View source for Marcellin Marbot

{{Short description|French general (1782–1854)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Marcellin Marbot
| image         = Marcellin Marbot.jpg
| image_size    = 300px
| caption       = Marbot as a colonel commander of the [[7th Hussar Regiment (France)|7th Hussar Regiment]] in 1815<ref>{{Cite web |title=French Hussars: 1st - 7th Regiments |url=https://www.napoleon-series.org/military-info/organization/c_hussars.html |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=www.napoleon-series.org}}</ref>
| birth_name    = Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin Marbot
| nickname      = Marbot the Younger
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1782|08|18|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Altillac]], [[Kingdom of France|France]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1854|11|16|1782|08|18|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Paris]], [[Second French Empire|France]]
| placeofburial = [[Père Lachaise Cemetery]]
| allegiance    = [[File:Flag of France.svg|22px|border]] [[French First Republic|French Republic]] <br> [[File:Flag of France.svg|22px|border]] [[First French Empire|French Empire]] <br> [[File:Flag of Royalist France.svg|22px|border]] [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Kingdom of France]] <br> [[File:Flag of France.svg|22px|border]] [[July Monarchy|Kingdom of France]] <br> [[File:Flag of France.svg|22px|border]] [[French Second Republic|French Republic]]
| serviceyears  = 1799–1848
| rank          = [[Lieutenant-General (France)|Lieutenant-Général]] <br> (Divisional general)
| battles       = {{Tree list}}
* [[Napoleonic Wars]]
** [[Battle of Marengo]]
** [[Battle of Austerlitz]]
** [[Battle of Eylau]]
** [[Battle of Friedland]]
** [[Siege of Zaragoza (1809)|Siege of Zaragoza]]
** [[Battle of Aspern-Essling|Battle of Essling]]
** [[Battle of Wagram]]
** [[Battle of Leipzig]]
** [[Battle of Waterloo]]
* [[Siege of Antwerp (1832)|Siege of Antwerp]]
* [[French conquest of Algeria]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| awards        = [[Legion of Honour|Order of the Legion of Honour]] <br> (Grand Officer) <br> [[Order of Saint Louis]] <br> (Knight) <br> [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]] <br> (Commander) <br> [[Order of the Oak Crown]] <br> (Grand Cross)
| relations     = [[Jean-Antoine Marbot]], [[Divisional general]] <br> (Father) <br> [[Adolphe Marbot|Antoine Adolphe Marcelin Marbot]], [[Maréchal de camp]] <br> (Brother) <br> [[François Certain de Canrobert]], [[Marshal of France]] <br> (Cousin)
| laterwork     = [[Chamber of Peers (France)|Member of the Chamber of Peers]]
}}

'''Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin Marbot'''{{Efn|"Marcelin" is spelt with one "l" in Marbot's birth certificate and official documents.<ref name="Base Léonore">Archives nationales ([[French Ministry of Culture]]). {{Base Léonore |LH 1723/47 |id=246106 |Marbot, Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin}}</ref>}} ({{IPAc-en|m|ɑːr|ˈ|b|oʊ}} {{Respell|mar|BOH}}, {{IPA|fr|ʒɑ̃ batist ɑ̃twan maʁsəlɛ̃ maʁbo|lang}}; 18 August 1782 – 16 November 1854), known as '''Marcellin Marbot''',{{Efn|"Marcellin" is spelt with two "l"s in certain service records and is the spelling used by Marbot. He is also sometimes known as "Jean-Baptiste Marbot".}} was a French [[Lieutenant-General (France)|general]], famous for his memoirs depicting the [[Napoleonic Wars|Napoleonic age]] of warfare.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Dawson, Paul L. |date=2019 |title=Napoleon's Waterloo Army: Uniforms and Equipment |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zbcSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT240|location=Barnsley |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-5267-0530-3 |quote=The regiment was led in 1815 by Colonel Marcelin Marbot, who left a vivid set of memoirs about his military career under Napoleon; these give a picture of the Napoleonic age of warfare [...].}}</ref> He belongs to a family that has distinguished itself particularly in the career of arms, giving three generals to France in less than 50 years. His elder brother, [[Adolphe Marbot]], was also a general.

== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin Marbot was born into a family of military nobility in [[Altillac]], in the ancient province of [[Quercy]] in southwestern France.<ref name="Marbot 1892, Volume 1, Chapter 1">{{Cite book |author=Marbot, Marcellin |translator=Butler, Arthur J. |date=1892 |chapter=Chapter I: Early Days |chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044087883203&view=1up&seq=15 |title=The memoirs of Baron de Marbot, late lieutenant-general in the French army |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000626152|location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |volume=1 |pages=1–8}}</ref> He was the younger son of General [[Jean-Antoine Marbot]], who had served as ''[[aide-de-camp]]'' to ''Lieutenant-Général'' de Schomberg, inspector general of the cavalry in the [[Maison militaire du roi de France|military household of the king of France]].<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Rabbe, Alphonse |author2=Vieilh de Boisjolin, Claude-Augustin |author3=Binet de Sainte-Preuve, Charles Claude |date=1834 |chapter=Marbot, Jean Baptiste Marcelin |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KdVAAAAcAAJ&q=%22Marbot%20(Jean-Baptiste-Marcelin)&pg=PP9 |title=Biographie universelle et portative des contemporains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KdVAAAAcAAJ |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=F. G. Levrault |volume=3 |page=453}}</ref>

After completing his studies at the Military College of Sorèze (1793–1798), he joined the [[1st Parachute Hussar Regiment|1st Hussar Regiment]] as a volunteer on 3 September 1799.<ref name="Marbot 1892, Volume 1, Chapter 1"/> Serving under General [[Jean-Mathieu Seras]], he was promoted to the rank of [[sergeant]] on 1 December 1799, and later that month, to [[second lieutenant]] on 31 December in recognition of his bravery. He fought with the [[Army of Italy (France)|Army of Italy]] and took part in the [[Siege of Genoa (1800)|Siege of Genoa]], during which his father, General Jean-Antoine Marbot died, and subsequently fought in the [[Battle of Marengo]].<ref name="Marbot 1892, Volume 1, Chapter 9">{{Cite book |author=Marbot, Marcellin |translator=Butler, Arthur J. |date=1892 |chapter=Chapter IX: Siege of Genoa |chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044087883203&view=1up&seq=83&skin=2021 |title=The memoirs of Baron de Marbot, late lieutenant-general in the French army |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000626152|location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |volume=1 |pages=69–78}}</ref>

Upon returning to France, he joined the [[Chasseur|25th Chasseur Regiment]] on 11 June 1801 and was detached to the Cavalry School at [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]].<ref name="Marbot 1892, Volume 1, Chapter 16">{{Cite book |author=Marbot, Marcellin |translator=Butler, Arthur J. |date=1892 |chapter=Chapter XVI: Life at the Cavalry School |chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044087883203&view=1up&seq=140&skin=2021&q1=25th%20chasseurs |title=The memoirs of Baron de Marbot, late lieutenant-general in the French army |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000626152|location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |volume=1 |pages=126–131}}</ref>

[[File:General Marbot.jpg|thumb|left|Marbot as a colonel of the [[Chasseur|23rd Chasseur Regiment]] in 1812]]

=== Napoleonic wars ===
On 31 August 1803 he became ''aide-de-camp'' to General [[Charles-Pierre Augereau]] and was promoted to the rank of [[lieutenant]] on 11 July 1804. Having distinguished himself at the [[Battle of Austerlitz]], he fought in the [[VII Corps (Grande Armée)|VII corps]] of the ''[[Grande Armée]]'' during the [[War of the Fourth Coalition|1806–1807 campaign]] against the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] and the [[Russian Empire]]. On 3 January 1807 he was promoted to the rank of [[captain]] and took part in the [[Battle of Eylau]], during the course of which he nearly lost his life. Subsequently, he served in the [[Peninsular War]] under Marshals [[Jean Lannes]] and [[André Masséna]], and showed himself to be a dashing leader of light cavalry in the [[French invasion of Russia|Russian campaign]] of 1812.<ref name="Chisholm 1911">{{EB1911 |inline=y |wstitle=Marbot, Jean Baptiste Antoine Marcelin, Baron de |volume=17 |page=680}}</ref>

