Bertrand Clauzel Takes Command of the Army of Portugal, 1812 Jeffrey Graceffo
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2005 Making of a Marshal: Bertrand Clauzel Takes Command of the Army of Portugal, 1812 Jeffrey Graceffo Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES MAKING OF A MARSHAL: BERTRAND CLAUZEL TAKES COMMAND OF THE ARMY OF PORTUGAL, 1812 By JEFFREY GRACEFFO A Thesis submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2005 Copyright 2005 Jeffrey Graceffo All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Jeffrey Graceffo defended on April 7, 2005. ____________________________ Donald Horward Major Professor ____________________________ Michael Creswell Committee Member ____________________________ Jonathan Grant Committee Member The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii Acknowledgements In the course of completing this thesis, I have become indebted to many for which I must give proper recognition. Research requires excellent sources to work from, and “The French Revolution and Napoleon Collection” at Florida State University’s Strozier Library was crucial in this process. I would like to thank the entire staff of the Special Collections Department at Strozier Library. Their assistance has been invaluable, in addition to the staff of the library’s subbasement. The staff at the Archive de la Guerre in Paris was especially helpful in guiding me along the right path. I am thankful for a Ben Weider fellowship to fund my studies in 2004-05, and to Proctor Jones and George Knight for their financial assistance, which facilitated my research trip to Paris. I am extremely grateful to the entire Clauzel family; Countess Beatrice Clauzel, her son Gabriel, her daughter Lena, and the rest of their family for their extraordinary kindness. They welcomed me into their home for a weekend in Mirépoix, where Bertrand Clauzel lived, and granted me access to their private collections. They went entirely out of their way for me, and I will never forget it. I am thankful to all of the professors who have helped me over the past two years in the History Department at Florida State. In particular, the members of my committee, Dr. Michael Creswell and Dr. Jonathan A. Grant for serving on my defense committee on such short notice. Both have provided excellent classroom instruction, and friendly advice during my time at Florida State. I must acknowledge the financial aid that supported my studies, provided by the INFR through the Napoleonic Studies Fellowship. I would like to especially thank my major professor Dr. Donald Horward, to whom I am forever grateful. He introduced me to Napoleonic history, and encouraged me to focus iii on Napoleon. His kindness, enthusiasm, commitment, and especially his patience in this process are endless. He provided me with translations of many of Clauzel’s papers, arranged my contacts with the Clauzel family, and worked night and day, so that I would meet the graduate deadlines. He has provided excellent guidance and advice, since I entered the institute. I would like to thank my friends and family who have helped me along the way. Strong support was received from my colleagues in The Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution, especially Kenneth Johnson, Jolynda Chenicek. They were always helpful in providing intellectual support and advice in any area. I would like to thank my parents, Joseph and Carole, for always being there for me. Their unending support, and understanding has always been a comfort. Finally, I would like to acknowledge Bertand Clauzel, who loyally served France and his countrymen on the battlefield for forty years. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………....vi Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………viii 1. INTRODUCTION……….….…………………………………………………………1 2. COUNT CLAUZEL, SALAMANCA, AND THE ESCAPE OF THE FRENCH ARMY…………………………………………………………………………………….9 3. HOPE OUT OF DESPAIR: THE ARMY OF PORTUGAL’S RESURRECTION…,.33 4. THE ROAD TO BURGOS, PANCORBO, AND THE FRENCH OFFENSIVE….…52 5. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………….75 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………..80 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH………………………………………………………….…84 v LIST OF FIGURES 1. Portrait of Bertrand Clauzel……………………………...……………………......7 Journal d’Informations Études et Recherche Sur l’Histoire de la France Méridionale, ‘Bertrand Clauzel: Maréchal de France 1772-1842’, Number 9, June 1973, 52. 2. Map of Spain and Portugal………………………………..…………………..…11 Marindin, The Salamanca Campaign, 4 3. Salamanca and its surrounding areas…….……………..……………..