Benoît de Boigne Benoît Leborgne ( 24 March 1751 – 21 June 1830 ) , better known as Count Benoît de Boigne or General Count de Boigne , was a military adventurer from the Alps of French Savoy , who made his fortune and name in India with the Marathas . He was also named president of the general council of the French " département " of Mont - Blanc by Napoleon I . The son of shopkeepers , Leborgne was a career military man . He was trained in European regiments and then became a success in India in the service of Mahadaji Sindhia of Gwalior in central India , who ruled over the Maratha Empire . Sindhia entrusted him with the creation and organization of an army . He became its general , and trained and commanded a force of nearly 100 , 000 men organized on the European model , which allowed the Maratha Empire to dominate north India and be the last native state of Hindustan to resist the British Empire . Along with his career in the army , Benoît de Boigne also worked in commerce and administration . Among other titles , he became a " jaghir " which gave him enormous land holdings in India . After a turbulent life , Benoît de Boigne returned to Europe , first to England , where he married a French emigrant after having repudiated his first , Persian wife ; then to France during the Consulate , and finally back to Savoy ( then an independent kingdom ) . He devoted the end of his life to charity in Chambéry , where he was born . The king of Piedmont - Sardinia gave him the title of Count . Early life . He was born at Chambéry in Savoy on 24 March 1751 , the son of a fur merchant . His paternal grandfather , born at Burneuil in Picardy , moved to Chambéry , in the Dukedom of Savoy , at the beginning of the 18th century . In 1709 the grandfather married Claudine Latoud , born in 1682 . They had thirteen children , of whom only four reached the age of twenty , and opened up a fur shop on rue Tupin in Chambéry . This shop made an impression on the young Benoît Leborgne . In his " Mémoires " , he wrote that he was fascinated by the exotic sign outside the shop . It was brightly colored and featured wild animals including lions , elephants , panthers and tigers , with the motto underneath : " You can go ahead and try something else , you will all come to Leborgne , the fur dealer . " The child ' s imagination was stimulated , and he kept asking his parents and grandparents about the animals . He wanted to know more about the far - off countries where they lived . His father , Jean - Baptiste Leborgne , born in 1718 , frequently traveled on business to wild - fur markets and brought back bearskins , fox , beaver , and marten furs , and many other animal pelts . Sometimes he traveled as far as Scotland , and he dreamed of going to the Indies . His wife was against this , but he passed his dream on to his son . His mother , Hélène Gabet , born in 1744 , was born into a family of notaries who worked closely with the Savoy Senate . Although her family was not happy about her marriage to a fur merchant , they accepted it . Benoît was the third of the couple ' s seven children – three boys and three girls . One of his brothers , Antoine - François , became a monk at the monastery of Grande Chartreuse , but influenced by ideas of the French Revolution , he left and later married . His son Joseph became a notable lawyer in Turin . Benoît , who had been destined for the law , was not the only adventurer in his family . His brother Claude went to Santo Domingo , in what is now the Dominican Republic . Claude was imprisoned in Paris during the Reign of Terror , and later became a deputy for the island of Santo Domingo ( now called Hispaniola ) in the Council of Five Hundred under the French Directory . During the first empire ( of Napoleon ) he was named to office in Paris and took the title of Baron . This title was given to him , like the title of Count given to his brother Benoît Leborgne , by the king of Piedmont - Sardinia , in 1816 . At the age of 17 , Benoît Leborgne fought a duel with a Piedmont officer and wounded him . This cost him his chance to join the Brigade de Savoie . He therefore enlisted in the French Army . Early military career . Leborgne began his military career in the north of France in 1768 , as an ordinary soldier in Louis XV ' s Irish Regiment , directed by Lord Clare and quartered in Flanders . This regiment was made up mostly of Irish emigrants who did not want to serve the British ; at this time Irish Catholics were disenfranchised in their own country under the anti - Catholic penal laws . During this period , many Irishmen left Ireland for the Catholic countries of Europe or for North America . Here Benoît Leborgne learned English and the rudiments of army life . He listened to the military tales of his superior officers , especially those of Major Daniel Charles O ' Connell about India . Many years later , he met O ' Connell again in England and was introduced through him to his future wife Adèle . While in the Irish Regiment , Leborgne took part in several campaigns which took him across Europe , as well as to islands in the Indian Ocean , including Bourbon Island ( now called Réunion ) . In 1773 , at age 22 , Benoît Leborgne resigned from the army . Lord Clare and Colonel Meade had died , bringing changes to the Regiment . Europe was at peace and his chances of promotion had become slim . The Russian - Turkish war . As he was leaving the Irish Regiment , young Leborgne learned from the newspapers that Prince Fyodor Grigoryevich Orlov of Russia was raising , in the name of Empress Catherine II of Russia , a Greek regiment to attack the Ottoman Empire . At the time , Russia was attempting to extend its territory to acquire a port on the Black Sea , and was using the anti - Turkish sentiments of people under Ottoman domination to aid its project . Leborgne saw a chance of advancement and adventure . He went back to Chambéry for a short time and got a letter of recommendation to Prince Orlov through the cousin of a client of his mother ' s , who was a close acquaintance of the prince . First Leborgne went to Turin , which was then the capital of the Kingdom of Piedmont - Sardinia , where he met the cousin . Afterwards , he went to the Veneto , then crossed to the Aegean Sea . He arrived in Paros , where Prince Orlov was forming his Greek - Russian regiment . The prince accepted him and he joined the ranks . Leborgne quickly saw that his enlistment was a mistake . The prince confided to him his doubts on the future military campaign and its chances of victory . These pessimistic forecasts were quickly confirmed . On the island of Tenedos , the Turks were victorious , and the Russo - Turkish War ( 1768 – 1774 ) ended for Leborgne with his capture by the Turks , although some members of his regiment succeeded in escaping . He was taken to Constantinople and became a slave , where he had to do menial work for many weeks . However , his owner soon noticed that he could speak English and put him to work dealing with the British Lord Algernon Percy . Percy , surprised to see a European slave , was able to procure Leborgne ' s freedom after a week of negotiations , with the aid of the British embassy . Preparations for India . Lord Percy took Leborgne as a guide through the Greek islands back to Paros , where Leborgne officially resigned from his regiment . He was free again , but had only his last pay received from before his resignation . He travelled to Smyrna ( now Izmir ) , which at the time was a prosperous , booming city . There , Leborgne met merchants from many countries , including India , which was believed to hold much wealth , like the diamonds of Golconda and the sapphires of Ceylon ( now Sri Lanka ) . Some of these merchants told him their theories about the existence of trade routes passing north of India , in upper Kashmir or along the glaciers of Karakoram . He also learned that many rajahs regularly sought out European officers to organize and command their armies . These stories persuaded Leborgne to try his chances . Through his friend Lord Percy , he was able to get letters of recommendation to Lord Hastings and Lord Macartney in India . He also asked for letters of recommendation from Prince Orlov in Saint Petersburg , where the prince obtained an audience for him with the Empress Catherine II . Leborgne explained to her he wanted to discover new trade routes to India passing through Afghanistan or Kashmir . The empress , wishing to extend her power to Afghanistan , agreed to help him . At the end of 1777 , Leborgne began a journey with many detours . After having tried to travel by land , he gave up and decided to reach India by ship . However , during the voyage to Egypt , a storm washed away all his possessions , including the letters of recommendation . Not wishing to abandon his journey , Leborgne went to the British consulate in Egypt and met Sir Baldwin . After a number of discussions , he was advised to take service in the British East India Company , and he was given a letter of recommendation to this effect . Military glory and fortune in India . In the late 18th century , the mighty Maratha Empire was gradually collapsing . The British were triumphing over their Portuguese , French , and Dutch rivals in India , where all the countries had hastened to install trading posts . The British East India Company was the most powerful military and economic force and came to dominate India , including its princes . The British established a powerful colonial administration placed under the direct responsibility of the British Crown . Many Europeans benefited from the political confusion of India , offering their services as mercenaries to Indian princes and becoming rich merchants themselves . The Europeans