Colonel Gérard Lacuée

Aide-de-camp to Napoleon and colonel of the 59th of the Line who was killed near Guntzbourg

Born: December 23, 1774

Place of Birth: Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, France

Died: October 9, 1805

Cause of Death: Mortally wounded

Place of Death: Nordheim, Germany

Arc de Triomphe: LACUÉE on the east pillar

Pronunciation:

Joining the army during the Revolution, Gérard Lacuée was only seventeen when he joined the 80th Infantry Regiment as a sous-lieutenant in 1792. A few months later he was promoted to capitaine, but he refused the promotion and instead served in the staff of the Army of the Western Pyrenees. In 1794 he distinguished himself in combat but was then relieved by order of the Representatives of the People. Undeterred, Lacuée re-enlisted as a soldier in the 12th Hussars and rejoined the Army of the Western Pyrenees. That June he was wounded by a shot to the right knee while fighting at Crois-des-Bourquest.

In 1795 Lacuée was promoted to sous-lieutenant again and he served in the staff of the Army of the Interior. His next major position came in 1798 when he was promoted to lieutenant and attached to the topography staff in the Army of England which became the Army of the Orient. Lacuée traveled with the expedition to Egypt and saw combat, being wounded in July when he was shot in the face and jaw during the action of Kmo-el-Scherif. A few months later he received a promotion to capitaine. In June of 1799 Lacuée was promoted to chef d'escadrons, and then in October he was one of the select few chosen to accompany General Bonaparte on his return to France. After Napoleon became First Consul, Lacuée became his aide-de-camp and took part in the campaign in Italy, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Marengo.

In 1801 Lacuée was promoted to chef de brigade and he continued to serve as an aide-de-camp to Napoleon until October of 1803 when he became colonel of the 59th of the Line. At this time he also joined the camp of Montreuil and he was later named an Officer of the Legion of Honor. When war broke out in 1805, Colonel Lacuée and his men were part of the 3rd Division of Marshal Ney's VI Corps. Leading from the front, he was mortally wounded by a shot to the heart on the road to Guntzbourg that October.

Bibliography

Quintin, Danielle, and Bernard Quintin. Dictionnaire des Colonels de Napoléon. Paris: S.P.M., 1996.

Updated May 2015