Guillaume Philibert Duhesme
Count Guillaume Philibert Duhesme (July 7th 1766, Bourgeuf, Burgundy - June 18th 1815 near Waterloo) was a French general during the Napoleonic Wars.
Duhesme studied law and in 1792 was made colonel of a free corps by Charles-François Dumouriez, which he raised by his own means. As commander at Roermond, he held the post of Herstal, an important passage to Holland, and burned the bridge of Loo after the defeat at Neerwinden on the March 18th, 1793. He then crossed the Schelde and at the Battle of Villeneuve rallied the fleeing infantry (July 6th), for which action he was made brigadier general.
He also contributed greatly to the victory at the Fleurus on July 26th, 1794 and besieged Maastricht under Kléber, and was promoted to general. He fought in the Vendée in 1795, and later at the Rhine, where he forced the passage over the river on April 20th, 1797 below Kehl. 1798 he was given a command in Italy under Championnet, participated at the siege of Naples and took control of Calabria and Apulia.
Next, Duhesme was given a command in the Alps in the spring of 1800 in the French-Batavian army under Augereau. Duhesme was made a count and knight of the Légion d'honneur, he lead the 4th division of the Italian Army in 1805 to retake Naples.
In 1808, he took command in Spain and distinguished himself in the defence of Barcelona. Due to accusations by Augereau of allowing plundering and other transgressions of his troops, he stayed idle from 1810 until 1814, and was given a division under Marshal Victor at La Rothière, Montereau and Arcis-sur-Aube. Following Napoleon I's first abdication in 1814, he was made Inspector General of Infantry. In 1815, He joined Napoleon after his return from Elba, and was made commander of the Young Guards Division of the Imperial Guard. He fought at Ligny and fell on June 18th, 1815 near Waterloo.
Duhesme also wrote a noted tract, Essai historique de l'infanterie légère (Historical Essay on Light Infantry) (Lyon 1806; 3. Aufl., Par. 1864) Template:Lived