had the advantage of military experience in the European wars , knowledge of arms production , especially cannons , and of new military strategies . Arrival in India ; disappointment . In 1778 , Leborgne arrived at the Indian port of Madras ( now Chennai ) . He was poor and to make a living , taught fencing . While teaching , he met a nephew of the British governor of the city , Sir Thomas Rumbold . He was offered a position as an officer in the 6th battalion of sepoy s , a troop of local inhabitants raised by the Company . He accepted , and gradually learned the local customs and began training the sepoys . He lived in Madras for four years , but became restless . He was ambitious , and decided to go to Delhi in the north of India , where the Moghul Emperor Shah Alam II held court . The Marathas and Rajput s were employing Europeans and giving them the command of their armies . The new governor , Lord MacCartney , gave Leborgne letters of recommendation to the governor of the province of Bengal , in Calcutta , and Leborgne sailed there . He met governor Warren Hastings , who approved his projects of exploration . Again he was given letters of recommendation , this time to Asaf - Ud - Dowlah , the Nawab of Oudh , in Lucknow . The rajah was a vassal of the British . In January 1783 , Leborgne started his trip . He traveled through many extremely poor villages , learning about the culture and religion of India and noted the different Muslim and Hindu neighborhoods in various places . Arrival in Lucknow . In Lucknow , Leborgne was received by the nabab Asaf - ud - Daulah and was invited to live with Colonel Pollier , in the service of the Company . As Middleton , an Englishman present when Leborgne met the nabab , explained to him afterward , this invitation was in fact an order ; if he refused he would have been thrown in prison . Colonel Antoine Polier , a Swiss , received him warmly . Leborgne discovered that Lucknow had many European residents . He met two who spoke French . The first , Claude Martin , was from Lyons and had made his fortune in India ; the second , Drugeon , was from Savoy like himself . The nabab gave Leborgne a kelat , richly decorated with gold and diamonds , along with letters of exchange for Kandahar and Kabul , and 12 , 000 rupees . The nabab kept Leborgne , with many others , as a privileged captive for five months . Polier explained to Leborgne that although he had been given the letters of exchange , he would have to be patient . While waiting , Leborgne began to learn Persian and Hindi . He also changed his name at this time to sound more aristocratic . From then on he called himself de Boigne , inspired by the English pronunciation of his name ( English - speakers could not pronounce the " r " correctly ) . Along with Claude Martin , his friend from Lyons , de Boigne occupied himself by selling silver jewelry , silk carpets , and arms enameled in gold . He also went tiger - hunting on elephant - back with Polier and the nabab . Leaving Lucknow for Delhi . In August 1783 , de Boigne received permission to leave Oudh and went north to search for new trade routes . His journey by horse led him to Delhi in the company of Polier , who also had to go there for business . During the trip , de Boigne saw the Taj Mahal and other Indian sights , including various smaller kingdoms and tribes . In Delhi , an Englishman named Anderson offered to get de Boigne an audience with Emperor Shah Alam , whose court was at the Red Fort . During this audience , de Boigne told the emperor about his proposal to seek new trade routes , but the emperor put off any decision ( " We ' ll see " ) . De Boigne waited in Delhi , hoping for a favorable answer . However , circumstances were about to change . The day after the audience , an imperial edict gave Mahadji Sindhia the government of the provinces of Delhi and Agra . In other words , Sindhia became the imperial regent and the real power , while Emperor Shah Alam , without being deposed , was now only a figurehead . In 1790 , de Boigne summarized Indian politics of the time : " The respect toward the house of Timur [ the Moghul dynasty ] is so strong that even though the whole subcontinent has been withdrawn from its authority , no prince of India has taken the title of sovereign . Sindhia shared this respect , and Shah Alam [ Shah Alam II ] was still seated on the Moghul throne , and everything done in his name . " In the midst of these political upheavals , de Boigne met Armand de Levassoult , a European friend of Polier . Levassoult was in the service of Begum Joanna Nobilis ( Begum Samru of Sardana , d . 