe in several services but his last words were that he died peacefully because he had never harmed anyone.

General Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau

Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau was one of the famous Belgian figures of the Revolutionary period and Napoleonic period. He was born in Brussels on 7 November 1760 and became a well respected architect. Even after making a career in the army he continued to design great buildings. He was also ideologically aligned with the patriotic crowd and was one of the minor leaders in the Brabant Revolution (United States of Belgium) and he served in that first effort for independence as captain of the famous “Canaries” from Namur. That name was given to these volunteer soldiers because of their bright yellow uniforms. The volunteers were men who had been determined “unsuited for the hardships of military life” because they were too short or some other minor reason and yet Dumonceau turned them into one of the best military units of United Belgian States. He became one of the most famous patriots because of his work with the “Canaries” and his courage and dare-devil attitude. But when the Austrians succeeded in suppressing the United States of Belgium, Dumonceau had to flee to France.

In France he continued his military passion for the liberal policies of the emerging revolution. He commanded a battalion of volunteers from his country, a ‘Legion of the Belgians’ and became a famous face in the revolutionary forces. In 1793 he was promoted to general of brigade and military commander of Den Haag. He was instrumental in the capture of Netherland with his military planning. In 1795 he was promoted to lieutenant general of the Batavian Republic (revolutionary Netherland) and fought against the Anglo-Russian invasion of the country. He was wounded at Bergen and commanded the Dutch forces at the siege of Wurzburg. In 1805 he commanded the Batavian Corps of the French Napoleonic Army in the Austerlitz campaign and he distinguished himself in many, many battles of that campaign. Afterwards he was made a councilor of state to King Louis of Holland (brother of Napoleon) and was briefly ambassador for King Louis in Paris. When the British invaded Walcheren he led the French defenses until he was replaced by Marshal Bernadotte (future King of Sweden). With the support of Napoleon, King Louis made Dumonceau Count of Bergendael and the King made him a Marshal of the Kingdom of Holland. Since Napoleon did not recognize this, when Holland was absorbed by the French Empire he was reduced to general of division.



The famous "Canaries"

In the Saxon campaign of 1813 General Dumonceau was an active participant and he saved the French army from total destruction at the battle of Kulm where he was also again wounded. Finally, his good fortune epxended, he was captured by the Allied forces at Dresden. He was finally released back to France and although involved was not a major participant in the campaign of Waterloo. His son, however, was possibly the one who warned Marshal Grouchy about the Prussians at Wavre. General Dumonceau was widely respected by all sides and was known as the “unblemished general”. After the war when Belgium was united with Holland as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands General Dumonceau was a military advisor to King Willem I. His name appears on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and his son Francois was captain of the Red Lancers in the Dutch army. One of the most famous and respected Belgians in the world of his time he died on 29 December 1821 before seeing the final independence of his country.