Geraud Duroc

Geraud Christophe Michel Duroc, 1st Duc de Frioul (October 25, 1772 - May 23, 1813) was a French general noted for his association with Napoleon.

Life and work

Duroc, born at Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe et Moselle), the son of an officer, was educated at the military schools of his native town and of Châlons. He was gazetted second lieutenant, (artillery) in the 4th regiment in 1793, and advanced steadily in the service. Captain Duroc became "aide-de-camp" to Napoleon in 1796, and distinguished himself at Isonzo, Brenta and Gradisca in the Italian campaigns of 1796-1797.

He served in Egypt, and was seriously wounded at Aboukir. His devotion to Napoleon was rewarded by complete confidence. He became first "aide-de-camp" (1798), general of brigade (1800), and governor of the Tuileries. After the battle of Marengo, he was sent on missions to Vienna, St Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm and Copenhagen.

As grand marshal of the Tuileries palace, he was responsible for the measures taken to secure Napoleon's personal safety, whether in France or on his campaigns, and he directed the minutest details of the imperial household.

After the Battle of Austerlitz, where he commanded the grenadiers in the absence of General Oudinot, he was employed in a series of important negotiations with Frederick William III of Prussia, with the elector of Saxony (December 1806), in the incorporation of certain states in the Confederation of the Rhine, and in the conclusion of the armistice of Znaim (July 1809).

In 1808, he was created "duc de Frioul": his duchy was made duché grand-fief for his widow in 1813, a rare - but nominal - hereditary honor (extinguished in 1829), created in Napoleon's own Kingdom of Italy. After the Russian campaign, he became senator (1813). He was still in attendance on Napoleon at the Battle of Bautzen (May 20-21, 1813) in Saxony, when he was mortally wounded, and died in a farmhouse near the battlefield on May 23. Napoleon bought the farm and erected a monument to his memory.

Duroc was buried in The Invalides (for veterans, in Paris) in 1847.

Memorial

The metro station Duroc of the Paris Métro is named after him.

References

*1911 - which names as chief source for Durocs biography the "Moniteur Universel" (French official state periodical - 31 May 1797, 24 October 1798, 30 May 1813, &c.).
* [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/napoleon.htm#duches Heraldica.org - Napoleonic heraldry] .