Claude - Henri Belgrand de Vaubois Claude - Henri Belgrand de Vaubois ( 1 October 1748 , Ville - sous - la - Ferté , Aube – 5 November 1839 ) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars . On 20 August 1808 he created Comte de Belgrand de Vaubois . Later , his name was inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe ( Arc de Triomphe de L ' Etoile - Arche Kléber ) in Paris . Early life . Vaubois was born at Clairvaux ( now part of Ville - sous - la - Ferté , Aube ) . In 1765 he was appointed a Lieutenant of Artillery in the Regiment of Metz . In 1789 he was appointed a Captain Commandant of Artillery . In 1791 he became a lieutenant colonel of volunteers . During service with the Army of the Alps , he was promoted to general of brigade in September 1793 and to general of division in 1796 . After transferring to General Napoleon Bonaparte ' s Army of Italy , he led his troops in the capture of Livorno . Appointed to command a division in the Bassano campaign , he participated in the victory at the Battle of Rovereto on 4 September . During the Arcola campaign , Vaubois defended Trento with a 10 , 500 - man division . Paul Davidovich ' s Austrian corps proved to be unexpectedly strong and fell upon Vaubois with 18 , 000 men . In a series of skirmishes , Vaubois was driven out of Trento and pushed back to Calliano where his command was defeated on 7 November . Bonaparte arrived to stabilize the situation but the French army commander left Vaubois to do the best he could while Bonaparte attacked the main Austrian army at Arcola . The French won the three - day battle of Arcola on 17 November , the same day that Davidovich beat Vaubois again at Rivoli Veronese . The defeat had little consequence , since Bonaparte soon massed against Davidovich and sent his corps fleeing northward . Soon after , Bonaparte gave Vaubois ' division to Barthélemy Joubert . On 24 November 1796 , Bonaparte wrote of him , " Vaubois is a brave man . Has the proper qualifications for the commander of a besieged place but not for the commander of a division in a very active army or in a war so vigorously conducted as this . " The events of 1798 - 1800 were to prove he was certainly the right choice to command a besieged place . Belgrand de Vaubois in Malta . Today he is most often remembered in Malta , where Napoleon appointed him " Commandant en chef des Isles de Malte et du Goze " ) on June 19 , 1798 , just seven days after the Knights Hospitaller , rulers of this archipelago from 1530 , signed a surrender on board " L ’ Orient " , Napoleon ' s flagship . Napoleon and his expedition than set sail for Egypt , with the Knight ' s treasure , worth five million francs in gold and one million in silver plate , on board the flagship . ( Nelson ' s fleet destroyed " L ’ Orient " on August 1 , at Abū Qīr Bay in the Battle of the Nile ; the Knights ' treasures are still on the bottom of sea there . ) Napoleon left behind a garrison of 3 , 053 men , 5 companies of artillery and a medical unit in Malta and Gozo . The French proceeded to institute a number of policies . They declared the French language to be the official language . Although the French initially tried to win the support of the Catholic Church , they soon came into conflict with the Maltese Church as they instituted French revolutionary reforms . They abolished papal jurisdiction , authorized civil marriage , expelled all priests , regular clergy and nuns who were not native of Malta , and plundered the churches of gold and silver artifacts and paintings . The plundering of their churches outraged the staunchly pious Maltese . Furthermore , French draining of most of the cash of the " Monte di Pieta " and the " Massa frumentaria " precipitated an unprecedented financial crisis . On September 2 , 1798 the Maltese rose against the French garrison in Notabile ( Città Vecchia or Mdina ) . Soon both Malta and Gozo were in full rebellion , with the Maltese forming a National Assembly . They dispatched to a petition to Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies , their official Suzerain , in Naples , to help them in their struggle against the French occupiers . Though Ferdinand promised much , he did little , having enough of his own troubles to worry much about his loyal Maltese subjects . Insurrection and the arrival of the British . Still , on September 18 , a Portuguese squadron of four ships began a blockade of Malta . That blockade - although varying in the number and national composition of the ships - continued until the French surrendered . Nelson dispatched British forces under the command of Captain Alexander Ball , who arrived on October 12 , 1798 . The Maltese insurrectionist forces forced the French to withdraw to Valletta and the Three Cities around the Grand Harbour . On October 28 , Gozo Island fell as the French commander there surrendered himself and his 217 