(PDF) Adjudant-général

Adjudant-général A discussion on the rank of adjutant-général in the French Armée de Terre, especially concerning Bernard MacSheehy, but raising the question whether Theobald Wolfe Tone was, in fact, a general as he is often described. By Nicholas Dunne-Lynch Contact details

©Nicholas Dunne-Lynch 2018 - All rights reserved – Tous droits réservés Adjudant-général 1 In his memoirs, Miles Byrne refers many times to Bernard MacSheehy,2 first commander of la Légion irlandaise (1803-1815), as adjutant general, or general,3 and, though it is a fact that MacSheehy had been promoted provisionally to the rank of adjudant-général in the French Armée de l’Orient by General Kléber in Egypt in early 1800,4 he was never confirmed at that rank. A creation of the Convention Nationale, the rank of adjudant-général was equivalent to chef de brigade,5 in turn equivalent to colonel. A chef de brigade commanded a demi-brigade, another revolutionary creation, the changes having been introduced to disassociate the revolutionary Armée de Terre with its predecessor under l’Ancien Régime. Bernard MacSheehy (1774-1807) Artist unknown.6 Although adjudant-général was a rank or grade, holders were intended to undertake the specialist staff functions, including chief of staff (chef d’état-major) at various levels, including that of armée or division.7 An army, of which there were several in revolutionary France, had as many as four adjudants- généraux at higher levels and there appear to have been more than thirty in the combined Armée de Terre. In 1800, MacSheehy was an experienced staff officer who had served under Bonaparte, Berthier 1 The author wishes to acknowledge the kind assistance of Jean-Phillippe Ganescia. Général de Brigade, Vice-Président de la Sabretache, Sylvie Kleinman in the préparation of this paper. 2 MacSheehy, Bernard (1774-1807) commanded the Irish Legion from December 1803 to September 1804. 3 Byrne, Miles, Memoirs of Miles Byrne, Chef de Bataillon in the Service of France, edited by His Widow (Paris and New York, 1863) 3 vols, ii, pages 4, 10, 12, 13, 11, 15, 54, 110, 111, 112, 113, 171, 224, 266 & 267. He refers to MacSheehy as the general on pages ii, 216 & 219. He uses the French system of not capitalizing the initial letters in a title. Byrne also refers inappropriately to Adjudant-Commandant Alexandre Dalton (1776-1859) as adjutant-général Dalton (i. p.358 & ii, 106, although the title had been obsolete since 1800. Dalton (sometimes d’Alton) never served as an adjudant-général but was appointed adjudant-commandant on 30 May 1803 (Service historique de la Défense [SHD] 7YD 852). Byrne also refers to an officer named Fontaine as adjutant-général (ii, p.81). As Byrne indicates, Louis Octave Fontaine (1762-1812) served under Humbert in Ireland as an adjudant-général-chef de brigade (promoted 13 June 1795) SHD 20Yd 47 (Généraux Provisoire 1792-1815). 4 Kléber, Jean Baptiste, (1753-1800) Général de Division. Commanded l’Armée de l’Orient after Napoleon’s return to France. Assassinated in Cairo in 1800. 5 The French edition of the Memoirs refers to MacSheehy as l'adjudant général MacSheehy. Byrne, Miles, Memoires d’un Exilé Irlandais de 1798, Translation A. Hédouin, (Paris & New York, 1864). 6 The portrait appears in Rebaud, Louis, Historique Scientifique et Militaire de l’Expédition Française en Egypte, (Paris 1830-36), 10 vols, v, p.463-4 7 Bearing in mind, of course, that Napoleon is credited with the introduction of the corps system. Adjudant-général Nicholas Dunne-Lynch and Kléber. He died at the battle of Eylau (8 février 1807) as chef d’état-major,8 1er Division, 7ème Corps de la Grande Armée.9 A service record for MacSheehy dated 30 Fructidor an 11 (3 août 1801) gives his upward progress from chef de bataillon (lieutenant-colonel of infantry) to adjudant-commandant (staff colonel), whereas an earlier version gives chef de bataillon to adjudant-général, stating that he had been provisionally promoted to adjudant-général on 21 February 1800,10 though, as we have seen, he was never confirmed at that rank and his death notice in 1807 describes him as adjutant-commandant.11 However, he had had letterheads printed identifying himself as adjudant-général, but was confirmed as adjudant- commandant by Consular decree of 25 February 1801,12 and, by 1803, had replaced his letterheads with those describing