General Jean Baptiste Cyrus Adélaïde de Timbrune de Thiembronne de Valence

Deputy of the nobility to the Estates General who served under Dumouriez and returned to France after the amnesty of 1799

By Nathan D. Jensen

Born: September 22, 1757

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

Died: February 4, 1822

Place of Death: Paris, France

Arc de Triomphe: VALENCE on the north pillar

Pronunciation:

The son of the Count of Valence, Jean Baptiste Cyrus Marie Adélaïde de Timbrune de Thiembronne de Valence began his military career in 1772 when he entered the artillery school at Strasbourg. By 1779 he had risen to the rank of capitaine and that year he was appointed an aide-de-camp to Marshal Vaux for the invasion of England that never occurred. In 1784 he married the daughter of Madame de Genlis and was promoted to mestre de camp. With the calling of the Estates General in 1789, Valence was elected a deputy of the nobility for the city of Paris.

As the French Revolution got underway, Valence took command of the 1st Carabiniers in 1791. That year he was honored as a Knight of Saint Louis and then in December he was promoted to maréchal de camp. After serving as commander of Strasbourg in early 1792, in June Valence served under Luckner and seized Courtrai. Three months later in September he was promoted to lieutenant general and then he served under Kellermann at the Battle of Valmy. Afterwards Valence joined the Army of the Ardennes and served under Dumouriez, and during this time he led his men in seizing Dinant, Charleroi, and Namur. When Dumouriez was absent temporarily, Valence would take command of the army as an interim commander. In March of 1793 Valence commanded the right at Neerwinden where he was wounded. The next month when Dumouriez fled France after a failed plot to march the army on Paris, Valence fled France with him.

During Valence's time in exile, he traveled to England and the United States before finally residing in Hamburg. After Napoleon took power in late 1799 and issued a general amnesty for those who had fled during the French Revolution, Valence returned to France.

In 1805 Valence was appointed a senator and in 1807 he became commander of the reserve at Grenoble. Valence resumed a more active career when in September of 1808 he took command of the 3rd Polish Division of IV corps and began serving in Spain. In July of 1809 he fought at the Battle of Talavera and then later that year he served under Marshal Jourdan at Madrid. At the end of 1811 General Valence was sent to Germany to command the 5th Cuirassier Division in preparation for the campaign in Russia. Valence's division became part of Nansouty's I Cavalry Corps and he served throughout the campaign of 1812 and fought at Mohilew.

In 1814 Valence became the secretary of the senate and after Napoleon's abdication the restored Bourbons made him a Peer of France. When Napoleon returned to power for the Hundred Days in 1815, Valence rallied to him and that June he helped to defend the left bank of the Seine. After the Second Restoration of the Bourbons, they removed him from the Chamber of Peers and forcibly retired him. In 1816 Valence's daughter married General Gérard and in 1819 Valence's position as a Peer of France was restored.

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Updated July 2024