Clément

Christophe Clément (Nellingen, 22 October 1772 – Limoges, 22 December 1815)


Son of a farmer, Clément joined the Kellermann legion on 6 July 1792, then the 6th regiment of foot artillery on 31 January 1794. Second lieutenant in the artillery school on 5 March 1795, he left as a lieutenant 2nd class of the 8th regiment of horse artillery on 17 July 1796, then was promoted to lieutenant 1st class of the riding school at Versailles on 8 April 1800. He was appointed professor of mathematics at the artillery school on 2 April 1803, became a captain 1st class of horse artillery in Italian service on 28 July 1806, being promoted to battalion chief in the Royal Guard on 30 September 1807 and to major on 16 October 1812. In Italian service he participated in the campaigns of 1807 in Germany, including the siege of Stralsund, served from 1808 to 1810 in Catalonia as commander of the artillery of the Pino Division (taking part in the sieges of Rosas, in which he was wounded in the left eye by a ball ricocheting , Gerona, and Hostalrich, in which he commanded the artillery), then in 1812 in Russia, and in 1813 in Italy, where he was taken prisoner. He was decorated as a knight of the iron Crown and of the Legion of Honour. He returned to France in 1814 and participated in the Hundred Days. He published a practical manual, Clément, Christophe. 1808. Essai sur l’artillerie à cheval. Pavia: Jean Capelli, 1808, dedicated to Eugène de Beauharnais (cf. MSA, WO, 1473, 2021, 110 bis, OR 89, SHD 2Ye 746).