#jacques macdonald

[napolebonasacc]

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Look, I don't know. Loosely based on a school trip to Scotland.

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Macdonald's Promotion to Marshal (According to Savary)

I previously posted Macdonald's promotion to the marshalate according to his recollections here. Now, let's see what Savary says about this event as a person who was a part of Napoleon's entourage during that time.

According to Savary, Napoleon was making his rounds visiting the injured as he always did when he passed by Macdonald and conferred him the Marshal's baton on the spot.

After having gone over the ground where the army had fought, the Emperor went to place himself in the midst of the troops, which were beginning to move for the purpose of following the retreating enemy. On passing by Macdonald, he stopped, and held out his hand to him, saying, “Shake hands, Macdonald! no more animosity between us: we must henceforward be friends; and, as a pledge of my sincerity, I will send you your marshal’s staff, which you so gloriously earned in yesterday’s battle.”

Contrast this with what Macdonald says who states that the Emperor called for him instead of passing by him. Napoleon also says more words during their exchange in his recollections.

Savary also seems to view Macdonald's military skill rather highly for he comments,

The Emperor named that very night three marshals of the empire; these were Generals Macdonald, Marmont, and Oudinot; not a question was raised respecting the first of these nominations.

Regardless, the fact that Macdonald was rewarded his marshal's title on the battlefield is not in doubt, given that we have a second, albeit less detailed, re-telling of the event.

Savary Duke of Rovigo, Anne Jean Marie René. The Memoirs Of Duke Of Rovigo Vol. II. Wagram Press.

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Bavarian General Wrede being the Butt of a Joke

Technically speaking he wasn't being pranked or anything but knowing Marshal Macdonald, he will never miss any opportunity to make a joke of a situation he thought was amusing. Make of it what you will 😄

This happened at the tail end of the Battle of Wagram when Macdonald finally got his reinforcements that he was essentially begging for most of the day. Now, I have not analysed the battle so I'm not sure how much of Macdonald's grievances that day are corroborated by other contemporaries or battlefield experts. This is just what he related in his recollections.

Anyway, I digress. One of those reinforcements was a division led by the Bavarian General Wrede. He led his division to cut off any retreating Austrians and managed to capture 5000-6000 prisoners. However, there was still reserves on the Austrian side which came up and rained fire on them, and that was when it happened:

I saw General Wrede fall, and hastened to his assistance; his men raised him up, and he then said to me: ‘Tell the Emperor that I die for him; I commend to him my wife and children.’ He was being supported, and, to reassure him, I said, laughing: ‘I think that you will be able to make this recommendation to him yourself; and, what is more, that your wife will continue to have children by you.’ It proved to be merely a slight wound from a ball that had grazed his side. The wind of the ball had made him giddy.

Wrede: It's over for me! Tell the Emperor I love him!

Macdonald: Lol, you're not even injured that badly you drama queen!

In addition, Wrede managed to have one more son in 1810 so yes, he continued to sire more children.

Why do I get the impression that people liked to make fun of Wrede? The only other time I read about him is that he tried to block Napoleon from crossing Bavaria in 1813 after the Battle of Leipzig (Bavaria switched sides) and Napoleon remarked something along the lines of:

I made him a Count but I couldn't make him a General.

Which is a huge burn on Wrede's ability to command troops, like he was a lousy General or something.

Macdonald, Jacques. Recollections of Marshal Macdonald, Duke of Tarentum: The Napoleonic Wars as Experienced by a Renowned French Military Commander (both volumes in one). Leonaur.

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Happy Birthday Marshal Macdonald (2023)

While not one of those outwardly loud prominent figures of the marshalate, Macdonald's character was certainly not, being well-known among his colleagues and which also got him into trouble.

Most of his contemporaries don't speak highly of Macdonald with regard for his character but do mention many other parts of his character that were admirable.

Ségur, before being a part of Napoleon's staff was an aide-de-camp to Macdonald. He does not dedicate a long paragraph to Macdonald's character so I will just relate an event that took place that can show what kind of person Macdonald was.

It was December 1802 and Macdonald had just returned to France after a stint as ambassador to Denmark (which he didn't like). He and Ségur were paying a visit to the First Consul (aka. Napoleon). For many reasons that are not too important to this post, Ségur was suddently thrust into a diplomatic career which he didn't want and he wanted to stay as Macdonald's ADC.

...Macdonald joined us for the purpose of paying our homage to the First Consul, I begged him to introduce me only in my position of aide-de-camp to Bonaparte. But he took no notice of it; and when my turn came I was introduced as a junior attaché.

