General Pierre André Miquel

Officer who served in Bernadotte's division from 1794 to 1797

Born: January 20, 1762

Place of Birth: Béziers, Hérault, France

Died: March 5, 1819

Place of Death: Béziers, France

Arc de Triomphe: MIQUEL on the west pillar

Pronunciation:

The son of an innkeeper, Pierre André Miquel enlisted as a soldier in the infantry regiment of Bourbon in 1778. After the onset of the Revolution, in 1790 he was promoted to sergeant major. In 1792 Miquel served in the Army of the North, was promoted to capitaine, and served under General Dumouriez in Champagne. The following year he served in the Army of the Ardennes and that March he distinguished himself at Aix-la-Chapelle and fought at Tirlemont. In April of 1794 Miquel was promoted to chef de bataillon and then eight months later he was promoted to chef de brigade. Miquel served in the Army of the Sambre and Meuse since its creation in 1794 and he served in General Bernadotte's division. In December of 1795 he distinguished himself at Kreuznach and then four months later in March of 1796 he took command of the 88th of the Line. Miquel's next major action came in October when he repulsed the enemy who attempted to cross the Rhine at Andernach.

Remaining as part of Bernadotte's division, in early 1797 Miquel traveled with the division to join the Army of Italy. Miquel was wounded by a shot to the right thigh at the action of Gradisca in March of 1797. In 1798 he was assigned to the Army of Rome but then he returned to France to recover from his wounds. Returning to the Army of Italy in 1799, Miquel took command of the bataillon of depot for the expedition to Egypt. In 1800 he took command of a bataillon and joined Chabran's division in the Army of the Reserve. That June Miquel took command at Ivrée and then in 1801 he served in the Army of the South under General Murat.

In 1802 Miquel took command of the 82nd of the Line and then in 1803 he took command of the 27th of the Line. That year he also received a promotion to général de brigade and he then joined Legrand's division at the camp of Saint-Omer. In 1804 Miquel was named a Commander of the Legion of Honor and then in 1805 he was employed in the 20th military division and therefore he did not take part in campaigns of the Grande Armée that year. In the meantime he also served in the 10th military division and in 1808 he was named commander of the département of Ariège. Three years later in 1811 he was named a Baron of the Empire and he retired from the army at the end of the year.

Bibliography

Updated February 2018