General Jean Hardy

Général de division who died in Saint-Domingue in 1802

Born: May 19, 1762

Place of Birth: Mouzon, Ardennes, France

Died: May 29, 1802

Cause of Death: Illness

Place of Death: Cap Français, Saint-Domingue

Arc de Triomphe: HARDY on the north pillar

Pronunciation:

The son of a winemaker, Jean Hardy enlisted in an infantry regiment in 1783 and in 1786 he was promoted to sergeant. Promotions would be scarce for him until the French Revolution, when in July of 1792 he was named a capitaine in the 8th Battalion of the Marne. That September he fought at Valmy and afterwards he was promoted to chef de bataillon and given command of his battalion.

The next few years Hardy served with the Army of the Ardennes. In July of 1793 he was elected commander of the 7th Battalion of the Marne and then in October he led them into action at Wattignies . Taking part in the defense of Philippeville later that year, he was named commander there and then promoted to général de brigade. In 1794 he forced the gorges of Bossus-les-Walcourt and took Thuin before joining Marceau's division. With Marceau's division, he seized Fontaine-Fontaine-l'Evêque, took part in the siege of Charleroi, defended the passage of the Sambre, and finally fought at Fleurus .

In 1796 General Hardy served at the siege of Maestricht before taking command of Marceau's division after Marceau's death. That October he took command of a brigade of Ligniville's division, then the next month he was grievously wounded in the Hunsrück and forced to relinquish his command to take time to recover. In January of 1797 he married the sister-in-law of General Senarmont. Around this time he also took command of the 5th Division of the Army of the Sambre and Meuse.

The next year Hardy participated in the expedition to Ireland, but he was taken prisoner on the ship Hoche. Exchanged at the end of December, he swore he would never set foot on a ship again.¹ In early 1799 Hardy served in the Army of Mainz and then the Army of the Danube. Promoted to général de division in July, he then went on to serve in the Army of Switzerland before joining the Army of the Rhine. In December of 1800 Hardy was wounded by a fragment of an exploding shell at the combat of Ampfing, the battle leading up to the Battle of Hohenlinden. Due to his wounds, he relinquished his command to General Bastoul for that forthcoming battle.²

In late 1801 Hardy volunteered to serve on the expedition to Saint-Domingue to earn money to support his pregnant wife.³ After setting sail from Brest on the ship Révolution, he arrived in February of 1802 and took command of the advanced guard. While there, he obtained the submission of General Christophe in April before dying in May, presumably of yellow fever like many of the soldiers on the expedition.

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Updated June 2024