1836 ) , an influential woman respected by the emperor , but also by his Maratha adversaries . For a few days , de Boigne found himself in Delhi unable to go north , since the local administration did not give him permission . However , he met Levassoult again and Levassoult invited him to go to Sindhia ' s camp with him . Doubted by Marathas , betrayed by Jaipur . The Marathas had set up camp to besiege the citadel of Gwalior , in which a Scot named George Sangster , whom de Boigne had met in Lucknow , was commanding the garrison . When Levassoult and de Boigne arrived in the Maratha camp , they received a warm welcome . Levassoult presented his friend as the bravest of soldiers , and de Boigne was given a tent . However , while he was away from it , his baggage was stolen , and with it the precious letters of exchange of Hastings and also the letter for Kabul and Peshawar . He soon learned that this theft had been ordered by Sindhia himself , who wanted to know more about this suspect European . De Boigne , wanting revenge , decided to send a discreet message to Sangster in the besieged citadel and proposed an attack on the Maratha camp . But while he was waiting for the answer , he was called by an enraged Sindhia who had discovered the message . De Boigne had to explain that his act was a response to the theft of his baggage and letters of exchange . Sindhia discussed with De Boigne about an expedition to the north of India and a resulting possible invasion by the Afghans . He then offered to de Boigne the command of the camp guard , which de Boigne refused . Vexed , Sindhia dismissed him without returning his precious papers . This misadventure showed de Boigne that his project of exploration was unpopular among Indians , and he decided to abandon it . His argument with Sindhia came to the ears of Sindhia ' s enemies , first to those of the Rajah of Jaipur , who was looking for a European officer to form two battalions . De Boigne accepted the offer and returned to Lucknow to raise and train the troops . The British , suspicious , asked de Boigne to explain himself to Hastings , who , after hearing his intentions , allowed him to continue . Once the battalions were recruited and operational , de Boigne and his men started for Jaipur . However , en route they were stopped at Dholpur by a local petty lord whose fortress blocked the only passage . After they gave him a ransom , he allowed them to pass . This episode displeased the Rajah of Jaipur , who dismissed de Boigne without any compensation , while keeping the two new battalions . In the service of the Maratha empire . After a time wandering , de Boigne again met his friend Levassoult , who introduced him to the Catholic convert Begum Joanna . She confided to him that Sindhia , the Maratha chief wanted him back . Although Sindhia had been mistrustful of de Boigne ' s projects of exploration , and in spite of their argument over the confiscated baggage , Sindhia had been impressed with de Boigne ' s two European - trained battalions , which contrasted sharply with his own troops . De Boigne finally agreed to enter the service of the Marathas . He was put in charge of organizing a cannon foundry in Agra , as well as equipping and arming 7000 men in two battalions . De Boigne from this time quickly became an influential man . One of the first actions under his command was the October 1783 capture of the citadel of Kalinjar in the region of Bundelkhand . The rajah of this region ended up parleying with de Boigne , which allowed Sindhia to enter Delhi as its master . The Maratha chief named himself " Column of the Empire " and Prime Minister . His seizure of power led to many conflicts and betrayals . Over the next few years there were many battles among Marathas , Moghuls , Rajputs and Rathore s . At the battles of Lalsot ( May 1787 ) and of Chaksana ( 24 April 1788 ) , de Boigne and his two battalions proved their worth by holding the field when the Marathas were losing . The year 1788 was especially turbulent . On August 10 , Gholam Kadir had the Emperor Shah Alam ' s eyes torn out . On August 14 , the Maratha army , allied with the army of Begum Joanna and of that of her old enemy Ismail Beg , entered Delhi , retaking the town it had once lost . Kadir escaped but was captured , and the Marathas killed him gruesomely , among other tortures putting out his eyes and cutting off his ears and nose . His corpse was then given to the emperor . Once more Mahadji Sindhia had triumphed and was now the true power in India . It was at this time that Benoît de Boigne proposed to Sindhia the creation of a brigade of 10 , 000 men in order to consolidate his conquest of India . Sindhia refused because his treasury could not afford it , but also because he had doubts about the superiority of the artillery - infantry combination , as opposed to the cavalry that had been the main weapon of the Maratha armies . This refusal caused a new dispute between the two men , and Benoît de Boigne resigned . Once more unemployed , he returned to Lucknow . Commercial life and first marriage . Back in Lucknow , Benoît de Boigne found his old