Jean Castelbert de Castelverd

Jean Castelbert de Castelverd (17 July 1743 – 10 August 1820) commanded a French division during the French Revolutionary Wars until he lost his nerve during a 1796 battle and was dismissed. In 1792 he assumed command of a volunteer unit. He fought in the War of the Pyrenees against the Kingdom of Spain, winning promotion to general of brigade in 1793 and general of division in 1795. The following year he and his division were sent from Belgium to reinforce the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse which was defending the line of the Lahn River. In the Battle of Limburg in September 1796 he abandoned his position in disobedience to orders even though his troops were not under enemy pressure. He was soon removed from command and retired from the army in 1801.

Early career Castelverd was born on 17 July 1743 at Montauban in the Tarn-et-Garonne department of France. He appears in the list of the 11th Curaissiers as a sous-lieutenant on 19 May 1774, in the Royal Roussillon. He also received an award of 300 livres in 1783, in consideration of his services as a first lieutenant of staff. Beyond this, though, his early military career is a mystery: one source identified him as a colonel of the Légion des Volontaires de Luxembourg on 1 October 1785. On 16 September 1792, Castelverd emerged as chef de brigade of the Légion des Pyrénées. Castelverd earned promotion to general of brigade on 15 May 1793. On 13 June 1795 Castelverd was elevated in rank to general of division.

Limburg alt=Painting of a man decked out in an elaborate high-collared dark blue military uniform with lots of gold braid. His head is tilted back so his nose is slightly upturned and he has thinning gray hair.

The Rhine Campaign of 1796 was ending badly for the French when the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse under Jean-Baptiste Jourdan retreated behind the Lahn River on 9 September. With their strategy in ruins, the French Directory belatedly awoke to the reality that the unemployed Army of the North might provide reinforcements. The division of Castelverd from Belgium and the division of Jacques MacDonald from the Netherlands were ordered to go to Jourdan's aid. MacDonald was held back to defend Düsseldorf but Castelverd's troops were inserted into the defenses on the lower Lahn under the direction of the right wing commander François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers. Jourdan commanded about 50,000 troops altogether.

As the Austrian army of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen closed up to the Lahn, Jourdan was particularly sensitive about his left flank. Twice before he had been driven back from the Lahn after the Austrians turned his left flank. This time he placed too much strength near Wetzlar and Giessen. The Battle of Limburg began on 16 September when Austrians under Paul Kray mounted a strong attack against Giessen. Jourdan called up his reserves and repulsed Kray in fighting during which Jacques Philippe Bonnaud was mortally wounded. But Charles launched his main attack against Marceau's position at Limburg an der Lahn and Diez in the center. Despite the odds, the division of André Poncet held its ground stubbornly through eight hours of combat, retaining Limburg but yielding a small bridgehead at Diez. Marceau believed the situation was well in hand and planned to retake Diez the next morning with four battalions of infantry and eight squadrons of cavalry.

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Castelverd's division was positioned to Poncet's right, holding the lower Lahn. His instructions from Marceau were to, "defend the two crossings with the utmost obstinacy, and you will not dream of retreating until after being completely driven in, or after receiving an order to do so." When withdrawal became necessary, Castelverd was to pull back to Montabaur and then to the bridgehead of Neuwied.

alt=Portrait shows Nicolas Beker with thinning hair in a dark military uniform with medals.

In a panic, Castelverd wrote Marceau, "It is thus clear that the Limburg crossing is forced. I do not hesitate therefore to order the retreat." The withdrawal to Montabaur started at once. When he received the message, Marceau ordered Castelverd to turn around and reoccupy his former lines. By the next morning, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's division of reinforcements had not yet arrived. Worried that Castelverd would not get back into position in time and that Archduke Charles had been reinforced, Marceau ordered the right wing to retreat at 9:00 am on the 17th. Covered by fog, the French slipped away. When Bernadotte's division came on the scene, it acted as rear guard in holding off the advancing Austrians.

Afterward, MacDonald asked Castelverd why he retreated when the enemy wasn't pressing him and giving his commander such short notice of his action. Castelverd angrily replied: Castelverd retired from the army on 13 February 1797 and became eligible for a retirement pension in 1801. He received the Order of Saint-Louis in 1814 and was allowed to add de Castelverd to his name on 19 March 1819.