[[File:Gros, Napoleon at Eylau.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Battle of Eylau]] in 1807, during which the young Captain Marbot nearly lost his life]]

He was promoted to the rank of [[colonel]] on 15 November 1812 and took part in the [[German campaign of 1813]] as commander of the [[Chasseur|23rd Chasseur Regiment]]. During the morning of the first day of the [[Battle of Leipzig]], Marbot nearly altered the course of the war when his regiment came close to capturing the Tsar of Russia, [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] and the King of Prussia, [[Frederick William III of Prussia|Frederick William III]], as they had strayed from their escort.<ref name="Marbot 1892, Volume 2, Chapter 38">{{Cite book |author=Marbot, Marcellin |translator=Butler, Arthur J. |date=1892 |chapter=Chapter XXXVIII: Incident of the Kolmberg |chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn5iqp&view=1up&seq=739&skin=2021 |title=The memoirs of Baron de Marbot, late lieutenant-general in the French army |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000626152|location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |volume=2 |pages=391–405}}</ref> After a slow recovery from the wounds he had sustained at the battles of [[Battle of Leipzig|Leipzig]] and [[Battle of Hanau|Hanau]], he rallied to Emperor [[Napoleon]] during the [[Hundred Days]], leading the [[7th Hussar Regiment (France)|7th Hussar Regiment]] at the [[Battle of Waterloo]].<ref name="Chisholm 1911"/>

After Napoleon's final defeat in 1815, he was exiled during the early years of the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]], returning to France in 1819.<ref name="Chisholm 1911"/>

=== July Monarchy ===
[[File:1841 portrait painting of Louis Philippe I (King of the French) by Winterhalter.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Louis Philippe I]] by [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter]]]]

During the [[July Monarchy]], his close relationship with King [[Louis Philippe I]] and his son, Prince [[Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans|Ferdinand Philippe of Orléans]] secured him important military appointments. He was promoted to the rank of ''[[maréchal de camp]]'' (brigadier general), and was present in this capacity at the [[Siege of Antwerp (1832)|Siege of Antwerp]] in 1832.<ref name="Chisholm 1911"/>

From 1835 to 1840 he served in various [[French conquest of Algeria|Algerian expeditions]], and was promoted to the rank of ''[[Lieutenant-General (France)|lieutenant-général]]'' (divisional general) in 1836. In 1845 he became a member of the [[Chamber of Peers (France)|Chamber of Peers]]. Three years later, after the fall of King Louis Philippe I, he retired into private life.<ref name="Chisholm 1911"/>

== Family ==
[[File:Château du Rancy.png|thumb|Château du Rancy in [[Bonneuil-sur-Marne]]]]

His father, General [[Jean-Antoine Marbot]], had four sons, only two whom reached adulthood: [[Adolphe Marbot|Antoine Adolphe Marcelin]], the elder, ''[[maréchal de camp]]'' (brigadier general) during the [[July Monarchy]], and Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin, the younger. Through his mother, he was the cousin of [[François Certain de Canrobert]], [[Marshal of France]] during the [[Second French Empire]].<ref name="Marbot 1892, Volume 1, Chapter 1"/>

On 5 November 1811, he married Angélique Marie Caroline Personne-Desbrières (1790–1873), and by this alliance became the owner of the Château du Rancy in [[Bonneuil-sur-Marne]].<ref name="Marbot 1892, Volume 2, Chapter 19">{{Cite book |author=Marbot, Marcellin |translator=Butler, Arthur J. |date=1892 |chapter=Chapter XIX: Farewell to Masséna |chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn5iqp&view=1up&seq=333&skin=2021 |title=The memoirs of Baron de Marbot, late lieutenant-general in the French army |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000626152|location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |volume=2 |pages=181–196}}</ref> They had two sons:

* Adolphe Charles Alfred, known as Alfred (1812–1865): Painter, historian and [[Uniformology|uniformologist]].
* Charles Nicolas Marcelin, known as Charles (1820–1882): Whose daughter Marguerite first published her grandfather's famous [[Memoir]]s.