men to Captain Ball . With General Vaubois ' s forces besieged in Valletta , Captain Ball ' s ships continued the blockade . Expecting the imminent French capitulation , Nelson wrote to Ball in January 1799 : " " . . . Respecting the situation of Malta with the King of Naples , it is this – he is the legitimate Sovereign of the Island : therefore , I am of opinion his Flag should fly . At the same time , a Neapolitan garrison would betray it to the first man who would bribe him . I am sure the King would have no difficulty in giving his Sovereignty to England ; and I have lately , with Sir William Hamilton , got a Note that Malta should never be given to any Power without the consent of England . . . " " " P . S . – In case of the Surrender of Malta , I beg you will not do anything which can hurt the feelings of their Majesties . Unite their Flag with England ’ s , if it cannot , from the disposition of the Islanders , fly alone . " " The siege of Valletta . In February 1799 , the Maltese insurgents , having lost hope in an intervention of King Ferdinand , requested that Ball , who had previously landed near the village of Qrendi on the south of the island , preside over the National Assembly . He changed the name of the assembly to that of National Congress and declared himself chief of government . In March , the Congress appealed to King George III to assume sovereignty over Malta , but no answer came from Pitt ’ s ministry . The starving French garrison received a little relief at the beginning of February 1799 . The frigate " La Boudeuse " ran the blockade and entered the Grand Harbour . However , she was the last ship to re - supply Vaubois and his men . On November 1 , 1799 , Nelson was off Valletta on board the " Foudroyant " . Vaubois , who was still hoping for relief from France , summarily rejected a new surrender demand . Vaubois wrote : " Mindful of being worthy of the respect of your country , as you are with our own , we are resolved to defend this fortress to the last . " Nelson ordered Ball to take command of the Maltese forces - about 2 , 000 Maltese troops along with about 1 , 500 irregulars , unpaid , ill equipped and half - starving . A hard pressed King Ferdinand agreed to confirm Ball as Governor of Malta . The whole Maltese population , running short of essential provisions , was living close to famine so that the siege was turning into a race of which side would starve first . The British and Maltese , together with a Neapolitan contingent of 1 , 200 men , got some relief in January 1800 . However , General Vaubois waited in vain for supplies . French preparations had dragged on until now " Premier Consul " Napoleon Bonaparte appointed " contre - amiral " Jean - Baptiste Perrée to command a relief expedition . The squadron , comprising " Le Généreux " ( one of the two survivors of the Battle of the Nile ) , three corvettes serving as armed storeships , and one armed storeship , all with some 3 , 000 men , arms , food and ammunition on board , sailed from Toulon - sur - Mer on February 6 , 1800 . The expedition ended in disaster . On the morning of February 18 , English ships met the French squadron off Lampedusa island . " Contre - amiral " Perrée was killed at the start of the action and at 1 . 30 p . m . " Le Généreux " struck her colours . The rest of the French convoy returned to Toulon . On August 24 , Vaubois dispatched the frigates " La Diane " and " La Justice " to run the blockade to France . The " Success " sighted them , with the " Northumberland " and the captured " Le Généreux " , now crewed by the British , giving chase . The British captured " La Diane " but " La Justice " escaped under cover of darkness . Vaubois ' surrender . The siege was nearing its end . The French garrison had eaten all the horses , the mules , the dogs , the cats and the rats of Valletta . Finally , on September 4 , 1800 , Vaubois sent an emissary under a flag of truce to the British commander Major - General Henry Pigot . The following day , Pigot and Captain George Martin , RN , negotiated terms of surrender with General Vaubois and " contre - amiral " Villeneuve . ( Ironically the French excluded Captain Alexander Ball , as chief of the Maltese , from the negotiations , as the French did not want to surrender to the Maltese . ) The British granted Vaubois and the French fair terms and the honors of war , including the right to keep their arms and spoils . General Vaubois and his troops were quickly repatriated to Marseilles . After Malta . While the siege continued , Vaubois became a senator on July 27 , 1800 . He was named a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1804 and a Count of the Empire in 1808 . In 1809 he led a division of the National Guard . He became a peer of France and Knight of St . Louis in 1814 . During the Hundred Days in 1815 , Vaubois did not join Napoleon . He died in 1839 .