- Louis-Marie-Joseph Maximilian Caffarelli du Falga
Infobox Military Person
name =Maximilien Caffarelli
born=13 February 1756
died =27 April 1799
placeofbirth= château du Falga, (Haute-Garonne ),France
placeofdeath= Siege of Acre
allegiance =First French Republic
rank =
branch =army
commands=
battles=
awards=
relations=
laterwork=Louis-Marie-Joseph-Maximilian Caffarelli du Falga (February 13, 1756, in the château of Folga,
Haute-Garonne - 27 April 1799, Egypt) was a French commander and scholar. His younger brothersMarie-François Auguste de Caffarelli du Falga (1766 - 1849) andLouis-Marie-Joseph Caffarelli (1760-1845) were also generals.Life
The oldest of ten children, he refused to exercise the right of the first-born-son to the majority of his parents' wealth. He served under
Kléber in the army ofSambre-et-Meuse , losing his left leg to a cannonball on November 27, 1797 but continuing in the army with a wooden leg and joined Kléber on the Egyptian campaign.Accompanying
Napoleon on the French invasion of Egypt, he was present with him when he landed atValletta to occupyMalta on12 June 1798 . Like the other French generals, he was impressed by its defences, saying to Napoleon "Upon my word, General, it is lucky there is someone in the town to open the gates for us!" [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=i5ns5LNtoiUC&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106&dq=general+caffarelli&source=web&ots=JHbh7cqHS4&sig=mlNA0GzXSyx1yi82Fyb9zxpa9pI&hl=en#PPA106,M1] A saying arose about him among the expeditionary troops in France - "Caffa doesn't give a damn what happens; he's always sure to have one foot in France." He was elected a member of theInstitute of Egypt on February 13, 1796 in the class of moral and political sciences, and formed part of the commission for drafting the Institute's regulations. He also accompanied Napoleon on the surveys to trace the route of what later become theSuez Canal .He then had to have his right arm amputated when his elbow was smashed by a bullet during a new assault on Acre on April 24. He was just starting to learn to write with his left hand when a
gangrene struck, causing a fever which killed him. Napoleon wrote of him in the order of the day: "Our universal regrets accompany General Caffarelli to the grave; the army is losing one of its bravest leaders. Egypt one of its legislators, France one of its best citizens, and science, an illustrious scholar."External links
* [http://www.napoleonicsociety.com/english/Life_Nap_Chap13.htm Life of Napoleon, Chapter 13]
* [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nNRySUejNcYC&pg=PA387&lpg=PA387&dq=general+Dammartin+Egypt&source=web&ots=GAXUmO6Y33&sig=uyn0og54ujDUUyw4w-VlAnpzuLI&hl=en#PPA388,M1 A New General Biographical Dictionary, p386]
* [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9KA2AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=general+caffarelli&source=web&ots=pm1-ijsL-I&sig=T1e9jcKoJQRId5-d80IE4XddWYU&hl=en A History of the Egyptian Revolution]
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