== Decorations ==
[[File:Statue of General Marbot.jpg|thumb|Statue of General Marbot in [[Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne]]]]

Marbot received the following decorations:

[[File:Flag of France.svg|22px|border]] '''[[First French Empire|French Empire]]'''
* [[Legion of Honour|National Order of the Legion of Honour]]:
** [[File:Legion Honneur Chevalier ribbon.svg|55px]] Knight: 16 October 1808.<ref name="Base Léonore"/>
** [[File:Legion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg|55px]] Officer: 28 September 1813.<ref name="Base Léonore"/>

[[File:Flag of Royalist France.svg|22px|border]] '''[[Bourbon Restoration in France|Kingdom of France]]'''
* [[Order of Saint Louis|Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis]]:
** [[File:Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis Chevalier ribbon.svg|55px]] Knight: 6 June 1827.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (1814–1830) |title=List of recipients |url=https://www.saint-louis.info |language=fr |quote=Marbot, Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcellin. 6 June 1827. Knight.}}</ref>

[[File:Flag of France.svg|22px|border]] '''[[July Monarchy|Kingdom of France]]'''
* [[Legion of Honour|Royal Order of the Legion of Honour]]:
** [[File:Legion Honneur Commandeur ribbon.svg|55px]] Commander: 21 March 1831.<ref name="Base Léonore"/>
** [[File:Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|55px]] Grand Officer: 30 April 1836.<ref name="Base Léonore"/>

[[File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg|22px|border]] '''[[Belgium|Kingdom of Belgium]]'''
* [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]]:
** [[File:BEL - Order of Leopold - Commander bar.svg|55px]] Commander: 10 March 1833.<ref>{{Cite book |date=1833 |chapter=Règne de Léopold I<sup>er</sup>. – An 1833. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xoRCAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA111 |title=Pasinomie, ou Collection complète des Lois, Décrets, Arrêtés, Avis du Conseil d'État et Règlements Généraux qui peuvent être invoqués en Belgique |language=fr |location=Brussels |publisher=H. Tarlier |page=111 |quote=10 March 1833. – N. 425. – Ordinance containing the French decorated with the [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]] on the occasion of the Antwerp Citadel. [...] Marbot, ''aide-de-camp'' to HRH The Duke of Orléans. Baudrand, ''aide-de-camp'' to HRH The Duke of Orléans.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=17 April 1833 |title=France. Paris, 16 avril. |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k438017q/f1.item.r=marbot |work=Journal des débats politiques et littéraires |language=fr |location=Paris |page=1 |via=Gallica ([[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]) |quote=We receive an official report of the appointments made in Belgium to different ranks of the [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]] in favor of the French army. [...] Are appointed Commanders: Generals Dejean, Jamia, Fabre, Achard, T. Sébastiani, Gentil-Saint-Alphonse, Schramm, Marbot, Baudrand, Rumigny, Harlet, Latour-Maubourg, de Riguy, Georges, Simonneau, Lawoestine, Rullière, Durocheret, d'Hincourt, Laffaille, Auvray and Gourgaud.}}</ref>

