General Jacques-Zacharie Destaing
Born: November 6, 1764
Died: May 5, 1802
Place of Birth: Aurillac, Cantal
Cause of Death: Killed in a duel
| Battle | Unit | Rank |
| Dego | Colonel | |
| Rivoli | Colonel | Division Joubert |
| Battle of the Pyramids | Colonel | Division Bon - Brigade Marmont |
| Abukir (1799) | Général de brigade | Advance Guard (Murat) |
Destaing has the distinction of being killed in a duel with another French general, Reynier. After first joining the National Guard of Aurillac in July of 1789, Jacques-Zacharie Destaing volunteered to defend the borders in the 1st Company of Aurillac in 1791. The next year, he was elected a lieutenant in the 1st Batallion of Cantal, and three days later elected a lieutenant colonel. For the next few years he served in the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees, being promoted to chef de brigade in February of 1794, being wounded by an explosion during the siege of Sainte-Elme, and then serving in Sauret's division at the battle of Saint-Laurent de la Mouga.
In 1796 Destaing joined the soon to be legendary Army of Italy. He distinguished himself at Dego, and then was wounded at Corona. More wounds were to come for at Lonato he received four saber blows. That December he was transferred to Joubert's division, with which he fought at Rivoli, where he was wounded yet again. Three months later he received another wound, this time at Milback in the Tyrol.
Egypt was Destaing's next destination, where he served as part of Marmont's brigade in Division Bon. At the Battle of the Pyramids, he distinguished himself so well that General Bonaparte promoted him to general de brigade on the spot. In October he joined Desaix's division and then became the commander of Cairo. The next year, he served under Murat at Abukir, and afterwards took command of the province of Bahireh. In early 1801, as part of Friant's division he distinguished himself before Alexandria, and then served under Rampon in the center at the second battle of Abukir, where he was wounded by two shots.
General Menou, in charge in Egypt since Kléber's unfortunate death, promoted Destaing to general de division and made him his chief of staff. Unfortunately, General Reynier was openly hostile to Menou's leadership, and it should be noted that Reynier was not the only one, as Lanusse had expressed his doubts in Menou shortly before his unfortunate death. Regardless, Menou considered Reynier insubordinate and ordered Destaing to arrest Reynier, which he did. After both generals returned to France in 1801, the following year Destaing and Reynier got into a duel in Paris, most likely tied to the fact that Destaing was the officer in charge of arresting Reynier. Reynier killed Destaing, ending the life of the promising general, and was exiled from Paris as punishment.
Sources: Chandler (Dictionary), Six (Dictionnaire Biographique)
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