himself as adjudant-commandant.13 In other words, by the time he was appointed in command of la Légion irlandaise in 1803, he had long since been confirmed in the rank of adjudant- commandant and appears to have accepted the change, even if Byrne never seemed to have grasped it. The failure to confirm MacSheehy in the grade of adjudant-général is explained by the fact that the rank had been abolished in 1800, and officers already at the grade re-designated adjudant- commandant, again the staff equivalent of colonel,14 (The NATO equivalent today is OF-5, the initial grade of general being OF-6).15 One of the main reasons for abolishing the rank of adjudant-général appears to have been the misleading use of the title, its holders often referring to themselves, and, indeed, being referred to, principally as général.16 Similarly, inspecteurs-général aux revues were restyled as inspecteurs en chef aux revues. 8 Chief of staff 9 Augereau, Charles Pierre François (1757-1816) duc de Castiglione Maréchal de France. SHD 6 YD 6. The force under Augereau referred to as le Corps d’Irlande, centred on at Brest (1803-5) and part of l’Armée des Côtes de l’Océan, was intended for an expedition to Ireland and included la Légion irlandaise, commanded by MacSheehy from December 1803 to September 1804. Le Corps d’Irlande became the 7ème Corps of la Grande Armée, which, in September 1805, metamorphosed out of l’Armée des Côtes de l’Océan, an invasion of Ireland, like that of Great Britain, having been abandoned for the present. 10 MacSheehy, Bernard, Etat des Services, 2 Ventôse an 8 (11 novembre 1801), SHD 2Yc2620. MacSheehy’s provisional promotion to AG. 11 MacSheehy, Bernard, Extrait d’Acte de Mort (Signé Lacroix), Danzig, 4 décembre 1807, SHD 2Yc2620. 12 Arrêté consulaire, Au nom du peuple français (Signé Bonaparte & Hughes B. Maret), 1 Germinal an 9 (25 mars 1801) SHD 2Yc2620. (A letter from Henri Clarke (Général de Division, Directeur du Dépôt général de la Guerre) au Ministre de la Guerre doubtless led to the confirmation. A marginal note states that the letter is a request for the confirmation of MacSheehy’s provisional promotion to adjudant-commandant, while within the letter Clarke mentions only adjudant-général. Clarke au Ministre de la Guerre, 8 Pluviôse an 9 (28 janvier 1801) SHD 2Yc2620. A marginal note on MacSheehy’s letter to Kléber dated 1er jour complémentaire an 8 (19 septembre 1800) states that MacSheehy requests confirmation as adjudant- commandant. Adjudant-général is not mentioned per se. SHD 2Ye2620). Kléber having been assassinated in June 1800, the letter appears to have reached Clarke. 13 For example, see MacSheehy à Damas, 4ème Jour complémentaire an 8 (21 septembre 1802) and compare with letters of 1803-1804 SHD 2Ye2620. The MacSheehy notepaper is less ostentatious; Mac-Sheehy (sic), Adjudant-général. 14 Arrêté relatif à la dénomination de général, et à l'uniforme des officiers et employés de l’armée (III, Bull. XLV, no 33 ; Mon. du 27 Messidor an 8 [16 July 1800]). (Arrête no 1168, Bulletin des Lois No 46). See also Thiebault, Paul, Manuel des Adjudants-Généraux et des Adjoints employées dans les États-Majors-Divisionnaires des Armées (Paris, 1798) 15 The Napoleonic officer ranks were as follows, 1. sous-lieutenant/lieutenant ; 2. capitaine ; 3. chef de bataillon/escadron/lieutenant-colonel ; 4. major ; 5. colonel/adjudant-commandant ; 6. général de brigade etc. The modern NATO system varies slightly: OF-1: second lieutenant/lieutenant; OF-2: captain; OF-3: major/commandant; OF-4: lieutenant- colonel; OF-5: colonel; OF-6: brigade-general, etc. STANAG 2116 NATO. 16 ‘L'arrêté du 27 messidor (16 juillet 1800) changea le titre d'adjudant général en celui d'adjudant-commandant. Beaucoup d'entre eux avaient en effet l'habitude d'oublier la première partie de l'appellation de leur grade ! (Volume 12 ; Adjudant général : Il s'agit de l'ancienne appellation des adjudants-commandants. Pigeard, Alain, "Les Grades et Fonctions D'après L’armée de Napoléon », Adjudant-commandant (Paris 1993 & 2000) To be verified. 