friends Antoine - Louis Polier and Claude Martin . Martin persuaded de Boigne to work with him in trade . His military skills were useful , for at the time , Indian trade routes were dangerous , and even warehouses in the cities were sometimes robbed . Claude Martin and Benoît de Boigne built a warehouse inside an old fort . It included saferooms and a trained armed guard to watch it . Quickly , this business became successful . De Boigne also carried on a trade in precious stones , copper , gold , silver , indigo , cashmere shawls , silks , and spices . He became rich and now owned a luxurious house with many servants , a wine - cellar , and valuable horses . At this time , de Boigne fell in love with a young woman from Delhi named Noor ( " light " in Arabic ) . She was the daughter of a colonel in the Persian Guard of the Great Moghul , whom he had met to discuss a simple lawsuit . The same day , he asked the colonel for his daughter ' s hand in marriage . After a long discussion , the father accepted , even though de Boigne refused to convert to Islam as was normally required for the husband of a Muslim woman . De Boigne wooed Noor , who could speak perfect English . The wedding lasted several days , first in Delhi , with sumptuous feasts , then more simply in Lucknow . The couple had two children , a daughter born in 1790 and a son in 1791 . A general in the service of the Maratha empire , with the title of jaghir . In 1788 , Sindhia sent a discreet message to de Boigne . Sindhia wished to unite north and northwest India . At the time , the Rajputs and the Marathas had a tense relationship . The Marathas were levying the peasants with more taxes . Sindhia succeeded in convincing de Boigne to return to his service . He asked him to organize a brigade of 12 , 000 men within a year ( January 1789 - January 1790 ) . De Boigne became commander - in - chief and general , the highest title under " rajah . " To be able to pay his men , Sindhia gave his new general a " jaghir " , a fief given for the lifetime of its holder , against a payment in return to the imperial treasury . At the death of its holder , the " jaghir " reverted to another deserving officer . The revenues from the " jaghir " allowed the officer to pay his men . Benoît de Boigne received the Doab , a region of plains in Uttar Pradesh . This plain was covered with jungle and included several towns like Meerut , Koal and Aligarh . De Boigne had to use some of his savings to renovate this new land . He built a citadel and stores . The military camp built by de Boigne was very European . To work with the new brigade , he hired Drugeon from Savoy , Sangster from Scotland , John Hessing , a Dutchman , as well as Frémont and Pierre Cuillier - Perron , two Frenchmen , a German named Anthony Pohlmann and an Italian , Michael Filoze . The administrative and military language became French , and the flag of Savoy , red with a white cross , became the ensign of the new brigade . Because of his high rank , Sindhia obliged de Boigne to have a personal guard , and de Boigne chose 400 Sikhs and Persians . The brigade itself consisted of approximately nine battalions of infantry , each with its own artillery and baggage train . The brigade artillery included about fifty bronze cannons , of which half were big - caliber and transported by oxen , and the other pieces by elephants and camels . De Boigne ' s brigade also invented a weapon composed of six musket - barrels joined together . The brigade was supported by 3000 elite cavalry , 5000 servants , team drovers , carpenters , blacksmiths , and others . A novelty for India was the ambulance corps , in charge of rescuing wounded soldiers , including enemy soldiers . De Boigne also acquired a parade elephant named Bhopal . The brigade was ready in 1790 . Military campaigns and victories . Starting in 1790 , the brigade had to face Rajputs , Ismail Beg , and the rajahs of Bikaner and Jaipur . De Boigne decided to attack this coalition by surprise on May 23 . De Boigne demonstrated his military talent by gaining one victory after another . The West India Company began to become concerned about this new Maratha army , dangerous to their domination . Within six months of 1790 , in a hostile , hilly terrain , de Boigne ' s brigade defeated 100 , 000 men , confiscated 200 camels and 200 cannons , many bazaars , and fifty elephants . The Maratha army attacked and took seventeen fortresses by siege . It won several decisive battles , among which the most difficult were the battles of Patan , Mairtah , and Ajmer . The Rajputs recognized the authority of Sindhia as prime minister . The Marathas were now the masters of northern and northwestern India . During these military campaigns , de Boigne continued his commercial association with Claude Martin from a distance . Sindhia , more powerful than ever , asked de Boigne to raise two more