Gigny, Charles-Etienne

Born in the family of the blacksmith Etienne Gigny and his wife Maria Seger. In 1789 he volunteered for the dragoons of the Belgian Legion in the Austrian service, and was successively promoted to brigade leader, sergeant general and junior lieutenant. In 1792 he transferred to the French service, October 1, 1792 - Captain, February 6, 1793 - Squadron Commander of the 17th cavalry regiment, served in the Northern Army, November 5, 1794 transferred to the 2nd Hussars with an appointment in Sambro -Maass army, fought under the command of generals Gosh and Jourdan , in 1797 distinguished himself under the command of General Ney when crossing the Rhine , where at the head of 2 squadrons attacked the Austrian battalion, supported by two squadrons of cuirassiers, overturned them and captured two guns.

October 29, 1803 - Major of the 1st Hussar Regiment, from 1803 to 1805 he served in the Army of Hanover, in 1808 - in the Elbe Observation Corps of Marshal Kellerman , in 1809 - in the Army of the Coast of the Ocean, General Vandam and the Northern Army of Marshal Bernadotte , 1810-1811 he fought in Portugal and Spain, October 14, 1811 promoted to colonel, commander of the 12th Cavalry Regiment of the Horse. He took part in the Russian campaign, on June 24, 1812, he crossed the Neman as part of the 2nd light cavalry division of General Pajol of the 2nd reserve cavalry corps of General Montbrun . He fought at Smolensk, on August 8 he was wounded at Rudnya, as a result of the death of Colonel Mathieu Dezira in the Battle of Borodino, led a light cavalry brigade . After the capture of Moscow, he acted in the vicinity of the capital as part of the avant-garde of Prince Murat , was again wounded on October 18 at Vinkovo. When the Great Army stumbled, he fought with Red and Berezina. Participated in the Saxon and French campaigns of 1813-1814, fought at Connern, Katsbach, Leipzig and Bar-sur-Haute.

After the first restoration, the Bourbons retired on February 11, 1815 and on March 27 joined the Netherlands service with the rank of colonel, on April 21, 1815 - Major General, participated in the Belgian campaign, distinguished himself in the battle of Waterloo, where he commanded 1 The light cavalry brigade of the Netherlands Cavalry Division, Lieutenant General Baron de Koller , lost the horse that had been killed under him. In 1819, the commander of the 5th military district, in 1824, the military governor of the province of Liege, December 20, 1826, lieutenant-general, during the revolution of 1830, served as governor of Ghent, on January 4, 1831, he retired. February 15, 1831 adopted the Belgian service with the rank of divisional general, July 3, 1835 retired. He died on December 1, 1844 in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean at the age of 73 years.

• Austrian brigadier;
• Vahmister Austrian Service;
• Junior Lieutenant of the Austrian Service;
• Captain of the French Service (October 1, 1792);
• Squadron commander of the French service (February 6, 1793);
• Major of the French Service (October 29, 1803);
• Colonel of the French Service (October 14, 1811);
• Major General of the Netherlands Service (April 21, 1815);
• Lieutenant-General of the Netherlands Service (December 20, 1826).
• Renamed divisional generals in the Belgian service (February 15, 1831).

• Baron Gigny and the Empire ( Fr. baron Ghigny et de l'Empire ; decree of September 28, 1813, patent not confirmed) ^[1] .

• Legionnaire of the Legion of Honor (March 25, 1804);
• Officer of the Legion of Honor (June 21, 1813);
• Commander of the Legion of Honor (April 3, 1814);
• Cavalier of the Military Order of St. Louis (1814)
• Chevalier of the Netherlands Military Order of Wilhelm (1815);
• Cavalier of the Belgian Order of Leopold I (July 9, 1837).

• A. Lievyns, Jean Maurice Verdot, Pierre Bégat, Fastes de la Légion d'honneur: biographie de tous les décorés accompagnée de l'histoire législative et réglementaire de l'ordre.

• Biography Gigny on the forum 12th horse rangers
• General information on Base Léonore