Louis-Vincent-Joseph Le Blond de Saint-Hilaire

Louis-Vincent-Joseph Le Blond, comte de Saint-Hilaire (; 4 September 1766 – 5 June 1809) was a French general during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, described by Lejeune as "the pride of the army, as remarkable for his wit as for his military talents," and by Berthezène as "the finest division commander on the face of the earth."

Origins and early career Louis-Vincent-Joseph Le Blond de Saint-Hilaire was born in Ribemont, Aisne on 4 September 1766, the son of a captain in the Conti cavalry regiment. He became a cadet in his father's regiment on 13 September 1777, aged 11. In 1781, he sailed for the East Indies as a second lieutenant in the Binch hussars.

French Revolutionary Wars Saint-Hilaire served in Army of the Alps from 1792 to 1793. After the fall of the city, he was promoted to provisional adjudant-général chef de bataillon by representatives of the people Saliceti and Barras on 27 December 1793 and posted to Masséna's Army of Italy. He took part in the expedition to Oneglia on 5 April 1794 as part of Mouret's division before coming under General Laharpe's command in August that year. During the course of 1796, he led brigades in the divisions of Massena, Augereau, Sauret and Vaubois successively, and fought at Castiglione, Rovereto and Bassano. and instead he spent the next few years in rear echelon roles. He was in command at Lodi, then at Toulon (where he managed the depot for the Army of the Orient) and finally the 8th Military District centered on Marseille. He was made General de Division on 27 December 1799. but nonetheless retaining his command for the rest of the battle. Napoleon rewarded him with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (then called the Grand Eagle). As the fighting progressed into Poland, he fought with distinction at Allenstein, Eylau and Heilsberg. In 1808, he was made a Count of the Empire and a Commander of the Order of the Iron Crown. , but nonetheless fought well in the opening battles of the War of the Fifth Coalition: Teugen-Hausen and Eckmühl. The day after the latter, Napoleon publicly told Saint-Hilaire "You have earned the marshal's baton; you will receive it!"

Saint-Hilaire did not live to see that promise fulfilled. On 22 May 1809 he led his division in the battle of Aspern-Essling, now as part of Marshal Lannes' II Corps. Toward the end of the day, he was struck on the left foot by a cannonball. He refused to allow his leg to be amputated, instead opting to lose half his foot. The wound became infected, and Saint-Hilaire died 15 days later in the Vienna house of the Apponyi family.

In 1810, Napoleon ordered his remains interred in the Panthéon, and that a statue of him be placed on the Pont de la Concorde (though this was never completed due to the fall of the Napoleonic Empire in 1814). The name Saint-Hilaire is inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.