Jean-Andoche Junot

Jean-Andoche Junot, Duke of Abrantes (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃.n‿ɑ̃dɔʃ ʒyno]; 25 September 1771 – 29 July 1813) was a French military officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known for leading the French invasion of Portugal in 1807.

Jean-Andoche Junot Duke of Abrantes
Portrait by Vincent-Nicolas Raverat, 19th century
Military Governor of Paris
In office 1803–1804
Monarch	Napoleon I
Preceded by	Édouard Mortier
Succeeded by	Joachim Murat
In office 1806–1807
Preceded by	Joachim Murat
Succeeded by	Pierre-Augustin Hulin
Personal details
Born	(1771-09-25)25 September 1771 Bussy-le-Grand, Burgundy, Kingdom of France
Died	29 July 1813(1813-07-29) (aged 41) Montbard, Côte-d'Or, French Empire
Nickname	La Tempête (“The Tempest”)
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of France First French Republic First French Empire
Branch/service	Army
Years of service	1791–1813
Rank	General of division
Commands	Army of Portugal III Corps VIII Corps
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars

Early life

Junot was born into a bourgeois family in Bussy-le-Grand, Burgundy, on 25 September 1771. He was the fifth son of Michel Junot (1739–1814) and Marie Antoinette Bienaymé (1735–1806). He attended school in Châtillon, then studied law in Dijon before dropping out at the start of the French Revolution. Junot embraced the revolutionary cause, and was present at the Fête de la Fédération in Paris on 14 July 1790.

Early career

Junot as a sergeant of the grenadiers of the 2nd Côte-d'Or Battalion in 1792, by Félix Philippoteaux (1834)

On 9 July 1791, Junot was one of the founding members of his hometown's National Guard, serving as captain of its 1st company. Later that year he enlisted as a grenadier in the 2nd Battalion of Volunteers of Côte-d'Or. At the start of the War of the First Coalition, Junot was sent to the Army of the North, receiving the first of many battle wounds at La Glisuelle on 11 June 1792. He was soon promoted to sergeant, and was again injured on 16 May 1793 while serving in the Army of the Rhine. During this time, Junot's comrades gave him the nickname "the Tempest" (la Tempête).

Junot first met then-captain Napoleon Bonaparte at the Siege of Toulon, in late 1793: Bonaparte required a man with good handwriting to write a letter for him, which Junot volunteered to do, and made a lasting impression with his witty jokes after being narrowly missed by a cannonball. After the siege, Bonaparte was made a general and Junot joined him as his aide-de-camp. However, due to his connections to Augustin Robespierre, Bonaparte lost his position and was briefly placed under house arrest. Junot and Auguste de Marmont offered to break him out, which the general declined, but went to them for assistance after his release. Junot, Marmont and Bonaparte, all temporarily unemployed, lived together in a rented room in Paris. In 1795 Junot participated in the suppression of the Royalist revolt of 13 Vendémiaire under Bonaparte, then followed him to the Army of Italy. Junot served in the Montenotte campaign of April 1796, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Millesimo, for which he received the rank of colonel and the honor of delivering to the Directory the first standards captured in the Italian campaigns. He again distinguished himself at Battle of Lonato, where he killed six enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand fighting and suffered three severe sabre cuts to the head.

Portrait of Junot by Andrea Appiani, c.1797

Egyptian campaign

Junot was one of the first to be informed of Bonaparte's planned expedition to Egypt. In May 1798, he left for Egypt along with Bonaparte aboard the expedition's flagship, l'Orient, and took part in the capture of Malta. Junot fought at the Battle of the Pyramids on 21 July 1798, as a chef de brigade, and was promoted to brigade general on 9 January 1799.

Junot leading his troops against the Ottomans near Nazareth, in The Combat of Nazareth by Antoine-Jean Gros (1801)

On 8 April 1799, during the ultimately unsuccessful Siege of Acre, Junot distinguished himself leading the vanguard of Kléber's division against a much larger Ottoman relief force, near the town of Nazareth, retreating only after capturing five enemy standards. His actions prevented the Ottomans from reaching the city and earned Junot recognition within the army. However, he was badly injured shortly afterwards in a duel with General François Lanusse, initiated by Junot after Lanusse insulted Bonaparte. In October 1799 he was captured by a British ship while returning to France, and met Horatio Nelson.

