Victor Fanneau de La Horie

Victor Claude Alexandre Fanneau de La Horie (Javron-les-Chapelles; 5 January 1766 - Paris; 29 October 1812) was a French general, conspirator against Napoleon, and godfather of Victor Hugo.

Victor Fanneau de La Horie
Born5 January 1766
Javron-les-Chapelles (Mayenne)
Died29 October 1812
Paris
AllegianceFrance France
Years of service1793–1803
RankGénéral de brigade

Biography

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Victor Fanneau de La Horie served the First French Republic in the Army of the Rhine with Joseph Hugo and became close friends with the younger man. He was the godfather and namesake of Joseph's son Victor Hugo. He served in the revolutionary armies, but souring on Napoleon joined the Moreau conspiracy. When the plan fell apart in 1801, he was proscribed and went into hiding on the estate of Joseph Hugo. There, the young Victor Hugo got to know the general.[1]

After fleeing abroad, he returned to France in 1808 and was unduly arrested and unlawfully held at La Force Prison. He was freed during the Malet coup of 1812, but after the coup's failure, he was recaptured and executed under Napoleon's orders.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Edward King (1882). French Political Leaders. Putnam. p. 12.
  2. ^ Edward Ryan (8 January 2003). Napoleon's Shield & Guardian: The Unconquerable General Daumesnil. Frontline Books. p. 245. ISBN 978-1-85367-553-9.

Sources

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