Louis Joseph Lahure
| Louis Joseph Lahure | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
29 December 1767 Mons, Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands |
| Died |
24 October 1853 October 24, 1853 (aged 86) Wavrechain-sous-Faulx, Nord, France |
| Allegiance |
 United States of Belgium  French Republic French Empire  Kingdom of France French Empire Kingdom of France French Republic French Empire |
| Service/branch | French Army |
| Years of service | 1787–1853 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Battles/wars |
French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars |
| Awards |
Commandeur of the Légion d'Honneur Name inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe |
Louis Joseph Lahure (Mons, Austrian Netherlands, 29 December 1767 - château de Wavrechain-sous-Faulx, near Bouchain, Valenciennes, 24 October 1853) was a general from the Southern Netherlands in the service of the First French Republic and First French Empire. He was the son of Nicolas Lahure and Marie-Thérèse du Buisson. His name is inscribed on the Arc de triomphe in Paris.
Historical Significance
Commandant Louis Joseph Lahure has a singular distinction in military history — he allegedly defeated a navy on horseback.
Occupying Holland in January 1795, the French continental army learned that the Dutch navy had been frozen into the ice around Texel Island. Lahure and - by his own account - 128 men simply rode up to it and demanded surrender. No shots were fired.
The reality may be somewhat less remarkable, and the idea of a "defeat" inaccurate. Contact and an approach for surrender may already have been made, while anti-French Dutch forces were likely by this stage under order not to engage or resist Napoleon's men.[1]
References
- ↑ http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/battles/c_jonge.html accessed on 12 March 2013