General Claude Louis Constant Esprit Juvénal Gabriel Corbineau

Cavalry officer and aide-de-camp to Napoleon who was killed at Eylau


Born: March 7, 1772

Place of Birth: Laval, Mayenne, France

Died: February 8, 1807

Cause of Death: Killed in action

Place of Death: Eylau, Prussia

Arc de Triomphe: CORBINEAU on the east pillar

Pronunciation:



The son of the inspector general of the king's stud farms for the generality of Tours, Claude Louis Constant Esprit Juvénal Gabriel Corbineau was the oldest of three brothers who rose to prominence as cavalry officers. Known as Constant Corbineau, his father was also the property steward of the Marquis d'Harville, who was also Constant's godfather. From a young age, Constant Corbineau studied at the English College of Douai and gained an understanding of the English language.1

Corbineau began his military career as a gendarme with the rank of lieutenant in the Gendarmes of the Queen in 1788. In 1791 he began serving as a sous-lieutenant in the 3rd Dragoons and over the next few years he served in the Army of the North and the Army of the Moselle. In 1792 he became an aide-de-camp to General d'Harville and he was promoted to lieutenant. In May of 1793 Corbineau received a promotion to capitaine and that October he fought at the Battle of Wattignies where he was wounded, receiving several saber blows including one to the armpit, two to the head, and more to his right arm. In 1794 he was back in action and serving with the Army of the Sambre and Meuse when he received another wound, this time a shot to his left ankle at Beaumont. In 1796 Corbineau was promoted to chef d'escadrons and due to his proficiency with the English language he served on Hoche's staff and took part in the failed expedition to Ireland. Over the next few years he served in various armies, first returning to the Army of the Sambre and Meuse, then joining the Army of Germany, and last joining the Army of Switzerland.

In September of 1799 Corbineau was promoted to chef de brigade of the 5th Chasseurs à Cheval and in 1800 his unit joined the Army of the Rhine under Moreau. At the Battle of Hohenlinden in December, he led his men in a charge against the enemy and was wounded by two shots, one to the right hip and the other to his right thigh. During the peaceful years that followed, Corbineau served in garrison at Mainz and later Coblentz before traveling to Hanover to serve under Bernadotte.

1805 brought honors for Corbineau when he was made an equerry of the empress. That September he joined Marizy's brigade of Kellermann's division of I Corps, and he went on to fight at Austerlitz where he was wounded while capturing a Russian flag. In recognition of his service, on Christmas Day he was made a Commander of the Legion of Honor. The next year Corbineau was promoted to général de brigade and he became an aide-de-camp to Napoleon. After fighting at Golymin in December, he continued to take part in the campaign. While eating breakfast at Eylau, Corbineau informed his companions that he expected to die that day.2 During the battle, Corbineau was entrusted with delivering to Marshal Augereau the order to attack with VII Corps. As he gave the order to Augereau, he was killed by a cannonball.3


Notes

  1. Trois Soldats: Constant, Juvénal et Hercule Corbineau, (Paris: Imprimerie des Orphelins-apprentis d'Auteuil, 1904), 11.
  2. Louis Constant Wairy, Memoirs of Constant: First Valet de Chambre of the Emperor, On the Private Life of Napoleon, His Family, and His Court, trans. Elizabeth G. Martin, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1895), II:187-188.
  3. F. G. Hourtoulle, From Eylau To Friedland, trans. Alan McKay, (Paris: Histoire & Collections, 2007), 52.



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Updated July 2024

© Nathan D. Jensen