General Louis Chrétien Carrière de Beaumont

Aide-de-camp to General Dumas and Marshal Murat

Born: April 14, 1771

Place of Birth: Brouchy, Somme, France

Died: December 16, 1813

Place of Death: Metz, France

Pronunciation:

Enlisting in the Queen's Dragoons in 1788, Louis Chrétien Carrière de Beaumont was next promoted to sous-lieutenant of the 6th Hussars in November of 1792. He served with the Army of the North and was promoted to lieutenant in April of 1793. Later that year Beaumont became an aide-de-camp to General Dumas and he was sent to serve in the Vendée for the next few years. In September of 1796 he joined the staff of the Army of Italy and then a few weeks later he was promoted to capitaine.

In 1798 Beaumont took part in the expedition to Egypt as an aide-de-camp of General Dumas. Beaumont remained in Egypt after Dumas left and he served at the Battle of Abukir in July of 1799. The next month he was promoted to chef d'escadrons and named an aide-de-camp to General Murat. However, Beaumont did not return to France with Napoleon and Murat, instead he returned to France in April of 1800. Once back in France he caught up Murat with the Army of the Reserve and he went on to distinguish himself at Verceil in May and then at the Battle of Marengo in June. In 1801 he was promoted to chef de brigade.

Beaumont took command of the 10th Hussars in 1805 and when the Grande Armée marched east to confront the Third Coalition he served in Marshal Lannes' V Corps. Beaumont led his men at Wertingen and Ulm in October and then they later went on to serve at Amstetten and Austerlitz. On Christmas Eve of that year, he was promoted to général de brigade. In March of 1806 Beaumont became Murat's aide-de-camp again and he was sent to take Wesel. That October he took part in the campaign against Prussia, serving at the Battle of Jena. Shortly afterwards Beaumont took provisional command of a brigade of light cavalry and he served at Prentzlow at the end of October. Afterwards he returned to serve as an aide-de-camp of Marshal Murat and in February of 1807 he served at the Battle of Eylau. In May of 1807 Beaumont served at the Siege of Danzig and he was named a Commander of the Legion of Honor and Knight of the Iron Crown. Rejoining the main body of the army, he served at the Battle of Friedland in June.

In September of 1808 Beaumont took command of the light cavalry attached to I Corps of the Army of Spain. Next he was detached to serve with the II Corps and he was named a Baron of the Empire. In December Beaumont returned to I Corps and then in January of 1809 he served at Uclès. That March he fought at Medellin and then in July he fought at Alcabon and he was wounded at Talavera . Beaumont went on to serve at Ocaña and the Siege of Cadiz. In 1811 he distinguished himself at the combat of Saint-Pétri in March and then at the end of the year he returned to France.

Preparing for the campaign against Russia of 1812, Beaumont took command of a brigade of cuirassiers. His brigade initially served under General Sébastiani but then General Watier took command of the division. That August Beaumont led his men into action at Smolensk and then in September they fought at the Battle of Borodino. In October he participated in two combats on the outskirts of Moscow and then he was assigned to command a brigade of cavalry on foot. After surviving the retreat from Russia, Beaumont was promoted to général de division in December.

For the campaigns of Germany of 1813, General Beaumont took command of a division of light cavalry of III Corps. He served at Lützen in May and then he was assigned command of the division of light cavalry of Marshal Marmont's VI Corps. In August of 1813 Beaumont took command of the German light cavalry of Marshal Oudinot's XII Corps. That October he fought at the Battle of Leipzig under Marmont, and then during the retreat he fought at the Battle of Hanau. In December Beaumont was next given command of the 5th Heavy Cavalry Division of V Corps but he died that month at Metz.

Bibliography

Six, Georges. Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux & Amiraux Français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). 2 vols. Paris: Gaston Saffroy, 2003.

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Updated August 2017