Nicolas-Charles Oudinot

Born Apr. 25, 1767, in Bar-le-Duc; died Sept. 13,1847, in Paris. French military figure. Marshal of France (1809) and duke of Reggio (1810).

Oudinot, the son of a bourgeois, served in the army from 1784 to 1787. At the outbreak of the French Revolution he joined the insurgent army and was promoted during the revolutionary wars, distinguishing himself with great valor. He became a general of brigade in 1794 and a general of division in 1799. In 1799 and 1800 he served as chief of staff in General A. Masséna’s army in Switzerland and Italy. He became inspector general of the infantry in 1801 and a division commander in 1803. Between 1805 and 1807 he commanded an elite detachment of grenadiers and led the advance guard in the battle of Friedland (1807). He became a corps commander in 1809 and distinguished himself at Wagram, for which he received the rank of marshal. He commanded troops in Holland from 1810 to 1812. During the Russian campaign of 1812 and during the campaign of 1813 he commanded a corps and distinguished himself at the crossing of the Berezina and at Bautzen.

In 1814, Oudinot sided with the Bourbons and remained loyal to the monarchy during the Hundred Days. He became a peer of France in 1814 and commander of the National Guard in 1815. In 1823 he commanded a corps during the intervention in Spain. Oudinot became grand chancellor of the Legion of Honor in 1839 and governor of the Hôtel des Invalides in 1842.