Eloi Charlemagne Taupin Eloi Charlemagne Taupin ( 17 August 1767 – 10 April 1814 ) became a French soldier before the French Revolution and was killed in 1814 leading his division in battle against the British in southern France . After fighting in the French Revolutionary Wars , he was promoted to command an infantry regiment at the beginning of the First French Empire . He led the unit during the War of the Third Coalition in 1805 . The following year he fought in the War of the Fourth Coalition . In 1809 he led a brigade during the War of the Fifth Coalition but only fought in a minor engagement . He transferred to Spain where he fought in the Peninsular War including the battles of Bussaco , Salamanca , and Vitoria . He was appointed to command an infantry division in Marshal Nicolas Soult ' s army in July 1813 . He led his troops in the battles of the Pyrenees , San Marcial , the Bidassoa , Nivelle , the Nive , Orthez , and Toulouse , and was fatally wounded in the last action . Ironically , his death came a few days after Napoleon abdicated his throne . Revolution . Born in Barbery , Oise in 17 August 1767 , Taupin enlisted in the " Regiment de Roi " ( King ' s Regiment ) in 1787 . According to a list of transactions that were recorded by the Count of Clermont , Taupin was a warden of the Forest of Pomeraie . As a deputy from Barbery he participated in the Estates - General of 1789 . In 1791 , he joined the 1st battalion of National Volunteers of the Oise as a sous lieutenant and was soon elected captain . From 1792 to 1795 , he soldiered with the Army of the North , during which time he earned promotion to " chef de battalion " in the 28th Line Infantry Demi - Brigade . From 1795 to 1797 , he served in the Army of the Interior . Beginning in 1798 , he was assigned to the Army of Helvetia in Switzerland . In the 1800 campaign , Taupin fought under the command of Jean Lannes . He fought at the Battle of Montebello in June 1800 and at the Battle of Marengo where Taupin was badly wounded . Letter to Bonaparte : " Après le passage du Pô et la bataille de Montebello les généraux Lasnes ( Orthographe d ' époque respectée ) et Watrin vous rendirent compte de la conduite distinguée de la 28me 1 / 2 brigade de ligne à ces deux affaires et de la mienne en particulier . Les mêmes généraux rendirent compte au général Berthier d ' une manière très favorable de ma conduite depuis l ' ouverture de la campagne et à la bataille de Marengo , où j ' ai eu deux chevaux tués sous moi , et où j ' ai été blessé d ' un éclat d ' obus " . For his bravery in this action , he received a " sabre d ' honneur " in 1802 . He served first at Boulogne - sur - Mer in the force gathered for Napoleon ' s invasion of the United Kingdom and later in the army of the Batavian Republic ( the Netherlands ) under the orders of Dominique Vandamme . In December 1803 , he was appointed major in the 11th Line Infantry Regiment . Empire . Taupin became an officer of the Légion d ' Honneur in 1804 . On 1 February 1805 , he was named colonel of the 103rd Line Infantry Regiment . in Honoré Theodore Maxime Gazan ' s division of the V Corps . In this capacity , he led his regiment in all the major campaigns from 1805 to 1807 . When his regiment was attacked by an overwhelmingly superior force of Russians and Austrians in the Battle of Dürenstein it was able to cut its way out of the trap , though it suffered heavy losses . At the Battle of Austerlitz , Taupin ' s actions brought him to the attention of Napoleon . Taupin became a commander of the Légion d ' Honneur on 25 December 1805 . The 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Battalions of Taupin ' s 103rd Regiment served in Gazan ' s 2nd Division of Lannes ' V Corps at the Battle of Jena on 14 October 1806 . In December , the 103rd Line fought in the Battle of Pułtusk . The corps missed the bloody Battle of Eylau because it and Nicolas Léonard Beker ' s dragoon division were covering Warsaw . The corps was under the command of Anne Jean Marie René Savary when it fought in the Battle of Ostrołęka on 15 February . The 103rd Line participated in this engagement in which Ivan Essen ' s Russian corps was defeated . Taupin was promoted to general of brigade on 21 February 1807 and raised to the peerage as a Baron of the Empire on 2 July 1808 . The War of the Fifth Coalition found him in command of a brigade in Marshal François Christophe de Kellermann ' s Reserve Corps , a rear - echelon formation based at Frankfurt . His command included the 4th Battalions of the 36th , 50th , and 75th Line Infantry Regiments , a total of 2 , 397 soldiers . The brigade formed part of Olivier Macoux Rivaud de la Raffiniere ' s division , along with the brigades of Alexandre Theodore Victor Lameth and Jean André Villeteaux . On 8 July 1809 , the brigades of Taupin and Lameth with some attached units were defeated by Michael von Kienmayer ' s Austrians . The 5 , 600 - man French force was led by Jean - Andoche Junot . In 1810 , he returned to Spain and commanded a brigade in Bertrand Clausel ' s division of Junot ' s VII Corps at the Battle of Bussaco and in Marshal André Masséna ' s invasion of Portugal . Taupin served at the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812 . In January 1813 , he was promoted to general of division . He took command of the 4th Division in Honoré Reille ' s Army of Portugal in March . He fought at the Battle of Vitoria in June . After Marshal Nicolas Soult reorganized the army in July , Taupin assumed command of the 8th Division . He led his division in the battles of the Pyrenees , San Marcial , the Bidassoa , the Nivelle and the Nive . In January 1814 , Taupin was named to lead the 4th Division in Soult ' s newly reorganized army . At the Battle of Orthez in February , his troops repelled a British attack on Soult ' s right flank and recovered the church of Saint - Boes in a counterattack . At the Battle of Toulouse on April 10 , his division defended the Heights of Calvinet ( Mont Rave ) against the main Anglo - Allied thrust . During the fighting Taupin was mortally wounded and died at 11 : 00 am . He was buried in the Cathedral of Saint - Etienne . On April 12 , the official couriers arrived from Paris with news that Napoleon had abdicated and the war was over . The name TAUPIN appears on the 37th column of the Arc de Triomphe .