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Kellermann, François Christophe

François Christophe de Kellermann

Born

28 May 1735

Died

13 September 1820

The most senior soldier of his generation in the revolutionary armies, and the only future marshal to have reached general officer’s rank before the Revolution, Kellermann was a Strasbourg magistrate’s son who had served since 1752. He did not emigrate, and formally adhered to the decrees deposing Louis XVI. Given the Army of the Centre in August 1792, he joined Dumouriez at Sainte-Menehould and held the plateau at Valmy on 20 September, restoring his line in person after his ammunition wagons exploded; the Convention abolished the monarchy the next day. He commanded in the Alps and against Lyon, where his preference for reducing the city by blockade rather than assault brought accusations of moderantism. Arrested in October 1793, he was held thirteen months and acquitted after Thermidor. He held no field command after 1797.

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28 May 1735Birth of General Kellermann See them in the timeline →