MenuGeneral Jean Baptiste Estève
Born: January 2, 1768
Place of Birth: Entrecasteaux, Var, France
Died: February 14, 1837
Place of Death: Paris, France
Pronunciation:
Jean Baptiste Estève began his military career by enlisting in the regiment of Normandy in 1784. Six years later, at the end of the year 1790 he obtained a leave and then he went on to establish himself as a wigmaker in Entrecasteaux. In September of 1792 Estève became a gendarme of the town of Brignoles and later he became part of the 2nd Legion of Gendarmerie organized at Fontainebleau. In 1793 he began serving with the Army of the Rhine and in July of 1794 he served at Kaiserslautern and Trippstadt. In January of 1795 Estève served before Mainz where he was wounded by two shots, one to the ankle and the other to the right thigh. Eleven months later he was commissioned as a sous-lieutenant. Estève was next promoted to lieutenant in September of 1796 when he joined the 2nd Legion of Franks, also called the Foreign Deserters. A month later he was promoted to capitaine and that December he took part in the expedition to Ireland.
In July of 1797 the Legion of Franks was disbanded and Estève was unemployed until the middle of August when he joined the 20th Demi-Brigade of the Line and he was appointed an aide-de-camp to General Quantin. In September he served under General Augereau during the coup of 18 Fructidor. Estève's next placement came in June of 1799 when he joined the 14th Light and began serving with the Army of the Danube and later the Army of Switzerland. During this time he was named commander of Morat and later Aarau. In May of 1800 Estève joined the 28th of the Line in Lannes' corps in the Army of the Reserve. The next month he went on to distinguish himself at the crossing of the Po, the Battle of Montebello, and the Battle of Marengo. In 1801 Estève served with the staff of the Army of Italy and then he joined the 11th Light.
Estève was next sent on the expedition to Saint-Domingue in late 1801 where he served under General Hardy. At the end of March of 1802 he was wounded in combat by two shots, one to the chest and the other to the arm. For this he received a saber of honor. That May Estève was put on a leave of convalescence and he later returned to France.
In April of 1804 Estève joined the 2nd Regiment of the Guard of Paris and in June he was named an Officer of the Legion of Honor. Two years later he was appointed major in the 1st Regiment of the Guard of Paris and then in September of 1807 he joined Malher's division. Estève later served in Pannetier's brigade in Barbou's division and with them he served at the combat of the bridge of Alcoléa in June of 1808 and then the combat of Andujar. That July he was promoted to colonel and he served at Bailen where he was made a prisoner after the French surrender. Sent to Cadiz where he was held in a prison ship, Estève finally managed to escape in May of 1810 when he made it to the beach and was picked up by the French army. Six months later he was named colonel of the 118th of the Line and he continued to serve in Spain. In July of 1812 he fought at Salamanca where he was wounded by a shot to the left side.
In January of 1813 Estève was named colonel-major of the 4th Regiment of Voltigeurs of the Young Guard. A few months later in April he was rewarded by being named a Knight of the Order of the Reunion and a Baron of the Empire. Estève served on the campaign in Saxony and that July he was promoted to général de brigade. In August he served with the general headquarters staff but before long he took command of the 1st Brigade of Delmas' 9th Division. Estève led this brigade into combat at the action of Dessau in October and then the Battle of Leipzig . Afterwards, in November he joined the 12th Division of Morand's IV Corps and then in December he joined the defense of Mainz.
After Napoleon's abdication in April of 1814, Estève returned to France where the restored Bourbons named him a Knight of Saint Louis. When Napoleon returned from exile in 1815 for the Hundred Days, Estève rallied to him and was placed in Travot's division of the Army of the Loire. In this position Estève served against the royalists in the Vendée and on June 4th he defeated the Marquis Louis de La Rochejacquelein at Saint-Jean-de-Monts. A few weeks later he served against the royalists again at Rocheservière. After the second restoration of the Bourbons, in November Estève retired from the army.
Bibliography
Updated January 2025
© Nathan D. Jensen