[[File:Flag of Luxembourg (3-2).svg|22px|border]] '''[[Luxembourg|Grand Duchy of Luxembourg]]'''
* [[Order of the Oak Crown]]:
** [[File:Ordre de la couronne de Chene GC ribbon.svg|55px]] Grand Cross: 9 September 1842.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Guyot, Amédée |author2=Scribe, Théodore |date=1846 |chapter=Ordres étrangers. Français décorés d'Ordres étrangers. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1xcbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA345 |title=Almanach Royal et National pour l'an MDCCCXLVI, Présenté à Leurs Majestés et aux Princes et Princesses de la Famille Royale |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=Guyot et Scribe |page=345 |quote=Netherlands. [...] [[Order of the Oak Crown]]. Grand Crosses. Baron Achard, Peer, Lieutenant-General. Baron Marbot, Peer, Lieutenant-General.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |author=Schroell, Joseph Antoine |date=17 September 1842 |title=Frankreich |url=https://viewer.eluxemburgensia.lu/ark:70795/sj5c56/pages/2/articles/DTL41?search=marbot |work=Diekircher Wochenblatt |language=de |issue=38 |location=Diekirch |page=2 |via=eLuxemburgensia ([[National Library of Luxembourg]]) |quote=Paris, 9th Sept. [...] The [[William II of the Netherlands|King of the Netherlands (and Grand Duke of Luxembourg)]] has awarded the Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Oak Crown]] to the Adjutant of the Count of Paris, Lieutenant-General Marbot.}}</ref>

== Wounds and injuries ==
Marbot endured 13 wounds and injuries<ref name="Base Léonore"/> during his service:

* A [[bayonet]] stab to the left arm, received while he was left stunned by the "wind" of a [[Round shot|cannonball]] that had just flown through his [[Bicorne|bicorn hat]], at the [[Battle of Eylau]]: 8 February 1807.
* A [[sword]] slash to the forehead at [[Ágreda]]: 1 November 1808.
* A [[gunshot]] through the upper body at the [[Siege of Zaragoza (1809)|Siege of Zaragoza]]: 9 February 1809.
* A gunshot to the right thigh at the [[Battle of Aspern-Essling|Battle of Essling]]: 22 May 1809.
* A gunshot to the left wrist at the [[Battle of Znaim]]: 12 July 1809.
* A sword slash to the face and a sword stab to the belly at the [[Battle of Casal Novo]]: 14 March 1811.
* A gunshot to the left shoulder at the [[Battle of Klyastitsy]]: 31 July 1812.
* A [[lance]] stab to the right knee at [[Plyeshchanitsy]]: 4 December 1812.
* An [[arrow]] hit to the right thigh (fired by Russia's [[Bashkirs|Bashkir]] [[Mounted archery|horse archers]]) at the [[Battle of Leipzig]]: 18 October 1813.
* A lance stab to the chest at the [[Battle of Waterloo]]: 18 June 1815.
* A gunshot to the left knee at [[Médéa]] during the [[French conquest of Algeria|Algerian expedition]]: 12 May 1840.

== Literary works ==
=== Publications ===
[[File:Painting of Napoleon Bonaparte by Jacques-Louis David, 1813.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Napoleon]] by [[Jacques-Louis David]]]]

In exile after the [[Battle of Waterloo]], Marbot returned to France in 1819 and wrote two books:

* ''Critical remarks on the work of Lieutenant-Général Rogniat, entitled: Considerations on the art of war'' (1820).<ref>{{Cite book |author=Marbot, Marcellin |date=1820 |title=Remarques critiques sur l'ouvrage de M. le lieutenant-général Rogniat, intitulé: Considérations sur l'art de la guerre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9KoWAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP7 |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=Anselin et Pochard}}</ref>
* ''On the necessity of increasing the military forces of France; means of achieving this in the most cost-efficient way possible'' (1825).<ref>{{Cite book |author=Marbot, Marcellin |date=1825 |title=De la nécessité d'augmenter les forces militaires de la France; moyen de le faire au meilleur marché possible |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWiAoCBmOf4C |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=Anselin et Pochard}}</ref>

The first publication was a reply to General Joseph Rogniat's treatise on war, in which Marbot effectively contrasted the human factor in war with Rogniat's pure theory. The second presented his recommendations for the future development of the [[French Armed Forces]].

