General Louis Vasserot

Officer who served during the major campaigns of the Empire and helped defend Wurzburg

Born: March 3, 1771

Place of Birth: Champlay, Yonne, France

Died: December 8, 1840

Place of Death: Paris, France

Arc de Triomphe: VASSEROT on the north pillar

Pronunciation:

Volunteering to join the army during the Revolution, Louis Vasserot was named a sous-lieutenant in the 1st Company of Volunteer Cannoniers of Luxembourg at Paris in August of 1792. He received a promotion to lieutenant four months later and then was sent to the Army of the North. In November of 1793 Vasserot was promoted to capitaine, and then in July of 1794 when the armies were reorganized he joined the Army of the Sambre and Meuse. Two months later he joined the artillery staff of that army before he returned to a demi-brigade in March of 1795. In 1796 Vasserot served with the Army of the Interior and he was assigned to the 7th of the Line. Vasserot was designated to take part in the expedition to Ireland of 1798, being assigned to the second wave of troops to embark for Ireland. Enroute the fleet was intercepted and he was taken prisoner on the frigate Loire. Freed in 1799, Vasserot returned to France where he led a detachment of conscripts to the Army of the Rhine. That June Vasserot was assigned to the 95th of the Line.

During the more peaceful years that followed, Vasserot served in Holland in 1801 and 1802. He was next assigned to Hanover until 1804 when he joined the Army of the Coasts of the Ocean. As the Grande Armée moved east against the Third Coalition in 1805, Vasserot was assigned to I Corps. He took part in the campaign of 1805 against Austria and Russia and then the campaign of 1806 against Prussia. During the latter campaign, he fought and was wounded at the action of Lübeck in November of 1806. In April of 1807 Vasserot was promoted to chef de bataillon in the 17th of the Line. He served in Germany for the next four years, being appointed a major in 1809 and then promoted to colonel of the 17th of the Line in September of 1809.

In 1812 Vasserot joined Morand's division and he served on the campaign in Russia. After surviving the retreat from Russia, he served in Germany in 1813 and he was promoted to général de brigade in May of 1813. That September Vasserot was assigned to Wurzburg and he took part in the defense of that city under General Turreau. After successfully holding the city past the date of Napoleon's abdication, Vasserot returned to France where he was named a Knight of Saint Louis. He was initially employed in the 1st military division but eventually he put on non-activity. After Napoleon escaped exile and resumed power for the Hundred Days in 1815, he placed Vasserot in charge of the defense of the département of Pas-de-Calais.

Bibliography

Six, Georges. Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux & Amiraux Français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). 2 vols. Paris: Gaston Saffroy, 2003.

Updated May 2016