Louis - Auguste Juvénal des Ursins d ' Harville Louis - Auguste Juvénal des Ursins d ' Harville , Count of Harville ( 23 April 1749 , Paris – 8 May 1815 , Harville or Lizy - sur - Ourcq , France ) , was a French military officer and politician in late 18th century France . A Divisional General in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars , he was present at the Battle of Jemappes on 6 November 1792 and led the Reserve Division at the subsequent Siege of Namur . Family origins . The origins of the " Famille de Harville " are obscure , but not entirely unknown . The House of Harville , from ancient knights of the Beauce , are known by the charters since " Simon de Harville , Knight , living in 1223 " . In the year 1383 , Pierre - Philippe de Harville was falconer for Louis of France , Count of Valois , Duke of Orleans , brother of King Charles VI . It is quite possible that a the name is derived from St . Airy , the tenth Bishop of Verdun , whose name is the likely origin for the commune still there today . Life before the revolution . He began his military career very young , according to Vuillemin . On November 25 , 1766 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the " Corps Royal des Carabiniers " . He worked his way up through the ranks , becoming a Major im the Gendarmerie in 1786 , a Field Marshal in 1788 , and a Lieutenant - General in the Army of the North in 1792 . As a member of an ancient French noble family dating back to the Second Crusade , he entered the gendarmerie at a young age . His father was < a href = " Claude - Constant % 20Jouvenel % 20des % 20Ursins % 20d % 27Harville " > Claude II Constant - Esprit Juvénal des Ursins d ' Harville < / a > , Marquis de Traînel ( 1722 – 1794 ) . Through his fourth great - grandmother , Catherine Jouvenel des Ursins , daughter of Christophe Jouvenel des Ursins and Madeleine de Luxembourg he was a cognatic descendant of the House of Luxembourg - Ligny a cadette branch of the House of Luxembourg . Military career . The nobility had a privileged place in French society , and many political and military positions were traditionally restricted to men of high birth . According to a period account ( which can be found George Sand ' s autobiography ) , the Count had been a little indifferent and hesitant at the Battle of Jemappes whilst under the command of Dumouriez . Under the reign of Napoleon , he was a Knight of Honour ( chevelier d ' honneur ) , and first squire ( premier écuyer ) and lord - in - waiting of the Empress Joséphine . In 1808 , he was made a " Comte d ' Empire " , though his had father received the higher honour , " Honneur de la Cour " a generation before . Arrest and trial . After the defection of Dumouriez in April 1793 , the Count became suspect and was arrested at the request of Laurent Lecointre . On 15 April 1793 he was brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal , accused of being involved in the defection of the General - in - Chief . Referred to the Committee of Public Safety , the Count of Harville was accused by Robert and defended by Guillemardet and Camille Desmoulins , who obtained his freedom . Travels and political career . Louis - Auguste travelled extensively throughout his life , going to Württemberg , Aachen , Italy , and Munich . He was a " Sénateur " in the " Sénat conservateur " in the First French Empire . He voted for the deposition of Napoleon and later supported the Bourbon Restoration , and on 4 June 1814 , he became a Peer of France . Marriage and family . On 6 May 1766 , he was married to Marie - Henriette - Augustine - Renée d ' Alpozzo , Marquise de La Trousse ( 1748 - 19 January 1836 ) , daughter of " Monsieur del Pozzo , Marquis de La Trousse " , with whom he had a son around the year 1770 , though no known records of this birth have survived to the present . To complicate matters even further , his son fled the country during the Terror . In 1778 , they got a " séparation de biens " ( separation of property ) , but still remained on good terms . In Sand ' s " Story of My Life " , he is said to have entered a deep depression sometime during the late 1790s , which may have resulted from the emigration of his heir to England , and to America in the early 19th century . His descendants live and work in the United States to this very day . Descendants . Ishmael , the only surviving son of the Count of Harville , was among only a handful of nobles who never returned to France after the Revolution . Without any known living heirs male in France , his title and peerage passed to a sister . Ishmael had no children until much later in life , an anomaly for the day . Today , the descendants of Louis - Auguste live in the United States . Members of the current family have long been aware of their ancestry , some having returned to France after several generations , in order to visit the remnants of the family estates , and places of religious significance , such as the Catholic parish church in Champlan , where the family arms can be seen on the north face . They no longer use the name " Juvénal des Ursins " in the capacity of everyday life , but it is retained officially . Some have served in the armed forces ( Jean II served in the European Theatre during the Second World War ) , upholding more than 1000 years of military tradition . The family has held land assets , in one form or another , for nearly eleven centuries ( counting from 923 ) . The Luxembourg connection . As stated above , the General descended from a cadet line of the House of Luxembourg , through Madeleine , daughter of Anthony II , and her daughter , Catherine , who married Claude de Harville ( 1555 - 1636 ) . Ironically , the agnatic line of the cadet branch of Brienne went extinct in 1616 and the rights of the House of Luxembourg would have passed cognatically through Madeleine to her son , François II Jouvenel des Ursins ( d . 1650 ) , thus forming another cadet branch . He left no issue though , and the rights then passed once more collaterally through his sister , then to either Antoine ( who may have been named after Anthony II ) , or to Francis , who adopted the arms and received the titles of his grand - uncle .