COMMANDER // 1767–1794
Jacques Goguet
Lifespan
1767 – 1794
Active service 1793–1794 — 2 battles across 2 wars; first command at age 26.
Profile
Jacques Gilles Henri Goguet rose to command a French division during the French Revolutionary Wars before he was assassinated by his own soldiers after a defeat. Trained as a physician, he studied medicine at the University of Montpellier before becoming a member of the French National Guard in 1789. He joined a volunteer battalion in 1792 and fought at Jemappes in November that year. In 1793 he was promoted to general officer and transferred to the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. In September 1793 when a Spanish army threatened to surround Perpignan, the French army commander fled, leaving the army leaderless. In the emergency, Goguet cooperated with Eustache Charles d'Aoust to win the Battle of Peyrestortes. A few days later he commanded the right column under Dagobert at Truillas, where poor relations with his commander led to the failure of the attack.
Battles (2)
1793
1794
Battle of Le CateauWar of the First Coalition · Republican France