Barthélemy Catherine Joubert

The son of an advocate, Joubert was born at Pont-de-Vaux (Ain), and ran away from school in 1784 to enlist in the artillery. He was brought back and sent to study law at Lyon and Dijon. In 1791, during the French Revolutionary Wars, he joined the French Revolutionary Army regiment of the Ain, and was elected by his comrades successively as corporal and sergeant. In January 1792 he was promoted tosous-lieutenant, and in November became a lieutenant, having in the meantime participated in his first campaign with the army of Italy.

In 1793, Joubert distinguished himself during the defence of a redoubt at the Col de Tende in north-west Italy, where he led only thirty men against a battalion of the enemy. After being wounded and captured in the battle, he was released on parole by Austrian Commander-in-Chief De Vins. In 1794 he was again actively engaged, and received a promotion to brigadier general in 1795.

Barthélemy Catherine Joubert

In the campaign of 1796, Joubert became part of Napoleon Bonaparte's overall command. He led a brigade under Pierre Augereau in the Battle of Millesimo[1] and under André Masséna at the Battle of Lodi.[2] He also participated in the Battle of Castiglione in August.[3] Joubert quickly attracted the special attention of Napoleon Bonaparte, who promoted him to general of a division in December 1796.

Bonaparte repeatedly selected him for the command of important detachments, including the holding force in the Adige River valley at the Battle of Rivoli. During the spring campaign of 1797 (invasion of Austria) he commanded the detached left wing of Bonaparte's army in the Tyrol. He distinguished himself by fighting his way through the mountains to rejoin his chief in Styria. On February 1797, General Joubert intervened against Tyrolean companies of sharpshooters, issuing an angry message to crush their resistance: "I declare that I consider as enemies of the French, all the fathers, whose children are enrolled in the Tyrolean companies of sharpshooters, will be imprisoned and their property confiscated for the benefit of the Republic ."[4]

He subsequently held various commands in the Low Countries, on the Rhine and in the Italian Peninsula, where he served as commander in chief up to January 1799 . On 6 December 1798, he occupied the Piedmontese capital of Turin. Resigning the post due to a dispute with the civil authorities, Joubert returned to France. There, he married (in June 1799) Mlle de Montholon, who was the daughter of Charles-Louis Huguet de Sémonville, and the future wife of Marshal Jacques Macdonald.

Joubert was almost immediately summoned to the field to counter a series of major French defeats in northern Italy. He took over the command in Italy from Jean Moreau in mid-July 1799. He persuaded his predecessor to remain at the front, and was largely followed his advice.

Joubert and Moreau were quickly compelled to give battle by their major adversary Aleksandr Suvorov, at the head of a joint Russian and Austrian army. The Battle of Novi was disastrous for the French, not only because it was a defeat, but also because Joubert himself was among the first to fall, shot through the heart (Vucic, an infanterist from Ogulinska 3rd infantry Regiment, killed the French commander, General Joubert).[5][6]

Joubert had been marked out as a future great captain by Napoleon himself. After the battle, his remains were brought to Toulon and buried in Fort La Malgue, and the French Directory paid tribute to his memory with a ceremony of public mourning (16 September 1799). A monument to Joubert at Bourg-en-Bresse was raised by order of Louis XVIII, but another memorial was later erected at Pont de Vaux.

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Joubert, Barthélemy Catherine". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 521–522. In turn, it cites as references:
  • Chevrier, Le Général Joubert d'après sa correspondence (2nd ed. 1884).
  • Guilbert, Notice sur la vie de B. C. Joubert
• Chandler, David. Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. New York: Macmillan, 1979. ISBN 0-02-523670-9
• Chandler, David. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Macmillan, 1966.

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