brigades . These were formed and their command was given by de Boigne to Frémont and Perron , assisted by Drugeon . For a while , de Boigne could enjoy his new social position and the respect that his victories had won him , as well as the reforms which he had undertaken in his " jaghir " . But the calm was of short duration , and military campaigns started up again . The Marathas of central India became a threat . Due to internal differences , a new coalition of Holkar and Sindhia ' s enemy Ismail Beg , menaced the territory of Sindhia in northern India , and in spite of diplomatic negotiations and promises of imperial titles , there was a battle of Lakhari in 1793 between Holkar - Ismail Beg and Sindhia . De Boigne ' s brigades won and captured Ismail Beg , but his life was spared because de Boigne admired his brave spirit . De Boigne now attacked Holkar and after a fourth battle , the most exciting and dangerous , according to de Boigne , his troops won another victory . However , de Boigne was weary of war . The rajah of Jaipur , now in a position of weakness , preferred peace . De Boigne was rewarded by Sindhia with an enlargement of the " jaghir " , and also gave a " jaghir " to de Boigne ' s son , only an infant at the time . Trusted by Maratha chiefs . European events . Sindhia had become the most powerful man in India , with many enemies . As they were not able to beat him militarily , the Maratha chief faced conspiracies , intrigue and treason . De Boigne was a faithful follower and Sindhia trusted him and made him a confidant . De Boigne now was running imperial affairs for Sindhia in north and northwestern India . The minister Gopal Rao , whose brother had been engaged in a famous plot with Nana Farnavis ( Nana Fadnavis ) , came to Aligarh to visit de Boigne to show his loyalty to Sindhia . But while India was now a confederation under the Maratha authority , the situation in Europe was changing profoundly . The French Revolution had overturned the equilibrium in Europe , and also in Europe ' s colonial empires . On November 12 , 1792 , a Savoy assembly proclaimed its unity with France . Until 1815 , de Boigne was now considered a Frenchman like any other . The brigades of the Maratha army under de Boigne ' s command were under European officers now divided by the political situation in Europe : one of the two French officers was a royalist and the other supported the revolution . De Boigne tried to keep his army out of European politics . He was more worried about the situation of Sindhia , who was still in Poona . Sindhia ordered him to send help , as he had to struggle against British intrigues , but also against those of Holkar and Nana Farnavis . De Boigne sent him 10 , 000 men under the command of Perron . Perron did not arrive in time . On February 12 , 1794 , Sindhia was killed in an ambush by Nana Farnavis . De Boigne remained faithful to Daulat Rao Sindhia , the nephew and legitimate heir of Sindhia . De Boigne soon realized that the political situation had changed . His ideal of India as a confederation of free states would never come to pass . Sindhia ' s successor was less capable than his predecessor . In 1795 , after twenty years in India , and in worsening health , de Boigne left his command , installing Perron in his place , and prepared his departure for Europe . At the end of his career in India , he was head of an army of almost 100 , 000 men , organized on the European model . The Maratha confederation was therefore the last indigenous state of Hindustan to resist the British . In November 1796 de Boigne left India , accompanied by his family and his most faithful Indian servants . He sold his personal guard to the British , with the consent of his men , for a price equivalent to 900 , 000 Germinal gold francs . Return to Europe and second marriage . Benoît de Boigne left for England , where he installed his household near London . Although he had been born a Savoyard , the Revolution had made him a Frenchman , and therefore a potential enemy of the British . His wealth and his letters of credit were held in abeyance at the bank . However , his military prowess was known to many British who had campaigned in India , some of whom had dined with him in India . This sympathy allowed de Boigne to take British nationality on January 1 , 1798 . The nationality was conditional upon his remaining in Britain or its colonies . Wishing to leave London , de Boigne acquired a house in the English countryside , in Dorsetshire . He considered going back to Chambéry , his native town , but the political situation was too uncertain . He also thought of entering politics , but his position was not good enough for the British parliament , since the parties expected candidates to have gone to the best British schools , have well - connected friends , and also to have a wife who could carry on diplomatic