Ségur was of course, not too happy with Macdonald doing that and told Napoleon rather straightforwardly something along the lines of, "Actually, no...I'm an ADC and I want to remain in the military." which displeased Napoleon who left in a bit of a huff at the insolence, goodness me!

As may be imagined, I came away from this audience with a very poor opinion of the kind feeling of the First Consul. But that was not all; we were descending the grand double staircase which the Swiss Guards defended on August 10th, now no longer in existence, when Macdonald, who never missed an occasion for a joke, stopped short and turned round to compliment me on " my successful " début with General Bonaparte, and the speedy " promotion which such a favourable reception should " lead me to expect." I replied that he was the cause of it, having against my wish introduced me as a junior attaché; but that I consoled myself for this misfortune because it kept me attached to his person. "Not at all," he answered, "I cannot keep you ; the regulations only allow me three aides-de-camp, and you make the fourth." Then becoming serious, as he saw me overwhelmed by this unexpected blow, he added: "Never mind; till something better turns up I will attach you to Beurnonville."

Beurnonville was Macdonald's friend and Macdonald himself mentions him a lot in his recollections but Ségur was still disappointed and felt that Beurnonville was more into diplomacy so he would eventually be pushed towards that path. Luckily Ségur would be offered a position on Napoleon's staff so all's well that ends well.

Macdonald could be brash as seen here but he was fair and didn't leave Ségur out to dry and tried to get him another position to tide him over until something better pops up. Ségur also describes Macdonald as 'proud', 'independent', and 'sarcastic' which are not necessarily problematic traits but they have the potential to cause trouble.

The ever-criticising Thiébault who was with Macdonald during the Italian campaigns of 1798-1799 said that while Macdonald was easy-going and chivalrous, he was also thoughtless and would make tasteless jokes when things needed to get serious.

As of the man himself, what does he say about his character? Well in the published version of his recollections, Macdonald writes two letters to his son who was the intended recipient of the work. In one of those letters, Macdonald says of himself:

I have never had reason to reproach myself, nor have I ever had to blush for any circumstance in my life. I received an untarnished name. I transmit it to you, feeling sure that you will keep it pure. My conscience during a long and active life has nothing to reproach me, because I always followed three safe guides: Honour, Fidelity, and Disinterestedness; and I like to believe that my guides will be yours also.

Proud? Certainly. Arrogance, eh perhaps a little, but not enough to be distasteful. To be honest, his character that shines in his recollections is not unlikeable but there are times where I roll my eyes, especially when he's being sarcastic and discreetly poking fun at people, especially Bavarian General Wrede.

In any case, you're not bad...just turn down the sass and stay out of trouble 😊

Happy Birthday Monsieur le Maréchal!

Macdonald, Jacques. Recollections of Marshal Macdonald, Duke of Tarentum: The Napoleonic Wars as Experienced by a Renowned French Military Commander (both volumes in one). Leonaur.

de Ségur, Général Comte Phillipe-Paul. An aide-de-camp of Napoleon. Memoirs of General Count de Ségur, of the French academy, 1800-1812. Wagram Press.

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Macdonald Remembers Becoming a Marshal

Macdonald has the distinction of being the only Marshal to earn his baton on the battlefield.

It was after the Battle of Wagram, where Macdonald played a prominent role alongside Marshals Masséna, Davout and Oudinot. The fighting had gradually died down and everyone was winding down when Macdonald noticed his horse had a bullet lodged in its neck. He dismounted and sent the horse to be patched up. Macdonald himself went to a nearby house and promptly fell asleep on some straw as not only was he tired from the day's battle, he was suffering from a kick that his horse gave him the day before...ouch 😣 (On a side note, Macdonald mentions how that happened and remarked that had he been closer, he would have had his leg broken).

However, Macdonald wasn't asleep for long as he was woken up by cheers of 'Long live the Emperor'. He asked for his horse but it wasn't nearby and since he couldn't walk to get his horse, he had to borrow one. He met Napoleon in the middle of his camp.

I saw the Emperor surrounded by my troops, whom he was congratulating. He approached me, and embracing me cordially, said:

Let us be friends henceforward.’

‘Yes,’ I answered, ‘till death.’

And I have kept my word, not only up to the time of his abdication, but even beyond it.

Really? I can't tell. I guess by being loyal to Napoleon when he really needed it and appreciating his military judgement even when you argue and disagree so much counts as friendship to Macdonald.