…………15 Marindin, The Salamanca Campaign, 15 4. Situation on 17 July 1812………………………………………………………..21 Marindin, The Salamanca Campaign, 19 5. Battle of Salamanca at 4:30 p.m…...…………………………………………….25 Sarramon, La Bataille des Arapiles 6. Battle of Salamanca at 6:30 p.m…………………………...…………………….28 Sarramon, La Bataille des Arapiles 7. Northern Spain…………..………………………………….……………………34 Fortescue, A History of the British Army, VIII, #19 8. The Road to Valladolid……………………..……………………………………38 Sarramon, La Bataille des Arapiles 9. Burgos – Valladolid – Astorga region………….…..…………………….……...44 Sarramon, La Bataille des Arapiles 10. Foy’s route, 16 August to 31 August…….………………………………………46 Fortescue, A History of the British Army, VIII, #19 vi 11. Burgos and its surroundings……..……………………………………………….54 Sarramon, La Bataille des Arapiles 12. Clauzel’s withdrawal to Pancorbo and Wellington’s advance to Burgos.…..…...61 Fortescue, A History of the British Army, VIII, #19 13. Peninsula affairs at the end of 1812…………...…………………………………73 Vincent J. Esposito and John Robert Elting, A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars 14. Maréchal Bertrand Clauzel in 1835……………………………………………...78 Journal d’Informations Études et Recherche Sur l’Histoire de la France Méridionale, ‘Bertrand Clauzel: Maréchal de France 1772-1842’, Number 9, June 1973, 54. vii ABSTRACT Historians have studied the Peninsular War for nearly 200 years, focusing in great detail on its military aspect. While many studies are devoted to the Duke of Wellington, Marshal André Masséna, or other French marshals, there are some individuals who had a remarkable impact on the Peninsula that have been ignored. During the Battle of Salamanca in July of 1812, French General Bertrand Clauzel became commander of the Army of Portugal. After the battle, he remained in command for several months. He dealt with an army that was in ruin. Their morale was extremely low, discipline was almost non-existent, and their logistics were in shambles. Nevertheless, he sought to restore the army as an effective fighting force. Throughout his efforts to restore the army, Clauzel faced Spanish guerrillas and the British Army in an exhausted country. Most references to Clauzel during this time period are extremely limited. Due to recent archival availability of Clauzel’s personal papers, this thesis will take an important step in presenting the complete story of Bertrand Clauzel’s role and contribution to the French cause in the Peninsular War. viii CHAPTER ONE The Early Career of Bertrand Clauzel 1772-1842 In 1808, Napoleon sent French forces over the Spanish border and declared his brother Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain. Initially, the French faced stiff resistance from the citizens after deposing the royal family. Receiving appeals of assistance from Spanish and Portuguese representations, Britain landed an army under Sir Arthur Wellesley, and defeated the French at Vimeiro. The war spread across the Peninsula. By the summer of 1812 little had changed, and the fate of the Peninsula had yet to be determined. The British armies commanded by Wellesley, better known as the Duke of Wellington, challenged France’s Army of Portugal commanded by Marshal Auguste Marmont at the Battle of Salamanca. The battle would have tremendous effects on European affairs. During the battle, Marmont was injured and command passed to General Bertrand Clauzel. He had to save the army from annihilation or the British could drive the remaining French armies back into France. If Spain were lost, the effects could be disastrous to the French Empire. The French would be defending their borders for the first time in over a decade, forcing Napoleon to divert additional troops to southern France, rather than have their use for his 1813 German campaign. However, if Clauzel could save the army, the French still had the capability of defeating and expelling Wellington from the Peninsula. In the countryside of southern France lays the small village of Mirépoix, just beyond the Pyrenees Mountain Range. This rustic setting is where the Clauzel family established their residence in the eighteenth century. Marshal Bertrand Clauzel was born there to Gabriel and Blanche Clauzel on December 12, 1772. Gabriel was a popular cloth maker in Mirépoix.1 His popularity and Jacobin ties led him to become mayor of the city during the French Revolution. 1 Journal d’Informations Études et Recherche Sur l’Histoire de la France Méridionale, ‘Bertrand Clauzel: Maréchal de France 1772-1842’, Number 9, June 1973, 51. 1 One of Gabriel’s brothers was the prosecutor for the courts of Limoux, but the most important brother was Jean-Baptiste, a deputy of Ariége, the department in which Mirépoix was located. His uncle was a representative in the National Convention, so Bertrand