Jean-Baptiste, Count Jourdan

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Jean-Baptiste, Count Jourdan

French military commander

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Born:: April 29, 1762, Limoges, Fr.

Died:: Nov. 23, 1833, Paris (aged 71)

Role In:: Battle of Fleurus; Battle of Vitoria; French Revolutionary wars

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Jean-Baptiste, Count Jourdan (born April 29, 1762, Limoges, Fr.—died Nov. 23, 1833, Paris) was a military commander remembered as the sponsor of conscription during the French Revolutionary regime and as one of Napoleon’s marshals of the empire. After being a soldier in King Louis XVI’s army and serving in the West Indies (1778–84), Jourdan retired and became a draper in Limoges. He supported the Revolution, however; and, having been elected lieutenant colonel of volunteers in 1791, he rose to general of a division (1793). After successes against the Austrians, he was made commander of the Army of the Moselle in ...(100 of 289 words)

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