Franz Joseph , Marquis de Lusignan Franz Joseph , Marquis de Lusignan ( 23 June 1753 – 23 December 1832 ) , a Spaniard , joined the Austrian army and fought against Prussian soldiers and Belgian rebels . During the French Revolutionary Wars , he played a significant role at the Battle of Rivoli in 1797 and became a general officer . He led brigade - and division - sized forces during the Italian campaign of 1799 . In the Napoleonic Wars , he twice commanded a division and was so badly wounded in 1809 that he was forced to retire from the army . From 1806 until his death he was proprietor of the " Lusignan " Infantry Regiment . Early career . Lusignan was born into an old Spanish family on 23 June 1753 at Jaca in modern - day Spain . In 1771 , he entered the Habsburg service as a Fahnrich ( ensign ) in the " Ferraris " Infantry Regiment # 14 . He fought with a Freikorps during the War of the Bavarian Succession . He became a Major in 1789 , when he was stationed in the Austrian Netherlands . The following year he distinguished himself in action near Liège , overthrowing a large body of Belgian rebels with a small force . He received the Knight ' s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa for his efforts . While an Oberstleutnant , Lusignan commanded 800 infantry and 100 cavalry during two days fighting near Virton , a town in modern - day Belgium near the border of France . Under his leadership were four companies of the " Bender " Infantry Regiment # 41 , four companies of the " Le Loup " Jägers , and one squadron of the " Esterhazy " Hussar Regiment # 32 . On 22 October , his force was attacked at Latour village by Jean - Baptiste Cyrus de Timbrune , Comte de Valence ' s Advance Guard of the Army of the Ardennes , altogether 3 , 500 French infantry , 1 , 500 cavalry , and six field pieces . His troops suffered a minor defeat , and the battle continued at Virton the next day . On 23 October , his outnumbered troops were defeated again with the loss of 43 men and 11 horses . He fought at the Battle of Jemappes in November 1792 . A month later , the French captured him and held him until he was exchanged . In 1794 , he became Oberst ( colonel ) and assumed command of the " Klebek " Infantry Regiment # 14 . In 1795 , he fought on the Upper Rhine River under the command of Dagobert von Wurmser and captured a redoubt during the Battle of Mainz in 1795 . He commanded one of two advance guards in the corps of Peter Quasdanovich during the actions leading up to the Battle of Lonato in August 1796 . Rivoli . In January 1797 , Jozsef Alvinczi assigned Lusignan command of the 1st Column during the fourth attempt to relieve the Siege of Mantua . His commander ordered him to take four battalions and 12 companies of light infantry , totalling 4 , 556 men , on the army ' s extreme right flank . " Lusignan was faced with the almost Herculean task of leading his men along the top of the chain of mountain peaks ( collectively known as Monte Baldo ) that separates the Adige from the northern arm of Lake Garda , and runs parallel with them . In the winter , it was a featureless wasteland of snow and ice , the highest point of which lay ten miles north of Rivoli , and rose to the not inconsiderable height of 7 , 279 feet . " Not surprisingly , Lusignan ' s march fell behind schedule in the next few days . However , he persevered under the extraordinary conditions and reached his assigned position . During the Battle of Rivoli , Alvinczi instructed him to make another flank march , this time to a position in rear of Napoleon Bonaparte ' s French army . He carried out his orders , but found himself isolated on a hill far from the action . By the afternoon of 14 January , Bonaparte defeated the other Austrian columns . Attacked from the north by André Masséna ' s troops and blocked from the south by a division under Gabriel Venance Rey , Lusignan tried to break out to the west . His soldiers were captured by the hundreds as they collapsed from their recent exertions . Historian David G . Chandler states that 3 , 000 men from the 1st Column were taken prisoner . However , Lusignan escaped capture . On 28 February 1797 , Lusignan became a General - Major . While commanding the rearguard two weeks later , he was captured during Archduke Charles ' s retreat from northeast Italy . He served in Italy during the War of the Second Coalition . On 5 April 1799 , he led a brigade in Michael Frölich ' s division at the Battle of Magnano , where he was wounded three times . At times during 1799 , he served as acting commander of the division . He led a division in action at Marengo on 16 May 1799 , He commanded a brigade under Michael von Melas at the Battle of Novi on 15 August . Emperor Francis II promoted him Feldmarschallleutnant on 30 January 1801 . Napoleonic Wars . In 1805 , Lusignan took command of a division in the Tyrol . In 1806 he became Proprietor ( Inhaber ) of " Lusignan " Infantry Regiment # 16 , a position which he held until his death . The War of the Fifth Coalition found him in command of a division in the III Armeekorps under the command of Prince Friedrich of Hohenzollern - Hechingen . While leading his troops at the Battle of Teugen - Hausen on 19 April 1809 , he was wounded in the head . Though forced into retirement by his injury , a grateful emperor elevated him to the rank of Feldzeugmeister on 29 May . He died on 23 December 1832 at Ivanovice na Hané in the modern - day Czech Republic .