MenuGeneral Jacques Zacharie Destaing
Born: November 6, 1764
Place of Birth: Aurillac, Cantal, France
Died: May 5, 1802
Cause of Death: Killed in a duel
Place of Death: Paris, France
Arc de Triomphe: DESTAING on the south pillar
Pronunciation:
The son of a lawyer, Jacques Zacharie Destaing was a cousin to Delzons and he began his military career by joining the National Guard of Aurillac in July of 1789. Three years later he was promoted to lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of Cantal, and only three days after that he was elected a lieutenant colonel of the battalion. For the next few years he served in the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. In February of 1794 Destaing was promoted to chef de brigade, in May he was wounded by an explosion during the siege of Saint-Elme, and then in August he served in Sauret's division at the Battle of Saint-Laurent de la Mouga.
In 1796 Destaing joined the Army of Italy and he distinguished himself at Dego in April and then was wounded at Corona in July. At Lonato in August he was wounded again, receiving four saber blows. That December Destaing was transferred to Joubert's division and in January he fought at the Battle of Rivoli , where he was wounded yet again. Three months later he was fighting at Milback in the Tyrol when he was wounded again.
Joining the Army of the Orient in 1798, Destaing served as part of Marmont's brigade in Bon's division. At the Battle of the Pyramids , he distinguished himself so well that General Bonaparte promoted him to général de brigade on the battlefield. In October Destaing joined Desaix's division and then he became the commander of Cairo. The next year Destaing served under Murat at Abukir, and afterwards he took command of the province of Bahireh. In early 1801, he distinguished himself before Alexandria as part of Friant's division, and then he served under Rampon in the center at the Battle of Canope , where he was wounded by two shots.
General Menou, in charge of the French army in Egypt since Kléber's death, promoted Destaing to général de division and made him his chief of staff. However, there was much dissension in the French high command of the Army of the Orient. Menou had blamed the loss at Canope on Generals Reynier, Damas, and Lanusse. Lanusse had expressed his doubts in Menou's competence shortly before his death at Canope, and in the days after the battle Reynier had become openly hostile to Menou. Menou considered Reynier insubordinate and ordered Destaing to arrest both Reynier and Damas, which Destaing did in the most unsubtle manner possible, by taking a sizable contingent of troops and surrounding Reynier's house.1 Reynier and Damas surrendered and were shipped back to France.
After the French finally surrendered in Egypt to the British, Destaing returned to France and Paris. In the meantime Reynier had published a work denouncing Menou's leadership in Egypt. As Destaing read the book, he came across the section covering the Battle of Canope and found that Reynier alleged Destaing had left the battlefield early due to a slight wound. Furious, Destaing challenged Reynier to a duel, which Reynier accepted.2 On May 5th, 1802, the two generals met and Reynier killed Destaing with a single pistol shot, ending the life of the promising general. Napoleon banished Reynier from Paris for a period of time as punishment.3
Notes
- Jean-Louis-Ebénézer Reynier, State of Egypt After the Battle of Heliopolis, (London: J. and G. Robinson, 1802), 301-302.
- Piers Mackesy, British Victory in Egypt: The End of Napoleon's Conquest, (London: Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2010), 228.
- David G. Chandler, Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars, (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1979), 377.
Bibliography
- Divry, Arnauld. Les Noms Gravés sur l'Arc de Triomphe. Paris: L'Harmattan, 2017.
- Six, Georges. Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux & Amiraux Français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). 2 vols. Paris: Gaston Saffroy, 2003.
Related Pages:
Updated June 2024
© Nathan D. Jensen