3 Draft 4 Adjudant-général Nicholas Dunne-Lynch The decree of 19 July 1800 states ‘From the date of publication of this decree, the denomination of general shall be given only to généraux-en-chef, généraux de division, and généraux de brigade. Officers known at present by the title of adjudant-général will be designated as adjutant- commandant.’17 That Byrne refers to MacSheehy by the superseded title suggests that there was at least some residual usage as late as 1804. Although Byrne was writing decades later, and the change appears not to have penetrated his consciousness. Theobald Wolfe Tone and the rank of adjudant-général 18 During research by the present author on the career of Bernard MacSheehy, it was felt necessary to examine the history of the rank of adjudant-général and it soon became apparent that the study would impact upon our knowledge and, perhaps, our opinion of Theobald Wolfe Tone, often referred to as ‘Adjutant-General’, or ‘a general’, ‘in the French Army’. To iterate, the rank of adjudant-général, introduced in 1790, was not a grade of general, but, from the beginning, equivalent to chef de brigade and colonel, the latter being superseded by the introduction of the former in 1793,19 but reintroduced in 1803 by Napoleon. The ranks of chef de brigade and chef de bataillon/escadron are classed in the French system of the epoch as officiers supérieurs not as officiers généraux, the latter term reserved for généraux de brigade and généraux de division.20 To qualify as a general, Tone would have had to have held one of those ranks. Most importantly, the French rank of adjudant-général does not translate into English as Adjutant-General. References to Tone as ‘Adjutant-General in the French Army’ create a false equivalence with the Adjutant-General, a former general-staff function in the armies of the United States,21 the United Kingdom,22 and, indeed, other states, normally held by an officer at least at the level of major-general, two-star in the US classification, the initial capitals suggesting a unique title holder. Thus, Adjutant-General was an office or function, not a rank or grade. 17 Arreté consulaire (Consular decree): Arrêté du 27 messidor an 10 (16 July 1800) also Arrête relatif à la dénomination de général, et à l'uniforme des officiers et employés de l’armée (III, Bull. XLV, no 331 ; Mon. du 29 Messidor an 6. 18 The relationship between Tone and MacSheehy, his deputy from 1796 to early 1798, will be treated on another occasion, since Marianne Elliott, possibly because of limitation of space, fails to give that relationship the attention it deserves. It is significant that MacSheehy was only 26 when he was promoted to the grade while Tone was 33. Tone’s slander of MacSheehy may have been due to his jealousy of a younger man with excellent knowledge of staff and military matters and fluent French. 19 Décret relatif à l'organisation de I‘armée et aux pensions de retraite et traitemens des militaires de tous grades. (L. 13, 371, B. 27, 264; Mon. Des 20, 21 et 22 février 1793.) The precise meaning of the grade is an officer who can function as assistant or deputy to a general, adjudant in the French language deriving from adjoint. Article 3 of this decree stipulates ‘Le tiers des adjudants généraux aura le grade de chef de brigade’, and Article 6 that ‘les colonels de toutes armes s'appelleront chefs de brigade’. Simply put, adjudants généraux and chefs de brigade were equivalent to colonel. 20 The system is extant, though the grades have evolved. 21 Now the Office of the Adjutant-General, there being no officer with the function or title of Adjutant-General. Though several US Adjutants-General were brigade generals (1 Star) and even colonels, the most recent incumbents were major- generals (2 Star) 22 Since 2015, the British Adjutant-General has been a function of the Chief of the General Staff. 4 Draft 4 Adjudant-général Nicholas Dunne-Lynch Tone ought to have had sufficient knowledge of the French army to be aware that his role in l’Armée de a Sambre et Meuse and, later, in l’Armée d’Angleterre, far from being that of a single Adjutant-General, was one of many adjudants-généraux in one of many French armies comprising l’Armée de Terre, which was divided into several forces large enough to operate independently. These armies reformed according to strategic need, so there were many adjudants-généraux, most with seniority over Tone, whose role was specific to the projected expedition to Ireland. Chief of staff in l’Armée de Sambre et Meuse from 1796 to 1797 was Louis Chérin, a général de brigade from 1793 and général de division from 1797.23 The chief of staff of l’Armée d’Angleterre during 1798 was