Consulate and early Empire

Junot only arrived in France on 14 June 1800, the day of Bonaparte's victory at the Battle of Marengo. That year, Junot married Laure Martin de Permond, a long-time friend of the Bonapartes. Napoleon paid for most of the wedding expenses, provided a dowry for Laure, and gave lavish gifts to the young couple. Under the Consulate, Junot was known for his excesses, throwing money out of his windows and supposedly eating three hundred oysters a day.

Junot was made a general of division on 20 November 1801. From 1803 to 1804 he served as Military Governor of Paris, then briefly as ambassador to Portugal before rapidly hurrying back to serve under Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805). Junot was then sent to Parma to put down an insurrection. On his return to Paris he was again appointed Military Governor, serving from 1806 to 1807.

Coin bearing Junot's profile

Invasion of Portugal

Main article: Invasion of Portugal (1807)

Junot's major command came on 29 July 1807, when Napoleon appointed him commander-in-chief of the "Gironde Observation Corps" (Corps d'observation de la Gironde), which was destined for an invasion of Portugal. The army assembled in Bayonne over the next two months, and was later reinforced with a Spanish contingent under the terms of the Treaty of Fontainebleau (27 October 1807). Departing on 17 October at the head of about 26,500 soldiers, Junot led his troops on an arduous march through Spain, finally crossing into Portugal at Segura on 19 November.

Facing little to no resistance, Junot's army advanced towards Lisbon, seizing Castelo Branco on 20 November and Abrantes two days later. On 24 November, he was informed that the country's regent, Prince João (the future King João VI) was preparing to flee to Brazil along with his mother, Queen Maria I, and the court. Junot entered Lisbon without a fight on 30 November, three days after the royal family's departure.

Junot protecting the city of Lisbon, allegory by Domingos Sequeira (1808)

Heraldic crest of Junot as Duke of Abrantès

French and Spanish troops soon occupied the rest of Portugal. For his success, Junot was granted the victory title of Duke of Abrantes (Duc d'Abrantès) by Napoleon, though he was not made a Marshal of the Empire as he expected. He set up his headquarters at the Quintela Palace in Lisbon, as the head of the military administration in Portugal. From late December 1807 to March 1808, Junot enacted far-reaching measures, such as the disbandment of the Portuguese Army (with around 9,000 soldiers joining the Grande Armée's Portuguese Legion) and local militias, the proclamation of the dethronement of the House of Braganza, and the confiscation of royal assets.

In January 1808, initial incidents of Portuguese resistance to the occupation occurred. Additionally, after the Dos de Mayo Uprising in Madrid, all Spanish troops withdrew from Portugal, and by June, popular revolts had spread throughout the country. On 1 August 1808, a British expeditionary force landed at the mouth of the Mondego river. After a French defeat at Roliça, Junot himself was beaten at the Battle of Vimeiro on 21 August 1808, and he was cut off from France.

Only the signing of the advantageous Convention of Sintra with the British allowed him to avoid capture, taking with him "the weapons and baggages" and the loot the army had managed to gather—an expression that later became famous in Portuguese usage. He went back to France in October. The terms of the Convention caused widespread outrage in Britain. In a later inquiry into the Convention, Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, said this of Junot's actions: "I considered that the French army, from the relative situation of the two armies in Portugal, and from its having the military possession of the country, had a fair military right to withdraw by sea with their arms and baggage; I do not think it necessary for me to account for the motives of General Junot in preferring to evacuation by sea to another line of operation; which, without wishing to say anything personally disrespectful of him, might have bad or unworthy motives, as well as views for the interests of his country."

Later career

Upon his return, Junot was appointed commander of the III Corps and sent to Spain, where he fought at the Second Siege of Zaragoza. In 1809, he served in the Grande Armée during the War of the Fifth Coalition, but held no major command. He was defeated at Gefrees in this war. Junot returned to the Iberian Peninsula in 1810 in command of the VIII Corps, under Marshal André Masséna, and in 1811 was shot in the face, causing serious damage and requiring surgery.

