Beauharnais, Eugène Rose de, Duke of Leuchtenberg

NOBLEMAN, OFFICER (FRANCE)
BORN 3 Sep 1781, Paris - DIED 21 Feb 1824, München, Bayern
GRAVE LOCATION München, Bayern: Michaelskirche, Neuhauserstrasse 6

Son of Alexandre and Joséphine de Beauharnais. He saw action in the Vendée before he joined his mother's new husband Napoleon Bonaparte as aide-de-camp. He followed Napoleon to Italy and Egypt. Napoleon adopted him and in 1804 he became a member of the imperial family, although not heir to the throne. In 1806 he married Amalia Augusta of Bavaria.

He was viceroy of Italy from 1805 until 1815. Napoleon put him in command of the Italian army and although he lost a battle at Sacile, the Austrians were beaten at the Battle of Raab in 1809. He also fought at the Battle of Wagram.

In 1812 he joined Napoleon in Russia and in 1813 he fought at Lützen. Afterwards Napoleon sent him back to Italy to organize the defense against the Austrians. After Napoleon abdicated in 1814 he withdrew to Munich according to the wishes of Maximilian I of Bavaria, his father-in-law. During the 100 Days in 1815 he didn't rejoin Napoleon. In 1817 Maximilian I made him Duke of Leuchtenberg.

Family
• Mother: Beauharnais, Joséphine de
• Sister: Beauharnais, Hortense de

Related persons
• employed Adam, Albrecht
• employed Klenze, Leo von
• was adopted by Napoleon I Bonaparte

Events
7/9/1812Battle of Borodino: Napoleon defeats Kutusov. The armies consisted both of circa 130,000 men. The French army was slightly larger. Kutusov was assisted by Prince Pyotr Bagration and Barclay de Tolly. Napoleon brought Eugène de Beauharnais, Ney and Davout. The battle was intense and pieces of land changed hands several times. Eugène de Beauharnais managed to occupy Borodino. The French lost 30,000 men and the Russians probably even more. But the French victory wasn't decisive because the French failed to destroy the Russian army. [Davout, Louis-Nicholas, Duke of Auerstädt][Murat, Joachim, king of Naples][Napoleon I Bonaparte][Ney, Michel, Duc d’Elchingen, Prince de la Moskowa]
26/9/1812Premiere of Rossini's "La pietra del paragone" at La Scala in Milan. It was an opera in two acts. The libretto was written by Luigi Romanelli. Alessandro Rolla was the conductor. Performers included Filippo Galli, Marietta Marcolini and Claudio Bonoldi. Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais was so impressed that he exempted Rossini from military service. [Rossini, Gioacchino]

Images

The Tomb of Eugène de Beauharnais at the Michaelskirche in Munich.
Picture by Androom (16 Aug 2012)

 

Sources
Winkler Prins Encyclopedie (editie 1909), 1909
Eugène de Beauharnais - Wikipedia (EN)


Beauharnais, Hortense de

Published: 24 Mar 2008
Last update: 12 Jul 2024