Olivier Rivaud,24 Tone’s junior by three years, adjudant-général chef de brigade from 1793. In other words, in the armies in which Tone served, there were staff officers with the title adjudant-général/chef de brigade with considerable seniority over him. False equivalence Tone appears to have initiated the false equivalence between the rank or grade of adjudant- général in the contemporary French system and the office or function of Adjutant-General in the British or American, writing in his Journal in late 1796, ‘I do not think my morality or feeling is much improved by my promotion to the rank of Adjutant-General’.25 Though he reports that adjudant-général was a rank, he appears unaware that a move from chef de brigade to adjudant-général was not a promotion, since the decree of 1793 states that chefs de brigade and adjudants-généraux had equal status when being considered for promotion to général de brigade. He also capitalises initially Adjutant-General, not the normal practice in the French system even when preceding the name of an incumbent,26 though this was not always the case.27 In addition, Tone also gives the British or US spelling of ‘adjutant’ instead of the French adjudant. These appear small matters, though, together, they build the impression of equivalency that, intentionally or otherwise, enhances the status of Tone. Tone’s opinion of his own status Did Tone think he had the status of a general? Perhaps, but he was either confused and thought he had, or not confused and sure he had not. Boasting about his uniform might suggest the first 23 Chérin, Louis-Nicolas-Hyacinthe (1762-1799) Général de brigade, 1795. Chef de l’état-major général de l’armée des Côtes de l’Ouest, sous le général Hoche, dont il était l’ami, 13 juin 1795. Chef d’état-major général de l’armée de Sambre-et- Meuse, sous le général Hoche, en avril 1797. Général de division, 1797. Commandant de la garde du Directoire-exécutif, 3 septembre 1797. Concourt avec succès à la journée du coup d’Etat du 18 fructidor an V (5 septembre 1797) Chef de l’état- major général de l'armée d'Allemagne, 1797. Chef de l’état-major général de l'armée du Rhin, 1798. Commandant en chef de la seconde expédition contre l’Irlande, 1798. Six, Georges. Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux & Amiraux Français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). (Paris, 2003) SHD 7Yd297. 24 Rivaud de La Raffinière, Olivier Macoux 1766-1839); adjudant-général chef de brigade 1793; général de brigade 1798, général de division 1802. Grand-Croix de la Légion d’Honneur 1825 ; Commandeur de Saint-Louis ; Baron de l’Empire ; député pour Charente-Maritime. SHD 7Yd367, AnF LH/2339/15. 25 Tone, Journal, 26 November 1796, p.184. Cited by Marianne Elliott, in Wolfe Tone, Prophet of Irish Independence (Liverpool, 2012). Elliott correctly equates chef de brigade with colonel (p.295), but neglects (a) to cite a regulation, and (b) to quality Adjudant-General (p.316), allowing the initial capitals to remain without annotation, while leaving chef de brigade, as it should be, without initial capitals. Capitalising Adjudant-General might appear to suggest the title is unique. 26 Tone’s letterhead reads Adjudant-général James Smith; while MacSheehy has MacSheehy, Adjudant-général. 27 See Appendix. 5 Draft 4 Adjudant-général Nicholas Dunne-Lynch condition, as, in describing that uniform, he mentions 'a laced hat which is only permitted to the general officers’. This is not strictly accurate, since many grades had embroidered bands on their hats.28 He fails to mention that, according to the decree of 1790, the hat of an adjudant-général had seven gold embroidered bands on the rim. The hats of generals also had embroidered gold on the rims, but the difference was in the pattern, and the higher the rank, the more elaborate the pattern. Furthermore, the embroidered pattern of the hat of an adjudant-général was identical to that of chef de brigade. In 1798, Tone appears to confirm his opinion of his status in the creation of a letterhead proclaiming ‘Adjutant-General T. Wolfe Tone’.29 When he had been operating under the nom de guerre of James Smith, his notepaper for use in France would probably have read 'Smith, Adjudant-général', as the French military style after the Revolution usually did not use given names or initials, just surname and rank, unless there was