conversation and organize parties and receptions . De Boigne had his family christened , and Noor became Hélène . Although his seat was in the country , he was near London and went there often . He met many French emigrants , all waiting to be able to go back to France . In 1798 , de Boigne met a Mademoiselle d ' Osmond , sixteen years old . He repudiated his first wife , who had not been able to adapt to British customs and had become more and more distant , returning to her Indian habits . De Boigne was now completely taken by his new love . Not being legally married to Hélène under British law , he agreed to give her alimony and engaged a tutor for their children . On June 11 , 1798 , he married Adèle d ' Osmond . Unhappy second marriage ; discovery of France under the Consulate . His second wife , born in 1781 , was an emigrant from a penniless , though noble , old family from Normandy . De Boigne did not reveal his own lowly origins before the marriage . He seems to have wished , after his adventurous life , to start a family and establish himself in Europe through the help of his wife ' s high - placed relations . But from the beginning , the marriage was not a success . De Boigne had a hard time adapting to European manners after so long in India , and the 30 - year difference in age between him and his wife added to the difficulty . He was jealous . He also now took opium to assuage the pain of his dysentery , and his wife and her family claimed he abused it . During this period , France was under the Consulate , and many French emigrants returned to France . De Boigne decided to go back as well , and in 1802 he settled in Paris , where the consul Napoleon Bonaparte was enjoying great popularity . De Boigne ' s wife went back to live with her parents . On April 30 , 1802 , de Boigne discovered from Drugeon , who had stayed in India , that Perron had become an important person there , but that Perron was greedy for money and seized his friend ' s property to get de Boigne ' s money and accelerate its decline . In Paris , de Boigne became friends with General Paul Thiébault , who asked him several times to meet Napoleon so that he could become an officer in the French army . However , de Boigne , who was now in his fifties , did not want to return to his former rank of colonel , under the orders of younger men . Although he refused , the offer was renewed . In 1803 , Napoleon offered a new proposition to Benoît de Boigne . He asked him to take command of Russian and French troops who would reach India through Afghanistan and chase off the British . But nothing came of this . Benoît de Boigne bought the Château de Beauregard , La Celle - Saint - Cloud for his wife , and she moved in on November 2 , 1804 . The property was ceded to Francesco Borghèse , Prince Aldobrandini of the House of Borghese , on November 14 , 1812 , in exchange for a house in Châtenay ( now Châtenay - Malabry ) . Final return to Savoy . Benoît de Boigne returned to Savoy definitively in 1807 . There , he had himself called " General de Boigne . " He lived alone in the château of Buisson - Rond near Chambéry , which he had bought in 1802 and appointed luxuriously for his young wife . But she continued to live in the Paris region , where she lived in the château of Beauregard and then of Châtenay . In this Parisian life she found the material for her celebrated " Mémoires " , which were published in 1907 . The Comtesse de Boigne rarely came to Buisson - Rond , although she occasionally gave urbane receptions during the summer on her way home from taking the waters at Aix , in the company of her friends Madame Récamier , Madame de Staël , Adrien de Montmorency ( Anne Adrien Pierre de Montmorency - Laval ) , and Benjamin Constant . Having returned from the isle of Réunion , Benoît de Boigne received the title of Field Marshal on October 20 , 1814 , and the Croix de Saint - Louis ( Order of Saint Louis ) on December 6 . His wife was pleased . On February 27 , 1815 , Louis XVII gave him the Legion of Honor for services rendered as President of the Conseil général du département du Mont - Blanc . De Boigne was a fervent royalist , and ardent partisan of the Savoy government . Victor Emmanuel II of Italy , king of Sardinia and Savoy , gave him the title of Count in 1816 , and Charles Felix of Sardinia conferred upon him the Grand Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus . In 1814 and 1816 he was named General in France and in Savoy . During the last years of his life , Benoît de Boigne occupied himself in managing his immense fortune . He bought much land in the vicinity of Chambéry and of Geneva , and also in the west of the modern département of Savoie , including , in 1816 , the château de Lucey . He spent much of his time on the development of his native city . He was a member of the city council of Chambéry in 1816 . Although he