He added:

‘You have behaved valiantly, and have rendered me the greatest services, as, indeed, throughout the entire campaign. On the battlefield of your glory, where I owe you so large a part of yesterday’s success, I make you a MARSHAL OF FRANCE’ (he used this expression instead of ‘of the Empire’), ‘You have long deserved it.’ (Macdonald was the only Marshal created on a field of battle. Michaud, Biographic Universelle.)

The brackets were made by the translator.

After this, Macdonald requests that the rewards be distributed among his corps, staring with his divisional generals. Napoleon agrees and shortly takes his leave.

Then Macdonald is surrounded by his colleagues, shaking his hand, hugging him and congratulating him on his elevation to marshal. Eugène on his part is ecstatic, sending an ADC to congratulate Macdonald and to invite him for a celebratory breakfast lol. When they met, Macdonald thanked Eugène for always putting in a good word to Napoleon saying,

‘The good accounts that you have given of me have procured me this honour,’ I said to him. ‘I shall never forget it.’

To which Eugene replied,

‘It is you, and you alone', he replied, 'who have gained your bâton.’

The funny thing is that the first time Napoleon was to meet Macdonald in person, Eugène had assured Macdonald that the Emperor would be warm towards him, owning to the many nice things he said about him. However, Napoleon only greeted Macdonald with a simple nod and Eugène was like "Huh, why?! Is he displeased with us?" 😂

But in any case, Macdonald celebrates with Eugène but after breakfast they head back to work because they are still at war after all. And so, that's how Marshal Macdonald remembers his elevation to marshal.

Macdonald, Jacques. Recollections of Marshal Macdonald, Duke of Tarentum: The Napoleonic Wars as Experienced by a Renowned French Military Commander (both volumes in one).

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Macdonald Gives Eugène Some Advice

When Macdonald was finally called to the front in 1809 after five years of inactivity, it was at the service of Napoleon's stepson, Eugène de Beauharnais. He was to act as a military advisor to the young Viceroy who was only around 27 at the time.

After losing the Battle of Sacile, Macdonald arrived to lend a hand, helping Eugène extricate his troops out of this sticky situation. Then, the army needed to find a place that can be easily defended as they reconsidered their options.

The bridge of Vicenza could be easily defended by means of slight works; I suggested to the viceroy what might be done, and asked him to order the Major of Engineers stationed there to carry them out. He called him and explained to him briefly what was wanted. I noticed that this officer did not understand a word of what was said to him, although he replied that he would carry out the instructions. I could not fail to observe it simply from noticing the face of the officer in command of this important post, and I communicated my idea to the prince, who thought I was joking. ‘Call him back then, your Highness,’ said I, ‘and ask him to repeat the orders you have just given him.’ The unlucky major stammered and shamefacedly admitted that he had not understood. ‘Why did you not ask me to repeat my orders to you?’ inquired the prince. ‘I was wrong,’ he replied, ‘and I beg your Highness’s pardon.’ A fresh explanation was given, and we rode away. ‘See,’ I said to the prince, ‘how easily mistakes occur. You would have gone away in peace, thinking that your necessary orders would be carried out. You did not observe that, that officer, no doubt a very brave, good fellow, was not very bright; for if Heaven had endowed him with ever so small a share of wits, he would, on his own responsibility, have caused some temporary defences to be made at a point on which depended so much of the safety of his own men and of the army. Misunderstandings and blunders are often fatal, particularly in military matters; therefore, when I give a verbal order, I always have it repeated over to me, and have found it a good plan.’ I advised him to adopt it, which he did in the future with good results.

Besides this, when Macdonald first met up with Eugène, he also told him to never give in to anger or agitation, especially if he is going to give battle, for the consequences could be dire if it doesn't go well.

I know that Eugène has been campaigning with Napoleon in Egypt and the like but I guess repeating instructions when they were given verbally was not something Napoleon did. I wonder if the other marshals have this practice?

Macdonald, Jacques. Recollections of Marshal Macdonald, Duke of Tarentum: The Napoleonic Wars as Experienced by a Renowned French Military Commander (both volumes in one) . Leonaur.

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The amount of times Macdonald says "Well, since I can't convince you, go ahead and see how we fare." is just fascinating.

He has a lot of conversations with people literally asking why they didn't do such-and-such movement and can't you just do this because my plan is sooo much better (whether it was really better is up to interpretation of course).

Then when nothing works, he just shrugs his shoulders and says, "Mmm 'kay, do what you wish and you'll see how we lose."

Just fascinating.