another officer of the same name and rank. Tone’s intention may have been one or all the following when he landed in Ireland: (1) to advertise his presence (2) to raise his profile by appearing to have a higher status than his entitlement, that is, the unique Adjutant-General, and (3) to use the notepaper for issuing orders and communicating in Ireland. The fourth intention and, possibly, the most important, may have been to try to ensure better treatment for himself in the event of being captured, if so, it was a tactic that failed. Confusion among commentators Commentators, academic and otherwise, appear confused on the status of Tone as an adjudant- général, Elliott reporting that, at le Havre, where he was ordered on 28 May 1798, ‘Tone had little to do but walk around the ramparts in his general’s uniform’,30 while Bartlett classifies Tone as chef de brigade, which he clarifies as brigadier-général’, confusing chef de brigade with the more senior rank of général de brigade.31 Kleinman discusses Tone’s rank, placing it between colonel (chef de brigade) and général de brigade,32 which erroneous judgement may have been influenced by Tone’s insistence, in writing to Lord Cavan, that he had been ‘breveted as Chef de Brigade in the infantry, since the 1st 28 Elliott, Tone, p. 406; SK FIMC p.166. 29 Elliott, Tone, p.385. 30 Elliott, Tone, p.366. Chapter 27 note 12. Elliott loads so many references under note 12 that it would take a lifetime to consult or verify them. 31 Bartlett, Thomas, in A Dictionary of Irish Biography (Cambridge, 2009). 32 Kleinman, Sylvie, 'Un Brave de plus': Theobald Wolfe Tone, alias Adjudant-general James Smith, French Officer and Irish patriot adventurer, 1796-1798, in Nathalie Genet-Rouffiac & David Murphy (eds.) Franco-Irish Military Connections 1590-1945 (Dublin, 2009) p.p.169-170. NB: The spelling here (Adjudant-general) is neither the British (Adjutant General) nor the French (adjudant-général). Kleinman’s judgement in placing adjudant-général between colonel and général de brigade accords with Pigeard’s opinion on adjudant-commandant. Both, alas, are in error: (1) from 1793, adjudant-général was exclusively the equivalent of chef de brigade, in turn the equivalent of colonel (see Appendix); (2) The rank of adjudant- commandant replaced that of adjudant-général in 1800 without change in status, and the rank of colonel became chef de brigade, reversed in 1803 when he demi-brigades again became regiments. (3) Of several hundred service records examined by the present author, none shows the promotion of a colonel to adjudant-commandant in the Napoleonic army, though a possible exception is Jean Raymond Bourke, whose service record states he was promoted to chef de brigade (colonel equivalent) in 1802 and then to adjudant commandant. Jean Raymond Charles Bourke (1772-1847), 7Yd 607. Both Patrick Murphy and William Corbet rose from chef de bataillon to adjudant-commandant without being made colonel. Patrick Baron Murphy (O’Murphy), SR 5 May 1817 SHD 8Yd2575 & William Corbet (1779-1842), SR 1 August 1817, SHD 8Yd 2774. See document extracts in Appendix. 6 Draft 4 Adjudant-général Nicholas Dunne-Lynch Messidor, An 4, (19 June 1796) (and) that I have been promoted to the rank of adjutant general’ (sic),33 which ‘promotion’ he had claimed earlier in his correspondence with his wife, Matilda. However, in Ireland, Tone appears to have stressed his rank of chef de brigade with less emphasis on adjudant- général, carrying with him only the brevet for the former but moving towards adjudant-général towards the end. His oscillation might demonstrate the parallel status of the two ranks, since officers promoted above a particular rank would not refer to themselves as incumbents of the former rank. If, as Tone claimed, he had been promoted to adjutant-général, that should have been his designation, which should have remained constant. That Tone may have been confused need not surprise us in our confusion. The French definite article Among the issues that may cause confusion, even among experienced commentators, is the customary use in French of the definite article (le/la/l’) before a rank or title. So, l’Adjudant-général might easily be translated as ‘the Adjudant-General’, implying a unique function. The situation of Tone It would understandable if Tone intended to enhance his status in the eyes of the Irish