Étienne Maurice Gérard Étienne Maurice Gérard , comte Gérard ( 4 April 177317 April 1852 ) was a French general and statesman . He served under a succession of French governments including the " ancien regime " monarchy , the Revolutionary governments , the Restorations , the July Monarchy , the First and Second Republics , and the First Empire ( and arguably the Second ) , becoming Prime Minister briefly in 1834 . Biography . Early life and career . Born at Damvilliers , in Lorraine , he joined a battalion of volunteers in 1791 , and served in the under Generals Charles François Dumouriez and Jean - Baptiste Jourdan . In 1795 , he served Jean - Baptiste Bernadotte as aide - de - camp . In 1799 he was promoted " chef d ' escadron " , and in 1800 colonel . Rise to prominence . He distinguished himself at the battles of Austerlitz and Jena , and was made Brigadier General in November 1806 , and for his conduct in the battle of Wagram he was created a baron of the First French Empire . In the Spanish campaign of 1810 and 1811 , Gérard gained special distinction at the battle of Fuentes de Onoro ; and in the expedition to Russia he was present at the battle of Smolensk and the battle of Valutino , and displayed such bravery and ability in the battle of Borodino that he was made " général de division " . He won further distinction in the disastrous retreat from Moscow . Campaigns of 1813 – 1814 . In the campaign of 1813 , in command of a division , he took part in the battle of Lützen and the battle of Bautzen , as well as in the operations of Marshal Macdonald , and at the battle of Leipzig ( in which he commanded the XI Corps ) he was gravely wounded . After the battle of Bautzen , he was created by Napoleon a count of the Empire . In the Six Days Campaign of 1814 , and especially at La Rothière and the battle of Montereau , he won still greater distinction . Restoration and July Revolution . After the first Bourbon Restoration , he was named by King Louis XVIII Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor and chevalier of St Louis . During the Hundred Days , Napoleon made Gérard a Peer of France and placed him in command of the IV Corps of the Army of the North . In this capacity Gérard took a brilliant part in the battle of Ligny , and on the morning of 18 June he was foremost in advising Marshal Grouchy to march to the sound of the guns to aid the emperor at Waterloo . Having failed in this he took part in the battle of Wavre . Gérard retired to Brussels after the fall of Napoleon , and did not return to France until 1817 . He sat as a member of the Restoration ' s Chamber of Deputies in 1822 – 1824 , and was re - elected in 1827 . Gérard took part in the July Revolution of 1830 , after which he was appointed minister of war and named a Marshal of France . On account of his health he resigned the office of War Minister in the following October . Belgian campaign and later distinctions . However , in 1831 he took the command of the Northern Army , and was successful in forcing the army of the Netherlands to withdraw from Belgium ( " see Belgian Revolution " ) . In 1832 he commanded the besieging army in the notorious scientific siege of the citadel of Antwerp . He was again chosen war minister in July 1834 , and served as Prime Minister of the July Monarchy , but resigned in the following October . In 1836 he was named grand chancellor of the Legion of Honor in succession to Marshal Mortier , and in 1838 commander of the National Guards of the Seine " département " , an office which he held until 1842 . He became a senator of the Second Empire in 1852 ( before it was formally instituted ) , and died in the same year . Marriage and descendants . Gérard married Rosemonde de Valence . Their granddaughter was Rosemonde Gérard .