[[Napoleon]] read the first publication while in exile on the island of [[Saint Helena]]. His ''aide-de-camp'', General [[Henri Gatien Bertrand]] recorded in his diary on 14 March 1821:

<blockquote>In the evening, the Emperor handed me Marbot's book, [...] and said: "That is the best book I have read for four years. It is the one that has given me the greatest amount of pleasure. [...] He has expressed some things better than I did, he was more familiar with them because, on the whole, he was more of a Corps commander than I. [...] Throughout the book he never refers to '[[Napoleon|the Emperor]]'. He wanted the King of France [{{Nowrap|[[Louis XVIII]]}}] to give him an appointment with the rank of Colonel; that is quite obvious. He uses 'Emperor' once, so as not to look as though he were afraid to do so, or to appear cowardly, and another time he uses '[[Napoleon]]'. He mentions [[André Masséna|Masséna]] and [[Charles-Pierre Augereau|Augereau]] frequently, and he has described the [[Battle of Aspern-Essling|Battle of Essling]] better than I could have done it myself [...]. I should have liked to show Marbot my appreciation by sending him a ring. If I ever return to active life, I will have him attached to me as an ''aide-de-camp'' [...].<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Bertrand, Henri-Gratien |author2=Fleuriot de Langle, Paul |translator=Hume, Frances |date=1952 |title=Napoleon at St. Helena, The Journals of General Bertrand, January–May 1821 |url=https://www.napoleon.org/en/magazine/publications/napoleon-at-st-helena-the-journals-of-general-bertrand-from-january-to-may-of-1821|location=New York |publisher=Doubleday}}</ref></blockquote>

This publication earned Marbot the distinction of being remembered in [[Napoleon]]'s will:

<blockquote>To Colonel Marbot, one hundred thousand francs. I recommend him to continue to write in defence of the glory of the [[French Armed Forces|French armies]], and to confound their calumniators and apostates.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Bonaparte, Napoleon |date=15 April 1821 |title=Napoleon's Will and Testamemt |url=https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/napoleons-last-will-and-testament |location=Longwood, Island of St. Helena|access-date=1 October 2021 |via=Fondation Napoléon}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Memoirs ===
[[File:Marcellin de Marbot.jpg|thumb|General Marbot in 1840]]

His fame rests chiefly on the [[Memoir]]s of his life and campaigns, the ''Memoirs of General Baron de Marbot'', which were written for his children and published posthumously in Paris, in 1891. An English translation by [[Arthur John Butler]] was published in London, in 1892.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Marbot, Marcellin |translator=Butler, Arthur J. |date=1892 |title=The memoirs of Baron de Marbot, late lieutenant-general in the French army |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000626152|location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co. |postscript=. 2 volumes.}}</ref> Marbot's Memoirs were widely acclaimed, and [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] wrote of them:

<blockquote>The first of all soldier books in the world. [...] There are few books which I could not spare from my shelves better than the Memoirs of the gallant Marbot.<ref name="Doyle 1907">{{Cite book |author=Doyle, Arthur Conan |date=1907 |chapter=Chapter VIII |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5317/pg5317.html |title=Through the Magic Door |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5317 |via=Project Gutenberg |publication-date=2002}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Literary references ===
Several authors and personalities have cited Marbot and his Memoirs in their works:

* [[Andrew Lang]]'s collections of stories written by various authors feature selected excerpts from Marbot's Memoirs. Three appear in ''[[The Langs' Fairy Books|The Red True Story Book]]'' collection (1895): ''"Marbot's March"'',<ref>{{Cite book |editor=Lang, Andrew |date=1895 |chapter=Marbot's March |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27603/27603-h/27603-h.htm#Page_150 |title=The Red True Story Book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27603/27603-h/27603-h.htm |via=Project Gutenberg |publication-date=2008 |page=150}}</ref> ''"Eylau. The Mare Lisette"''<ref>{{Cite book |editor=Lang, Andrew |date=1895 |chapter=Eylau. The Mare Lisette |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27603/27603-h/27603-h.htm#Page_162 |title=The Red True Story Book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27603/27603-h/27603-h.htm |via=Project Gutenberg |publication-date=2008 |page=162}}</ref> and ''"How Marbot crossed the Danube"''.<ref>{{Cite book |editor=Lang, Andrew |date=1895 |chapter=How Marbot crossed the Danube |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27603/27603-h/27603-h.htm#Page_175 |title=The Red True Story Book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27603/27603-h/27603-h.htm |via=Project Gutenberg |publication-date=2008 |page=175}}</ref> Another two appear in ''[[The Langs' Fairy Books|The All Sorts of Stories Book]]'' collection (1911): ''"How the Russian Soldier was Saved"''<ref>{{Cite book |editor=Lang, Andrew |date=1911 |chapter=How the Russian Soldier was Saved |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/allsortsofstorie00langiala/page/98/mode/2up |title=The All Sorts of Stories Book |url=https://archive.org/details/allsortsofstorie00langiala/page/n7/mode/2up |location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co. |page=99}}</ref> and ''"Marbot and the Young Cossack"''.<ref>{{Cite book |editor=Lang, Andrew |date=1911 |chapter=Marbot and the Young Cossack |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/allsortsofstorie00langiala/page/104/mode/2up |title=The All Sorts of Stories Book |url=https://archive.org/details/allsortsofstorie00langiala/page/n7/mode/2up |location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co. |page=105}}</ref>
* In [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s novel ''Through the Magic Door'' (1907), the author shares his admiration for Marbot's Memoirs with his readers.<ref name="Doyle 1907"/> Doyle also modelled the fictional comedic character of [[Brigadier Gerard]], the most entertaining of all his characters, on a number of real-life sources from the [[Napoleonic era]], among them Marbot.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Doyle, Arthur Conan |date=1903 |chapter=Preface |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1644/1644-h/1644-h.htm#link2H_PREF |title=The Adventures of Gerard |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1644 |via=Project Gutenberg |publication-date=2008}}</ref>
* In [[Theodore Roosevelt]]'s writings and public statements, Marbot is cited on two occasions. He is mentioned in Roosevelt's address ''Biological Analogies in History'' (1910), delivered at the [[University of Oxford]],<ref>{{Cite book |author=Roosevelt, Theodore |date=1910 |chapter=Biological Analogies in History |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13930/13930-h/13930-h.htm#Page_175 |title=African and European Addresses |via=Project Gutenberg |publication-date=2004}}</ref> and in his publication ''A Book Lover's Holiday in the Open'' (1916).<ref>{{Cite book |author=Roosevelt, Theodore |date=1916 |chapter=Chapter IX: Books for Holidays in the Open |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/34135/pg34135-images.html#Page_259 |title=A Book Lover's Holiday in the Open |via=Project Gutenberg |publication-date=2010}}</ref>
* In [[Virginia Woolf]]'s novel ''[[Mrs Dalloway]]'' (1925), there are several mentions of the protagonist Clarissa Dalloway reading Marbot's Memoirs.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Woolf, Virginia |date=1925 |title=Mrs Dalloway |url=http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200991h.html |via=Project Gutenberg |publication-date=2002}}</ref>
* As with a number of other historical figures, Marbot appears prominently in the ''[[Riverworld]]'' cycle of science-fiction novels (1967–1983) by [[Philip José Farmer]]. Marbot is first featured as the commander of Marines on [[Mark Twain|Sam Clemens]]' riverboat, the ''Not for Hire''. After the destruction of that boat and the death of its captain, Marbot joins the group led by famed English explorer Sir [[Richard Francis Burton]] and accompanies him on the journey to the head of the River. Accompanied by his lover, the English author [[Aphra Behn]], Marbot reaches the Tower at the head of the River, only to die in combat when androids based on characters from ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' attack the guests during a [[Lewis Carroll]]-themed party.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Farmer, Philip José |date=1967–1983 |title=Riverworld cycle of science-fiction novels |url=https://www.worldswithoutend.com/searchwwe.asp?st=The+Riverworld+Saga&t=1&at=All&gid=0&ys=0&ye=9999 |location=New York |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons}}</ref>
* In [[Marc Bloch]]'s book ''[[The Historian's Craft]]'' (1949), he uses the story of Marbot crossing the Danube, along with various documentary evidence, as an example of historical criticism unearthing erroneous history-writing, citing sources as wide-ranging as the ''Commentaries'' of [[Julius Caesar]] and the ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion|Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Bloch, Marc |date=1949 |title=The Historian's Craft |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6114394M/The_historian%27s_craft |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |ol=6114394M |publication-date=1953}}</ref>
* In [[R. F. Delderfield|Ronald Frederick Delderfield]]'s novel ''[[To Serve Them All My Days]]'' (1972), the protagonist David Powlett-Jones gets comfort from Marbot's Memoirs during his time in the trenches, and again on the death of his wife and daughter in a road accident.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Delderfield, Ronald Frederick |date=1972 |title=To Serve Them All My Days |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3465805-to-serve-them-all-my-days |location=London |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton}}</ref>

