François Christophe de Kellermann François Christophe Kellermann or de Kellermann , 1st Duc de Valmy ( 28 May 1735 – 23 September 1820 ) was a French military commander , later the Général d ' Armée , and a Marshal of France . Marshal Kellermann served in varying roles throughout the entirety of two epochal conflicts , the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars . Early life . Francoise Chrisophe de Kellermann came from a Saxon family , which was long settled in Strasbourg and ennobled . He was the only son of two Germans living in the French province of Alsace . His father was François de Kellermann and his mother baroness Marie von Dyrr ( Dyhrn ) . Military career prior to the Revolution . The fifteen year old François Kellermann entered the French Army as a cadet volunteer with a hussar regiment : the " Régiment de Loweridath " . He was commissioned as an ensign in the " Royal - Bavière " infantry regiment and promoted to captain in 1758 in the course of the Seven Years War . On one occasion he distinguished himself by capturing 300 prisoners , while leading a small cavalry detachment . In 1771 Kellermann saw active service in Poland , becoming a chevalier of the Order of Saint - Louis . A further promotion to " capitaine - commandant " followed in 1776 before he became major in the Hussars of Conflans ( " Hussards de Conflans " ) three years later . Kellermann became brigadier in 1784 , and in the following year " marechal - de - camp " . While a number of Napoleon ' s marshals served in the Royal army prior to the Revolution , Kellermann was the only one to have reached such senior rank under the former regime . Revolutionary career . In 1789 Kellermann enthusiastically embraced the cause of the French Revolution , and in 1791 became general of the army in Alsace . In April 1792 he was made a lieutenant - general , and in August of the same year there came to him the opportunity of his lifetime . He rose to the occasion , and his victory over the Prussia ns at the Battle of Valmy , in Goethe ' s words , " opened a new era in the history of the world " . Napoleon later commented that : " I think I ' m the boldest general that ever lived , but I daren ' t take post on that ridge with windmill at Valmy ( where Kellermann took position ) in 1793 . " Transferred to the army on the Moselle , Kellermann was accused by General Custine of neglecting to support his operations on the Rhine ; but he was acquitted at the bar of the National Convention in Paris , and placed at the head of the army of the Alps and of Italy , in which position he showed himself a careful commander and excellent administrator . Shortly afterwards he received instructions to reduce Lyon , then in revolt against the Convention , but shortly after the surrender he was imprisoned in Paris for thirteen months . Once more honourably acquitted , he was reinstated in his command , and did good service in maintaining the south - eastern border against the Austrians until his army was merged into that of General Bonaparte in Italy . Imperial career . Kellermann was then sixty - two years of age , still physically equal to his work , but the young generals who had come to the front in the previous two years represented the new spirit and the new art of war , and Kellermann ' s active career came to an end . But the hero of Valmy was never forgotten . When Napoleon came to power Kellermann was named successively senator ( 1800 ) , president of the Senate ( 1801 ) , honorary Marshal of France ( 19 May 1804 ) , and title of " Duke of Valmy " ( 1808 ) . In his service to the First French Empire , Kellermann was frequently employed in the administration and training of the army . He also took control of the line of communications and the command of reserve troops , and his long and wide experience made him one of Napoleon ' s most valuable assistants . In 1814 he voted for the deposition of the emperor and became a peer under the royal government of Louis XVIII . After the " Hundred Days " he sat in the Chamber of Peers and voted with the Liberals . Marshal Kellermann died in Paris on 23 September 1820 , and is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery . His son François Étienne de Kellermann , 2nd Duke of Valmy , also fought for Napoleon and was promoted to cavalry general after the Battle of Marengo . Kellermann ' s grandson was the politician François Christophe Edmond de Kellermann .