Louis Friant

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Louis Friant (18 September 1758 – 24 June 1829), Comte de l'Empire, was a Général de division of the French army who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.

Louis Friant was born on 18 September 1758 in the village of Morlancourt near the Somme river. His father was a Chandler, however Louis chose to serve in the army. In 1781, at the age of 22, he was admitted into the Gardes Françaises. He was a good soldier, and had risen to the rank of corporal by the time of his discharge in 1787.

Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Friant immediately volunteered for the Garde Nationale. Being admitted in September, he served for three years, working his way up through the ranks. In September 1792, he was elected as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 9éme Batallion de Paris. Friant went on to lead the 9e in the battles on the German Frontier as a part of the Armée de Moselle. On 16 December 1793, he was hit by a musket ball in the left leg and was sent back to France to recover.

After just over a year convalescing, Friant was fully recovered. In March 1794, he was assigned as de Brigade of the 181éme Demi-Brigade, serving in the Low Countries as a part of General Jourdan's Armée la Sambre et Meuse. On 26 June 1794, Friant took part in the decisive defeat of the Austrian forces under General Josias von Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield at the battle of Fleurus. In late July 1794, Friant served briefly as a brigade commander, and in August he was instated as temporary commander of an entire division. He saw action again during the sieges of Maastricht and Luxembourg. Having proven himself capable of a higher command, he was promoted to Général de Brigade on 13 June 1795.