== Eponyms ==
[[File:Place Marbot by Frits Thaulow.tif|thumb|''Place Marbot'' in [[Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne]] by [[Frits Thaulow]]]]

Several places and buildings have been named after Marbot:

* ''Place Marbot'', the central square of [[Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne]], department of [[Corrèze]], France.
* ''Avenue des Généraux Marbot'', the principal avenue of [[Altillac]], department of Corrèze, France.
* ''Hôtel Marbot'', a ''château'' in [[Tulle]], department of Corrèze in France and seat of the [[Departmental Council of Corrèze]].
* ''Marbot Lake'', a lake in [[Baie-James]], [[Quebec]], Canada.
* ''Marbot'', previous name of the town of [[Tarik Ibn Ziad]] in [[Aïn Defla Province]], [[Algeria]].

== See also ==
* [[List of French military leaders]]
* [[Napoleonic Wars]]
* [[Marbot family]]
* [[Jean-Antoine Marbot]]
* [[Adolphe Marbot]]

== References ==
=== Sources ===
* {{EB1911 |wstitle=Marbot, Jean Baptiste Antoine Marcelin, Baron de}}
* {{Cite book |author1=Rabbe, Alphonse |author2=Vieilh de Boisjolin, Claude-Augustin |author3=Binet de Sainte-Preuve, Charles Claude |date=1834 |chapter=Marbot, Jean-Baptiste-Marcelin |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KdVAAAAcAAJ&q=%22Marbot%20(Jean-Baptiste-Marcelin)&pg=PP9 |title=Biographie universelle et portative des contemporains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KdVAAAAcAAJ |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=F. G. Levrault}}
* {{Cite book |author=Marbot, Marcellin |translator=Butler, Arthur J. |date=1892 |title=The memoirs of Baron de Marbot, late lieutenant-general in the French army |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000626152|location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co.}}
* Archives nationales ([[French Ministry of Culture]]): {{Base Léonore |LH 1723/47 |id=246106 |Marbot, Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin}}

=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Base Léonore |LH 1723/47 |id=246106 |Marbot, Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin}}
* [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000626152 Works by Marcellin Marbot] at [[HathiTrust]].
* {{OL author|4836155W}}.
* {{Gutenberg author|id=900}}.

{{Commons}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Marbot, Marcellin}}
[[Category:1782 births]]
[[Category:1854 deaths]]
[[Category:Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Knights of the Order of Saint Louis]]
[[Category:Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy]]
[[Category:French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration]]
[[Category:Marbot family|Marcellin]]
[[Category:Cavalry commanders]]
[[Category:Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery]]
[[Category:19th-century French writers]]
[[Category:Barons of the First French Empire]]
[[Category:People from Corrèze]]
[[Category:French military writers]]
[[Category:French lieutenant generals]]