Jean Lemichaud d\' Arçon

Jean Claude Eléonore Michaud d' Arçon (born with Pontarlier the November 18th 1733 - died with Belfort on July 1st 1800) is a French general of the end of the Old Mode and revolutionary period, specialized in the fortifications.

Years of training

His/her father, educated lawyer, are author of several booklets relative to questions concerning the habit of Franche-Comté. In order to inspire with his/her son the taste of the ecclesiastical state, for which it intended it, it made it provide with a benefit; but of Frame as of its childhood a dominant passion for the weapons had. Instead of studying lelatin, it drew and traced works of fortifications. It made use of a clever means to make known with his parents the error in which they were on his vocation. One had just made his portrait: it substituted itself, of its own hand, the dress of engineer to that of abbot, under whom it had been painted. The father heard this dumb language, gave up his first projects, and any more but did not think of assisting those of his/her son.

After studies with the royal School of the genius of Wall in 1754 , from Frame was accepted ordinary engineer the following year. It was distinguished in the Seven Year old War, and particularly in 1761, with the defense of Cassel. In 1774, it was charged to raise the chart of the the Jura and the the Vosges. To accelerate this operation, he invented a new manner of Lavis to dry with only one brush, much more expeditious, and producing more effect than the ordinary washing.

In 1774 and 1775, it mixed with the quarrel caused by the opinion of the count de Guibert, on the major order and the mean order , and it published two booklets entitled: “ Correspondence on the art of warfare ”. In these writings as in all those of the same author, one notices a wealth of ideas and flashes of genius which, in spite of some neologisms and of the inaccuracies, make from there the reading interesting.

The business of Gibraltar (1780)

Attached to the army of the marshal of Broglie in 1780, he sought the means of removing Gibraltar with the British. The ground attack being then looked like impossible, it was necessary to leave the common rules: of Frame, after some experiments on combustion, writes a project of “batteries insubmersible and fireproof”, intended to make breach with the body of the place on the side of the sea, at the same time as one had, by other batteries advanced on the continent, to take reverse all the works which the floating batteries would tackle of face.

Their to give a construction similar to the goal which had to be reached; to cover with a strong armor out of wooden; there to spare a water circulation maintained by pumps, to guarantee them fire; to establish a perfect balance, by means of a ballast able to counterbalance the weight of artillery; to cover these new machines of war of an enough strong shielding to resist the bombs; to make cover with a bed of old cables, whose elasticity was to cancel the fall of the projectiles; finally, to support them by launches drain-holes, ship of the lines and bombard, operating on several points to occupy to besiege them and oblige them with several diversions: such were the precautions that prudence added to the audacity, and who justified the temerity of the general of Frame.

Five machines with two rows of batteries, and five others with only one row, formed an artillery of one hundred fifty parts. The court of Spain accommodated this project with enthusiasm. To be surer position of its prames and accuracy of its calculations, of Frame had embarked on a frail wherry exposed to the fire of the place, in order to probe itself in front of the faces which one was to tackle. Consequently of this work, one determined the road which the machines and their final position would have to hold.

Forwarding took place the September 13rd 1782, not as one had combined, but so as to show the obvious intention to ruin it. Two of the Prame S reflect with the veil, and were followed from the eight others, which went too much behind, so that the first wiped without division all the fire of the place. Instead of making them withdraw to join the others, one brought, during this attack, the order to consume them all the ten, under pretext which they could fall to the capacity from the English. This measurement, that the desire and the intention to make miss the company explained soon after, reduced the general of Frame to despair, and it preserved all its life of it a deep resentment. The jealousy and the little of agreement which reigned between the Spanish officers and the French officers ruined this project, which Elliott, defender of Gibraltar, could appreciate, while returning to the inventor a glorious testimony. Of Frame made print a species of justification. One sees there a heart highly affected.

Revolution with the Consulate

Always occupied of its art, he wrote and published a report on the glasses at tiny room and fires of reverse, whose object is to establish an imposing resistance, though with few expenses, on a very-small isolated space. He fought then with the army of North, under the orders of Charles François Dumouriez. The Comité of Public Hello then employed it like member of the Military committee in charge of the direction of the war. Charged, in 1793, to make a recognition with the Mount Saint-Bernard, he was denounced and obliged to withdraw itself in Saint-Germain; but one remembered his talents, and one tore off it his retirement to carry out the project of the invasion of Holland. Major general, it makes a success of with the general Pichegru the seat of the bastions of the fortress of Breda (January 1795, but this countryside in a marshy country deteriorated its health. Named in February 1795 professor of fortification to the Central School of Public works, it presented this discipline like a technique to it to the crossroads of multiple sciences, and the economic and political implications major. Its last work, which was printed by order of the government, is entitled “ military and political Considérations on the fortifications ”. Carried with the Senate by the First Consul, in 1799, from Frame was accepted there by acclamation; but he does not enjoy this honor a long time, and died on July 1st, 1800, 77 years old. He was until his member death nonresident of the section of geography of the Institut.

Justin Girod-Chantrans, officer of the Genious, made print a note on Frame in Besancon (1801), in-12°.

Works

He built forts with Pontarlier, and the Fort-Dauphin, in the Queyras.

The works which one has of him are:

Reflections of an engineer, in answer to a tactician , Amsterdam, 1773, in-12°;
Correspondence on the art of the war, between a colonel from dragons and a captain of infantry , Bubble, 1774, two parts, in-8°;
Defense of a systême of war national, or rationale of a work entitled: refutation complette of the system of Mr. of Mesnil-Durand (1779), Amsterdam, in-8°, 283 p.
the Council of war deprived on the event of Gibraltar in 1782 (1785), in-8°
Memories to be used for the history of the seat of Gibraltar, by the author of the floating batteries , Cadiz, Hernill, 1783, in-8°
Considerations on the influence of the genius of Vauban in the balance of power of the State , 1786, in-8°
Detailed examination of the important question of utililté of place-strong and cuttings off , Strasbourg, 1789, in-8°
Answer to the memories of Mr. de Montalembert on fortification known as perpendicular , 1790, in-8°
military and political Considerations to the fortifications (year III, 1795), impr. Republic, in-8°, Paris.

This last work, printed with the expenses of the government, is most important of those of Frame; it contains, so to speak, the summary of all its observations, and all that it had written sutr an art that it studied all its life.

Source

Reference: Old and modern universal biography: history alphabetically of the public life and private of all the men (Michaud), article " Arçon"
J. Girod de Chantrans - Note on the life and the works of the general of Frame (printing works of Daclin, Besancon, Year IX - 1801, réimpr. at Magimel, Paris, Year X - 1802).
Jean-Marie Thiébaud and Gerard Tissot-Robbe, Elisabeth Michaud d' Arçon, mistress of Napoleon , Yens (Switzerland), Cabédita, 2006

See too

Elisabeth de Vaudey, girl of the general Michaud d' Arçon and lady's companion of the empress Joséphine

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