Jean-Baptiste Bessières, duc d'Istrie (English: BESS-ee-air, French: [ʒɑ̃ batist bɛsjɛʁ]; 6 August 1768 – 1 May 1813) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire by Emperor Napoleon in 1804.
Born into the petite bourgeoisie, Bessières began his military career during the French Revolution and was promoted to captain in the 22nd Chasseur à cheval Regiment. He was noticed during the Italian campaign of 1796–1797 by General Napoleon Bonaparte, who appointed him commander of the corps of mounted guides. In this capacity, Bessières participated in the Egyptian campaign until 1799, before being made a general under the Consulate for his distinguished service at the Battle of Marengo. He was elevated to the dignity of Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and took command of the cavalry of the Imperial Guard.
A brilliant cavalry officer, Bessières distinguished himself in most of the major battles of the Napoleonic Wars, notably at Austerlitz, Eylau, Aspern-Essling and Wagram. In 1808, he played an active role in the Peninsular War, scoring a victory at Medina de Rioseco early in the conflict, the consequences of which were nevertheless short-lived. His performance three years later at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, where his support for Masséna was lacking, generated controversy. He nevertheless took part in the Russian campaign in 1812, during which he saved Napoleon from a Cossack attack, and was given command of the entire French cavalry at the start of the German campaign. Bessières was killed by a cannonball on 1 May 1813 at Rippach, near Weißenfels, the day before the Battle of Lützen.
Bessières was, according to Napoleon, "a reserve officer full of vigor, but prudent and circumspect." A mediocre commander-in-chief, he was, on the other hand, an excellent cavalry general, capable of initiative and who often personally led charges. The death of this cultivated, pious and popular man within the Guard was keenly felt by the Emperor, who declared of him: "he lived like Bayard, he died like Turenne."
Jean-Baptiste Bessières was born on 6 August 1768 in Prayssac, in the province of Quercy. He was the eldest of eight children of Mathurin Bessières, a barber-surgeon belonging to the local bourgeoisie, and Antoinette Lemozy, who came from an old Guyennais bourgeois family. Educated in his childhood by a priest, Bessières later studied at the Collège Saint-Michel in Cahors, where he received a solid education. It was also there that he met Joachim Murat, with whom he became friends. In order to follow his father's profession, Bessières prepared to take courses at the medical school of Montpellier, but his family suddenly found itself in a difficult financial situation, and he had to learn by experience under the guidance of his father and one of his cousins. Thanks to his education, he participated in the drafting of his town's cahiers de doléances in 1788, and became second-in-command of the local National Guard when the French Revolution broke out.
On 8 February 1792, Bessières was designated by his fellow citizens to serve in King Louis XVI's Constitutional Guard in Paris, which he joined on 7 April. Each department was required to supply it with a certain number of young men, who were selected from families considered as still being loyal to the king. Among others sent by the department of Lot for the Guard were Joachim Murat and Jean-Jacques Ambert. Despised for its royalist nature, the Constitutional Guard was disbanded by the revolutionary government on 29 May 1792, less than three months after its formation. After his discharge, Bessières joined the Jacobins Saint-Dominique battalion of the Parisian National Guard. Although he adhered to the ideas of the Revolution, Bessières disapproved of its radical turn which clashed with his Catholic convictions deeply tinged with conservatism. Remaining loyal to the king, he tried to take part in the defense of the Tuileries Palace during the Insurrection of 10 August and, as a precaution, had to hide for a time at the residence of the Duke of La Rochefoucauld.
Bessières gave a fresh start to his military career on 1 November 1792, when he enlisted in the French Revolutionary Army as a simple cavalryman in the Legion of the Pyrenees, which later became the 22nd Chasseur à cheval Regiment. The regiment was sent to the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees, and for the next three years Bessières fought in the War of the Pyrenees. His advancement was reasonably rapid; he was promoted to adjudant sous-officier on 1 December 1792, to second lieutenant on 16 February 1793, to lieutenant on 10 May, and finally to captain on 8 May 1794. Serving successively under generals La Barre and Dugua, he notably participated in the Battle of Boulou, where the charge of the 22nd Chasseurs was decisive in dispersing the more numerous Spanish cavalry. Next he took part in the Battle of the Black Mountain under the command of General Dugua, and distinguished himself at Bascara in 1795.
In August 1795, Bessières was transferred with his regiment to the Army of Italy. This army was soon placed under the command of General Napoleon Bonaparte, who had as one of his aides-de-camp none other than his friend Murat. Bessières distinguished himself at the start of the campaign by capturing on foot, and with the help of two of his chasseurs, an Austrian artillery piece after having his horse shot from under him. He quickly acquired a reputation for bravery, which earned him his appointment by Bonaparte as head of the corps of mounted guides of the Army of Italy. On 4 September 1796, at the Battle of Rovereto, he spotted an Austrian battery with six of his chasseurs and seized two of its cannons. The same day, he was provisionally promoted to the rank of chef d'escadron, which was confirmed on 4 March 1797. He then distinguished himself at the Battle of Rivoli on 14 January 1797, then at that of La Favorita two days later, and was given the honor of bringing to the Directory the enemy standards captured during the last engagements. He then returned to Italy and joined Bonaparte's inner circle. He was appointed chef de brigade on 9 March 1797.
As the commander of the guides of Bonaparte, now commander-in-chief of the Army of the Orient, in May 1798 Bessières departed for the expedition to Egypt. His men, almost entirely deprived of mounts, played no role in the first phase of the campaign. He followed Bonaparte to Syria and distinguished himself at the Siege of Acre and then, after the withdrawal of French forces to Egypt, at the Battle of Abukir (25 July 1799) where he joined Murat in leading a series of cavalry charges that helped drive their adversaries back into the sea. In the official report on the battle that he sent to the Directory on 27 July 1799, Bonaparte noted: "chef de brigade Bessières, at the head of the guides, upheld the reputation of his corps". Having helped Bonaparte to reassert his authority when it was being contested during the campaign, Bessières was part of the small retinue that accompanied the commander-in-chief on his return to France in August 1799.
Back in France, Bessières was present at the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire during which, according to Jacques Garnier, he "stayed constantly with Bonaparte". On 11 November 1799, he was appointed second-in-command of the Consular Guard by Bonaparte, now First Consul of the French Republic. He was also designated tutor to Eugène de Beauharnais, Bonaparte's adoptive son.
On 14 June 1800, Bessières took part in the Battle of Marengo. When the tide turned against the First Consul, Desaix and the Boudet division arrived on the battlefield. To support their movement, the Kellermann brigade deployed on the right flank while Bessières mounted a massive charge on the left flank with the entire cavalry of the Consular Guard, sowing panic among the Austrians. The grenadiers à cheval, in particular, took possession of three enemy standards. Although successful, the charge's effect on the battle was not as decisive as Bonaparte pretended. After the fighting, Bessières was praised by the First Consul, who told him: "under your command, the Guard covered itself with glory, it could not have done better in the given circumstances." He was successively promoted to general of brigade on 18 July 1800 and to general of division on 13 September 1802.