In the 1812 Russian campaign Junot's record was erratic. He was blamed for allowing the Russian army to retreat following the Battle of Smolensk (17 August), but at the Battle of Borodino (7 September 1812) he commanded the VIII Corps competently. Junot's performance at Smolensk led to his removal from command, and infuriated Napoleon to the point that he vowed never to grant Junot a marshal’s baton. However, Junot himself declared that, due to various complications, it had been impossible for him to attack at Smolensk, and claimed that his rival Joachim Murat had put the blame on him.It has been suggested Napoleon's judgement was clouded in the long retention of Junot, despite his performance in Portugal, due to their long standing friendship.

In 1813, Junot was made Governor of the Illyrian Provinces. His mental state rapidly deteriorated there, and on one infamous occasion he attended a ball, held by Auguste de Marmont in Ragusa, fully nude except for his dancing shoes and decorations. Some time later, Junot suffered a sudden attack of inflammation to the brain, most likely a long term consequence of his numerous head injuries, leaving him incapacitated. He was then relieved of his position and sent to his father’s house in Burgundy, where he was cared for by his father, sisters and brother-in-law Albert. In a fit of distress, Junot defenestrated himself, breaking both of his legs. He became convinced that his legs needed to be amputated, and when briefly left alone he mutilated himself with a pair of scissors. Junot died of an infection days later on 23 July 1813, in Montbard.

Family and relations

Junot and his wife Laure, by Marguerite Gérard

He had two daughters and three sons:

• Othello (Egypt, c. 1799), the child of an Abyssinian slave named Xraxarane born during the French campaign in Egypt.Junot brought Othello to France.
• Joséphine Junot d'Abrantès (Paris, 2 January 1802 – Paris, 15 October 1888), married in November 1841 to Jacques-Louis Amet, and had issue
• Constance Junot d'Abrantès (Paris, 12 May 1803 – 1881), married in 1829 Louis Antoine Aubert (1799–1882), and had issue
• Louis Napoléon Andoche Junot, 2nd Duc d'Abrantès (Paris, 25 September 1807 – Neuilly, 20 February 1851), who died unmarried and without issue
• Andoche Alfred Michel Junot, 3rd Duc d'Abrantès (Ciudad Rodrigo, 25 November 1810 – killed in action at Solferino, 24 June 1859), married firstly on 2 April 1845 Marie Céline Elise Lepic (9 October 1824 – 6 June 1847), and married secondly on 10 January 1853 Marie Louise Léonie Lepic (19 July 1829 – 17 August 1868), both sisters, daughters of Joachim Lepic, 1st Baron Lepic, and wife Anne-Marguerite Pasquier, and had:
  • Jeanne Joséphine Marguerite Junot d'Abrantès (Paris, 22 May 1847 – Lasray, 21 March 1934), married in Paris, 16 September 1869 Xavier Eugène Maurice Le Ray (Sèvres, 15 July 1846 – Paris, 1 December 1900), who was created 4th Duc d'Abrantès in 1869, and had issue extinct in male line in 1982
  • Jérôme Napoléon Andoche Junot d'Abrantès (Paris, 16 June 1854 – Paris, 10 March 1857)
  • Marguerite Louise Elisabeth Junot d'Abrantès (Paris, 25 January 1856 – 1919), married in Paris, 11 November 1883 César Elzéar Léon Vicomte Arthaud de La Ferrière (1853–1924).

During the peninsular war, he had a relationship with Juliana de Almeida e Oyenhausen, daughter of Leonor de Almeida Portugal, 4th Marquise of Alorna.

As Governor of Paris in 1806-07, he had an affair with Caroline Murat, wife of Joachim Murat and sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. According to Laure Junot, her husband broke off the affair with Caroline after she supported the idea of him duelling Murat.

Through his sister Louise, Junot was the great-great-uncle of French poet and author Pierre Louÿs.

References

• Dubief Sylvain. "Junot, Premier aide de camp de Napoléon." SOTECA, Paris, 2020
• Chartrand, René. Vimeiro 1808. London: Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84176-309-8
• Haythornthwaite, Philip. Napoleon's Commanders (1) c. 1792–1809. London: Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84176-055-2

Further reading

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Junot, Andoche" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 560–561.