authorities and, indeed, the Irish people. However, as has been demonstrated, the rank of adjudant-général was no promotion, though it may have appeared so, which may be the reason that, in his final and very painful letter to his father, Tone signs off at the grade he might have felt would create the greatest impression, the grade he claimed to have been promoted to: 'l had not the courage to support a meeting, which could lead to nothing, and would put us both to insufferable pain. I beg my sincerest and most respectable duty to my mother, your affectionate son, T. W. TONE, Adjutant General.’34 Overall, it is a chilling letter, but, in the formal signing-off, Tone may be saying, ‘Look at me, Father, and at how the French have honoured me’, or he may have been distancing himself from his own emotions, drawing his father’s attention to his status. It can be argued that Tone again contributed to the false equivalence by signing Adjutant General, which would have appeared the equivalent to the British or Irish Adjudant General, whose announcements sometimes appeared in Irish newspapers. Of course, if Tone might also have been asserting his status for the benefit of posterity, he appears to have been successful, though posterity, through contemporary commentators, would not have been accurately informed. In his final letter to Matilda, Tone omits his military rank, signing-off ‘Yours affectionally, T.W. Tone’, once more chilling in his detached formality. Perhaps, knowing his letters would be read by the men who had sentenced him to the gallows, Tone was unable or unwilling to display intimacy. He had, of course, already discussed his rank in letters to Matilda. 33 In some versions of this letter, Adjutant-General is given initial capitals. ‘The papers were then produced and were a brevet for the rank of Chef de Brigade, and a letter of service, both bearing the signatures of the president of the French Directory and the minister of war.’ Howell, Thomas Jones, Howell's State Trials, xxvii. (Being vol. vi of the Continuation) 38—40 GEORGE Ill......A. D. 1798-1800, (London 1820) 619-620. 34 Cited by Elliott, Tone, p.382. 7 Draft 4 Adjudant-général Nicholas Dunne-Lynch The Vincennes archives At the Vincennes archives, sub-series 17Yd contains a dossier on Tone,35 plus only twelve other officers, none of whom was ever elevated to the rank of général de brigade, the initial grade of general. The sub-series bears the intriguing title of Officiers généreaux pretendus, the rationale behind the 17Yd classification remaining to be investigated, though pretendu may be charged with many meanings, including so-called. Yet another Yd sub-series, 20Yd (Provisoire, 1792-1815), contains dossiers on ninety-eight officers, none of whom appears to have risen to the initial general rank of général de brigade. Conclusion From the evidence presented here, Theobald Wolfe Tone, whatever he thought and however he acted in the circumstances or presented himself or his situation, was not a general (officier-général) but, in the French army, fell into the category of officier-supérieur, at the level of colonel, the most senior rank of that category, and a step below the initial grade of general. He was, therefore, inferior by one rank to James Napper Tandy,36 général de brigade (GBR), and, later, to Arthur O’Connor, appointed in 1804 one level above the deceased Tandy to général de division (GDI).37 Recommendation In the interests of historical accuracy in future studies, Theobald Wolfe Tone should be referred to as adjudant-général, the French rank (that is Adjudant-général Tone or Smith), to avoid confusion with the British and United States function of Adjutant-General, since the one does not translate into the other. With annotation, there should be no difficulty with this. Readers of such studies will understand that Tone was nothing more than a colonel in the French army, one among thousands, but, regardless of his phenomenal success in persuading the French to launch several expeditions to Ireland. Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-1798) in the uniform of a chef de brigade.38 35 SHD Sous-séries GR Yd, ‘Officiers Généraux de l 'Armée de Terre et des Services (ancien régime-2010)’. Tone, Théobald Wolfe, dit James Smith, Sous-séries 17Yd 14 (Prétendus 1792-1815) Kleinman cites this sub-series, but Elliott, apparently, does not. 36 Tandy, James Napper (1740-1803) GBR SHD 14Yd 2541. 