Benoit de Boigne

Benoit Leborgne, count of Boigne , was born the March 8th 1751 with Chambéry and died in the same city the June 21st 1830.

Biography

Military career

Benoît Leborgne was wire of a merchant of fur skins of Chambéry. After having made its weapons of adventurer and soldier in Flanders, to the island Bourbon, in Russia and Turkey, it goes to Madras in 1784 to enter to the service of the Maharajah Madhava Râo Sindhia, the chief of the Empire marathe, of which it organizes the army on the European model. It gains several battles as that of Âgrâ in 1788 which brings back the marathes on the front of the scene and fact of Madhava Râo the Master of Hindoustan, those of Patan and Merta against the moghols in 1790, after which it is made commander-in-chief of the armies marathes and that of Lakhairi in 1793 where it demolishes Holkars. It piles up an immense fortune during its stay in India and becomes the friend of Claude Martin, his compatriot with the service of the Britanniques.

In 1790, it summarizes well the Indian policy of the time while affirming: “The respect towards the house of Timour ( the dynasty moghole ) reigned so much so that, though all the peninsula had been successively withdrawn from its authority, no prince of India had assumed the title of sovereign. Sindhia divided the respect, and Shah Alam ( Shâh Âlam II ) had always sat on the Mogol Throne, and all was done on its behalf. ”

It makes restore the Taj Mahal. With died of Mahâdâjî Sindhia in 1794, of Boigne could have seized the capacity and have become the Master of Hindoustan if he had wanted it, but there remains honest in Daulat Râo Sindhia, the legitimate successor.

Return in Europe and marriage

In 1795, its health is degraded, it gives up its command, installs in its place its right-hand man Perron and returns in Europe the following year, with an Indian princess whom it married in 1788 and which gave him two children.

It installs its household in the surroundings of London, which do not prevent it from marrying, the June 11th 1798, an emigrated Frenchwoman, Adèle d' Osmond (1781 - 1866), resulting from a very noble, ancient and extremely desilvered family originating in Normandy. To conclude this advantageous marriage, Benoît de Boigne let plane the mystery on his origins. Its desire seems to be then, after having carried out an adventurous life, to found a family and to be established in Europe what the fashionable relations of his wife, hopes for it, will facilitate.

The marriage was from the unhappy start. Benoit de Boigne ends up returning in Savoy in 1802 being made call the “general of Boigne” (it should be noted that at the 18th century the orthography is approximate and the L capital letter can be easily transformed into D lower-case) and inhabitant only the castle of Bush-round, which it had luxuriously made arrange for his wife, letting its wife live the Parisian life of which she will draw the matter from her famous Mémoires (published in 1907). He had received Bourbons already a patent of " Marshal of camp" , dated October 20th, 1814 and the cross of Saint-Louis on December 6th. One thus honoured the husband with Miss d' Osmont and Tileries the " désaventuialiaient" if one can say to give pleasure with the countess. However Louis XVIII granted to him, on February 27th, 1815 the Legion of Honor for its services like chair General advice of the Department of Mont Blanc. Very attached to the royalist doctrines, of Boigne was a burning partisan of the Sardinian government. Victor-Emmanuel, king de Sardaigne and Duc of Savoy, granted to him in 1816 the title of Count; Charles-Felix did it Grand' Croix of the Saints Maurice and Lazare.

A benefactor of Chambéry

He is named by Napoleon I {{er}} president of the General advice of the Département of Mont Blanc and count by the king de Sardaigne. He devoted the end of his life to charitable organizations to the profit of his birthplace.

With its death, the city, grateful, raised a monument to him which is the Fontaine of the elephants. It is about a fountain in the shape of trunk of palm tree surrounded by four Indian elephants represented of face, called “fountain of the four without bottom”. The fortune which it leaves with its death is evaluated to 20 franc million of the time.

The academic Société of Savoy published in Chambéry Mémoires on the political career and soldier of the general Boigne , 1828.

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