Alexandre , vicomte Digeon Alexander Elisabeth Michel vicomte Digeon , born 27 June 1771 - died 2 August 1826 , fought in the French Revolutionary Wars in the cavalry . He became a general officer during the Napoleonic Wars , fighting in a number of important battles . After 1814 , he gave his loyalty to the Bourbon Restoration and briefly served as Minister of War . Early career . Born in Paris , France on 27 June 1771 , Digeon was the son of a Ferme générale , a tax collector . He entered the army as a lieutenant in the 104th Infantry Regiment , and after a few months transferred to the 9th Chasseurs à cheval Regiment . Appointed chef d ' escadron ( captain ) in the 19th Dragoon Regiment , he was wounded by a bayonet attack on the bridge of Kehl . Later at the Battle of Trebbia , he became the acting commander of the regiment after the death of his colonel . His younger brother was wounded at the Battle of Marengo , where he served in the Artillery of the Consular Guard . Napoleon Bonaparte sent Colonel Jean - Baptiste Bessières to Digeon ' s father to give him the news . " Père " Digeon asked for a favor for his eldest son , which Napoleon granted . Digeon returned to France and was appointed colonel of the 26th Chasseurs à cheval Regiment . Napoleonic Wars . Still leading the 26th Chasseurs , Digeon took part in the Ulm Campaign in 1805 , including Lensberg , and Battle of Austerlitz , where he took three standards . He received the decoration of Commander of the Legion of Honor after the battle , where he was wounded . He was near Stralsund in 1807 . Elevated to the rank of general of brigade , he served in General Marie Victor de Fay , marquis de Latour - Maubourg ' s 1st Dragoon Division as the brigadier in command of the 20th and 25th Dragoons . The same year he commanded with great distinction in the Battle of Heilsberg and in the Battle of Friedland . Assigned to Spain , he commanded a dragoon brigade under Marshal Jean Lannes . On 23 November 1808 , he fought in the Battle of Tudela where Francisco Castaños was defeated . Appointed in 1812 the civilian and military governor of the provinces of Córdoba and Jaén , he managed by a wise administration , to win the trust of people that the ravages of war had angered and reduced to the deepest misery . For six months , he kept over 7 , 000 people from suffering famine . By his brilliant leadership during Marshal Nicolas Soult ' s retreat from Andalusia , Digeon earned the rank of general of division on 3 March 1813 . He found himself in that capacity in the Battle of Vitoria , where he was wounded for the fifth time . At the end of that year he went to the Army of Catalonia under Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet , and was in command of all the cavalry and the First Infantry Division . Seconded in 1814 to the army defending Lyon , commanded by Marshal Pierre Augereau , he led a notable feat of arms . On 20 March 1814 , the Austrians had advanced to the suburb of Saint - Just - d ' Avray and street fighting began . Digeon suddenly resumed the offensive , captured a battery , and cut off part of the Austrian " Hiller " Infantry Regiment # 2 with nearly 400 prisoners . This setback arrested the progress of the enemy . The Allied occupation of Lyon only took place the next day under a formal capitulation , which spared the city the pillaging that often occurred when a large city was stormed . Restoration . After the Bourbon Restoration , Digeon was employed as inspector general of cavalry . He was in that capacity at Nevers , when the Emperor Napoleon I of France returned from Elba . The minister of war appointed him to command a cavalry division at Lyon . He arrived there on 5 March , but after many fruitless efforts to keep the soldiers from joining Napoleon , he left that city with the Jacques Macdonald , Duke of Taranto . King Louis XVIII of France appointed him aide - de - camp . Digeon declined to serve Napoleon during the Hundred Days . In return , the restored king appointed him commander of the Cavalry Division of the Royal Guard , and later created him a peer of France with the title of Viscount . In the Upper House , he constantly supported the rightist policy and the ensuing ministerial system . In political trials he voted for the party rigorously . In March 1823 , in the absence of Claude Victor - Perrin , Duke of Belluno , he was appointed Acting Minister of War . Three months afterward he was appointed Minister of State and member of the Privy Council , then commander of the army of occupation . He died on August 2 , 1826 , at his estate at Ronqueux , near Paris . He had married , shortly before his death , a lady of the house of Saulx Tavannes . The name DIGEON is inscribed on Column 22 of the Arc de Triomphe .