37 The equivalent of lieutenant-general, the highest rank in the French army of the epoch. O’Connor, Arthur (1767-1852) GDI SHD 7Yd393. 38 Artist: Tone’s daughter-in-law. Catherine Anne Tone née Sampson (1798-1864) 8 Draft 4 Adjudant-général Nicholas Dunne-Lynch APPENDIX 1. Decrees cited within this article Decision Document Year Rank of adjudant-général created. Some Décret concernant la formation de I'Etat-Major de l’Armée. Du 5 = 29 Octobre 1790. (B., VII, colonel equivalent, others chef de bataillon 1790 9.) (lieutenant-colonel) equivalent.39 Rank of adjudant-général clarified; Décret relatif à l'organisation de I‘armée et aux pensions de retraite et traitemens des regiments become demi-brigades; colonels 1793 militaires de tous grades. (L. 13, 371, B. 27, 264 ; Mon. Des 20, 21 et 22 février 1793) to be known as chefs de brigade.40 Rank of adjudant-général replaced by that Arrêté relatif à la dénomination de général, et à l'uniforme des officiers et employés de of adjudant-commandant, with the same l’armée (III, Bull. XLV, no 33 ; Mon. du 27 Messidor an 8 [16 July 1800]). (Arrête no 1168, 1800 status of colonel equivalent 41 Bulletin des Lois No 46). Demi-brigades reformed as regiments; chef Décret du1er vendémiaire an XII Le 1er vendémiaire an 12 (24 septembre 1803), les diverses 1803 de brigade retitled as colonels.42 armes sont réorganisées par un décret du Premier Consul dont le titre IV est ainsi conçu 2. Documents in Evidence 1. Tone is appinted to 'le grade d'Adjudant Général' (Lettre de Service, Armée de Sambre et Meuse, 19 Ventôse an 5) 1: Tone is appointed 'un Adjudant-Général' (Lettre de Service, Ar e d’A gleterre, Nivôse a 6 39 Article 1 : Indépendamment des quatre-vingt-quatorze officiers généraux employés, l'état-major général de l'armée sera composé de trente adjudans généraux ou de division, lesquels, sous cette dénomination, remplaceront les trois états-majors de I'armée existant aujourd'hui, en les réduisant à ce nombre d'officiers. De ces trente adjudans généraux ou de division, dix- sept auront rang de colonel, et treize celui de lieutenant-colonel 40 Article 5 : Les adjudans généraux chefs de batailIon monteront au grade de chef de brigade, le tiers par ancienneté, et les deux autres tiers au choix du ministre. 41 Article 1 : A dater de la publication du présent arrêté, la dénomination de général ne sera plus donné qu’aux généraux en chef, aux généraux de division et aux généraux de brigade. Les officiers actuellement connus sous le nom d’adjudant- généraux, seront à l’avenir désignés par celui d’adjudant-commandant 42 Article 1 : Les corps d'infanterie sont désignés désormais sous le nom de régiment, les chefs de brigade prendront le titre de colonel. 9 Draft 4 Adjudant-général Nicholas Dunne-Lynch 2. Tone to be recognised in 'ladite qualité d'Adjudant-Général' (Lettre de Ser i e, Ar ée d A gleterre, Ni ôse a 6.) 3. Olivier Rivaud, the Chief of Staff to whom Tone reported was also an adjudant-général. See note 21 (Armée d A gleterre, Prairial an 6). Rivaud de la Raffinière, Olivier Macoux (1766-1839) GDI SHD 7Yd 367. (See note 24) 4: The change from chef de brigade to adjudant-commandant was not a promotion, but a reassignment of Bourke to the staff of Davoût, where AC was more appropriate. Bourke, Jean Raymond Charles (1772-1847), extract, SHD 7Yd 607. 5: Both this and no 7 demonstrate that the rank of adjudant-commandant as ot et ee olo el a d général de brigade , but, as with the rank of colonel, was between chef de bataillon (lieutenant-colonel) and général de brigade. Corbet, William, (1779-1842) Service Record, 26 December 1814, extract, SHD 8Yd 2774 10 Draft 4 Adjudant-général Nicholas Dunne-Lynch 6: Patrick Baron Murphy, Etat des Services, 5 juin 1817, Patri e O Murphy, dit de Murphy, extrait, SHD 8Yd2575. 7: Another version of Murphy's service record equating adjudant-commandant with colonel. 4 July 1820, extract, SHD 8Yd2575. 8: Yet another version, showing Murphy's progress from adjudant-commandant on the staff to colonel in command of la Légion de Hohenlohe. Service Record, 1 October 1820, extract, SHD 8Yd2575. 9: Arr t relatif à la d o i atio de g ral, et à l'u ifor e des officiers et e ploy s de l’ar e III, Bull. XLV, no 33 ; Mon. du 27 Messidor an 8 [16 July 1800]). (Arrête no 1168, Bulletin des Lois No 46). 11 Draft 4