Charles Lallemand François Antoine " Charles " Lallemand ( 23 June 1774 – 9 March 1839 ) was a French general who served Napoleon I of France , tried to found a colony in what is now Texas , and finally returned to France to serve as governor of Corsica . Biography . Early years . Lallemand was born in Metz , France . He joined the cavalry in 1792 and during the French Revolution served in France , Egypt , Santo Domingo and Spain . In 1804 he married a 16 - year old creole named Marie Charlotte Henriette Lartique ( known as Caroline ) in New York . By 1811 he had earned promotion to General of Brigade , the title of Baron and commandant in the Legion of Honor . While leading 17th and 29th regiments of dragoons in Spain , he defeated a British cavalry brigade at the Battle of Maguilla in 1812 , see Major - general Slade ' s report of a battle in the London Gazette . After the retreat from Moscow he served on the staff of Marchal Davout Louis - Nicolas Davout with the XIIIth Cops in Hamburg . During the campaign of the fall af 1813 he served with the Danish troops supporting Napoleon in North Germany , commanding the 30th Light Cavallery Brigade brigade consisting of two squadrons of the 28th French regiment Chasseurs á Cheval and three squadrons 17th ( Lithiauian ) regiment Lanciers Polonaise . He the commanded a mixed French - Danish Arrieregard ; Four squadrons Holstenske Rytter Regiment , 17th ( Lithiauian ) Regiment Lanciers Polonaise and two battalions Holstenske Skarpskytte Regiment . He received the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog . Career . When Napoleon was defeated and exiled the first time Lallemand joined the army of Louis XVIII . In 1815 he and his brother Henri tried to lead a rebellion against the Bourbon government but were arrested . When Napoleon returned from Elba to start the Hundred Days , he released them and gave them both commands in the Imperial Guard — Henri commanded the Foot Artillery Regiment and Charles the " Chasseurs à Cheval " — and the brevet rank of " Général de Division " . After the Battle of Waterloo , Lallemand accompanied Napoleon to Rochefort , where Napoleon surrendered . Lallemand tried to follow Napoleon into exile but the British refused that and imprisoned him in Malta for two months before he escaped . Lallemand and other Bonapartist officers were condemned to death " in absentia " . The Lallemand brothers were not included in the later amnesties . America colonies . Lallemand arrived in Boston in the ship Triton , from Liverpool , under the assumed name of Gen . Cotting . According to the New York " Columbian " of April 29 , 1817 , quoting from the " Evening Post " , he was smuggled on board the Triton at Liverpool . " On leaving the river , as the Custom House boat passed from ship to ship to examine the rolls , the General was passed in a boat to and from several ships , so as to evade the boarding officer . " The next day , April 30 , 1817 , the Columbian reported : " two more of Bonaparte ' s late officers have arrived at Boston , from Leghorn - - Dufresne Cyprion and Liell Memon . " Lallemand , at Philadelphia , became a president of the French Emigrant Association , an organization that gained a grant of four townships in what is now Alabama for a Vine and Olive Colony . There were rumors that Lallemands would try to rescue Napoleon or put his brother Joseph on a throne in South America . The Alabama land grants were sold to finance another colony in Texas . The planned Texas colony , " Champ d ' Asile " ( " Field of Asylum " ) was meant for defeated Napoleonic veterans . Lallemand stated in public that the colony would have military men only for protection ; otherwise it would concentrate on agriculture . On December 17 , 1817 150 would - be - settlers sailed from Philadelphia for Galveston , Texas , where they arrived on January 14 . Lallemand and his brother reached New Orleans , Louisiana on February 2 , 1818 , gathered new recruits and on March 10 left for Galveston with 120 volunteers . They sailed up the Trinity River to Atascosito where they built two small forts . However , the Mexican governor Antonio Maria Martinez heard about the French , prepared an expedition to the Trinity River and stationed a force at San Marcos to guard against possible attacks . When the French heard about this move , they abandoned Champ d ' Asile around July 24 and fled to Galveston . Lallemand abandoned the colony and returned to New Orleans . Jean Lafitte and Amable Humbert helped some of the survivors to return to Louisiana and the rest walked back to New Orleans in August 1818 . Lallemand later became a United States citizen . Napoleon left him 100 , 000 francs in his will and Lallemand used it to cover his debts . Return to France . After Louis - Philippe restored the old imperial military grades after the July Revolution of 1830 , Lallemand returned to France . From 1837 - 1838 , he served as military governor of Corsica . Charles Lallemand died in Paris in 1839 .