Marshal of the Empire was a civil dignity in the First French Empire between 1804 and 1815. The successor of the dignity, the Marshal of France, is a five-star rank with a NATO code of OF-10, equivalent to an Admiral of France in the French Navy. The distinction was used sporadically and was vacant during parts of its history. A marshal was a grand officer of the Empire, entitled to a high-standing position at the court and to the presidency of an electoral college. In total, Napoleon granted 26 men a marshal's baton.
| Marshal of the Empire | |
|---|---|
The baton of a Marshal; although often treated as such, Marshal was not a rank, rather, a reward | |
| Country | First French Empire |
| Formation | 1804 |
| Abolished | 1815 |
Unlike many positions, the Marshal of the Empire distinction was not a rank, rather a reward. Almost all officers to hold the position of Marshal were professional soldiers in the French Army. Some, including Józef Poniatowski, served in foreign armies. Of all 26, 5 were killed in action, or by accident. One Marshal was present at the Battle of Vitoria, fought in 1813, where the Duke of Wellington earned the British equivalent of the distinction. Most had defected to the royalists before the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's subsequent defeat, with only four (most notably Marshals Emmanuel de Grouchy and Michel Ney) serving under Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.
Auguste de Marmont, born in 1774, was the youngest officer to earn the distinction, while Francois Kellerman, born in 1735, was the oldest. The majority (18 out of 26) were given the title in 1804, while Grouchy received the last, in 1815, shortly before the Battle of Waterloo.
List of Marshals
† — Indicates that the Marshal was either killed in action or killed by accident
| Name | Image | Born | Died | Date of promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louis-Alexandre Berthier† | November 20, 1753 | June 1, 1815 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Joachim Murat | March 25, 1767 | October 13, 1815 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Bon Adrien Jeannot de Moncey | July 31, 1754 | April 20, 1842 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Jean-Baptiste Jourdan | April 29, 1762 | November 23, 1833 | May 19, 1804 | |
| André Masséna | May 6, 1756 | April 4, 1817 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Charles-Pierre François Augereau | October 21, 1757 | June 12, 1816 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte | January 26, 1763 | March 8, 1844 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Jean-de-Dieu Soult | March 29, 1769 | November 26, 1851 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Guillaume Marie-Anne Brune | May 13, 1763 | August 2, 1815 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Jean Lannes† | April 11, 1769 | May 31, 1809 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Édouard Mortier† | February 13, 1768 | July 28, 1835 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Michel Ney | January 10, 1769 | December 7, 1815 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Louis-Nicolas Davout | May 10, 1770 | June 1, 1823 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Jean-Baptiste Bessières† | August 6, 1768 | May 1, 1813 | May 19, 1804 | |
| François Christophe de Kellermann | May 28, 1735 | September 13, 1820 | May 19, 1804 | |
| François Joseph Lefebvre | October 25, 1755 | September 14, 1820 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon | May 31, 1754 | December 25, 1818 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier | December 8, 1742 | December 21, 1819 | May 19, 1804 | |
| Claude Victor Perrin | December 7, 1764 | March 1, 1841 | July 13, 1807 | |
| Jacques Étienne Joseph Alexandre Macdonald | November 17, 1765 | September 25, 1840 | July 12, 1809 | |
| Nicolas Charles Oudinot | April 25, 1767 | September 13, 1847 | July 12, 1809 | |
| Auguste Frédéric de Marmont | July 20, 1774 | July 23, 1852 | July 12, 1809 | |
| Louis-Gabriel Suchet | March 2, 1770 | January 3, 1826 | July 8, 1811 | |
| Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr | April 13, 1764 | March 17, 1830 | August 27, 1812 | |
| Józef Poniatowski† | May 7, 1762 | October 19, 1813 | October 17, 1813 | |
| Emmanuel de Grouchy | October 23, 1766 | May 29, 1847 | April 17, 1815 |
See also
- Field Marshal (United Kingdom)
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