no longer served in the military , he received the title of lieutenant - general in the armies of the king of Sardinia in 1822 . On December 26 , 1824 , he was elected to the Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Belles - Lettres of Savoy , with the academic title " Effectif . " From 1814 until his death , de Boigne made many donations to the city of Chambéry , financing public and religious organizations , for welfare , education , and public works . He had no children with Adèle d ' Osmond , so he made the decision to legitimize and naturalize his son Charles - Alexandre from his first marriage to Hélène ( Noor ) . On June 21 , 1830 , Benoît de Boigne died in Chambéry . He was buried inside the church of Saint - Pierre - le - Lémenc . A funeral oration was given for him on August 19 , 1830 , in the metropolitan church of Chambéry , by the Canon Vibert , pro - vicar - general of the diocese and member of the royal academic society of Savoy . Descendants of Benoît de Boigne . Charles - Alexandre de Boigne was born in Delhi , India in 1791 . He married Césarine Viallet de Montbel in 1816 . The marriage had been encouraged by his father . Césarine Viallet de Montbel was from a large Savoy family who had been parliamentarians and later ennobled . They had thirteen children . Charles - Alexandre , educated in England , had studied law , but spent most of his life as a minor courtier at the Savoy court , managing his land and inheritance . He was assisted by Thomas Morand , a Chambéry notary who had been chosen by Benoît de Boigne . Charles - Alexandre also had to liquidate the foundations and donations of his father . Charles - Alexandre died on July 23 , 1853 . His son Ernest acceded to the title . Ernest married Delphine de Sabran - Pontevès . Ernest de Boigne became captain of the firemen of the city of Chambéry , but soon became involved in politics . He was elected to the Savoy parliament , then became a deputy to the legislative body in 1860 . He was twice reelected , as a conservative , in 1863 and 1869 . He was decorated with the Legion of Honor . At the fall of the Second Empire , he lost his election in 1877 . He became the mayor of Lucey . He died in 1895 at Buisson - Rond . Benefactor of Chambéry . At his death , Benoît de Boigne left a fortune estimated at 20 million French francs of the time . Altogether , his donations to his native city amounted to about 3 , 484 , 850 francs . He left a permanent fund of 6500 pounds yearly to the metropolitan church of Chambéry for , among other things , the choir . He gave a second fund of 1250 pounds to the Compagnie des nobles Chevaliers - Tireurs - à - l ' Arc ( Company of noble knight archers ) . De Boigne gave many donations for charity , including giving beds to hospitals . He donated 22 , 400 francs for three hospital beds at the Hôtel - Dieu , a charity hospital , and later gave 24 , 000 francs for another four beds for poor , sick foreign travelers of any nation or religion . He paid 63 , 000 francs for the construction of various buildings at the Hôtel - Dieu of Chambéry , and gave a beggars ' home the sum of 649 , 150 francs . He founded an old age home , the Maison de Saint - Benoît , which cost him 900 , 000 francs . He also paid for a place in the orphanage for 7300 francs , and ten beds at the charity hospital , for patients with contagious illnesses , who could not be admitted to Hôtel - Dieu . De Boigne also gave a trust fund of 1650 pounds a year , about 33 , 000 francs , to help poor prisoners every week with laundry and food . He gave another perpetual trust of 1200 pounds or 24 , 000 francs to the poor " shameful " of the city , to be distributed at their homes . Finally , he left a trust fund of 1200 pounds to the firemen of Chambéry to help the sick and wounded . De Boigne gave 30 , 000 francs to build the church of the Capucins , and 60 , 000 francs to build a theater . Among his other numerous donations , two were important . One was 320 , 000 francs for various works , as well as the ownership without usufruct of the property of Châtenay . The second donation was for 300 , 000 francs to demolish the cabornes [ stone huts ] and open up a wide avenue across the city . He also gave 30 , 000 francs for the repair of the city hall and 5000 francs for the bell - tower of Barberaz . De Boigne also gave four major donations to education . He gave 270 , 000 francs to reorganize the collège of Chambéry ; he gave a trust fund of 1000 pounds a year , 20 , 000 francs , to the Société royale académique de Chambéry for the encouragement of agriculture , arts , and letters ; he gave two trust funds of 150 pounds apiece , or 3000 francs , to the Frères des Écoles chrétiennes ( Brothers of Christian Schools ) and to the Sisters of Saint Joseph . Both of these groups gave a free education to children , the first to poor children , the second to girls .