Hoche, LAZARE

Hoche, LAZARE, one of the most eminent generals of the French Republic, was born of poor parents, 25th June 1768, at Montreuil, a faubourg of Versailles. Enlisting at sixteen, he rapidly obtained promotion by his courage and capacity, and was given in 1793 the command of the army of the Moselle, for his defence of Dunkirk against the Duke of York. Here he tried to cut off the communication between the Prussians and Austrians, and, although foiled by the superior forces of the Duke of Brunswick, yet managed to drive the Austrians out of Alsace. His next important service was putting an end to the civil war in La Vendée, which he accomplished with great prudence and moderation. He was appointed to command the troops in the unfortunate expedition for the conquest of Ireland (1796), but the ships were soon scattered by the storms. Soon after he was placed in command of the army of the Sambre and Meuse. On the 18th April 1797 he crossed the Rhine at Neuwied, and had defeated the Austrians in several battles, when his career was stopped by the armistice concluded between the Archduke Charles and Bonaparte at Leoben. After the 18th Fructidor he was suddenly taken ill in the camp at Wetzlar, and died, 18th September 1797. There are Lives by Rousselin (1798), Dourille (1844), Desprez (1858), and Dutemple (1879).