Gaspard Eberlé

Gaspard Eberlé or Éberlé, (11 June 1764 – 16 February 1837) was a French general and military governor. The son of a soldier from Alsace, he joined the army in the last years of the and served with distinction in the French Revolutionary Wars. A string of gallant actions in Spain, Egypt and particularly Italy earned him a Sabre of honour and a rank equivalent to colonel. His career was halted when his right arm was amputated following the battle of Pozzolo. Promoted to General, he spent twelve years as governor of Nice, a city to which he returned during his retirement. He died there in 1837.

Origins and early career

Gaspard Eberlé was born in Sélestat, Bas-Rhin on 11 June 1764, the son of François Joseph Eberlé and Catherine Golinger. His father, a former tailor from Haguenau, was a soldier in the Waldner regiment, a Swiss regiment in French service. Growing up as a "child of the regiment," Eberlé himself enlisted in the Maine regiment on 25 September 1781 under the "Gaspard."

The regiment had a series of postings in the south of France: Béziers in 1781, Toulon in 1782 and Montpellier in 1783. In April 1784, the regiment sailed to Saint-Florent on Corsica, Eberlé was promoted to corporal there on 1 May 1787. The regiment was still on the island when the French Revolution broke out, returning to the mainland in 1791 and eventually posted in Monaco.

Transferring to the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees in 1794, Eberlé served at the sieges of Collioure and Port-Vendres. On 15 June 1804 he was named a Commander of the Legion of Honour.

Anne Marie Françoise, born 1 August 1806, married General Baron Davise. Alexandre Hyérome, born 31 January 1808, officer in the Piedmont-Sardinian army, died in Genoa on 2 April 1837. Victoire, born 12 March 1810, married M. Tessier. Joseph Gaspard, born 12 February 1813.