General Philippe-Antoine Ornano
Born: January 17, 1784
Died: October 13, 1863
Place of Birth: Ajaccio, Corse
Cause of Death: Natural causes
| Battle | Unit | Rank |
| Austerlitz | Chef de bataillon | IV Corps (Soult) - 3rd Division (Legrand) |
| Jena | Chef de bataillon | IV Corps (Soult) - 3rd Division (Legrand) |
| Borodino (La Moskowa) | Général de brigade | IV Corps (Beauharnais) |
| Maloyaroslavetz | Général de division | IV Corps (Beauharnais) |
| Dresden | Général de division | |
| Kulm | Général de division | |
| Leipzig | Général de division | |
| Hanau | Général de division |
Ornano was a cousin of Napoleon Bonaparte, and first became an officer at the young age of 15, becoming a sous-lieutenant of the 9th Dragoons in 1799. Over the next few years he served in Italy before traveling on the expedition to Haiti as an aide-de-camp to Napoleon's brother-in-law Leclerc. After Leclerc's death, in 1803 Ornano was promoted to lieutenant and attached to the general staff, then a few months later he was promoted to captain and soon thereafter returned to France.
Once back in France, Ornano served in the Army of the Coasts and became an aide-de-camp to Berthier. In March of 1805, as the Grande Armée prepared for war, he was appointed a chef de batallion of the 3rd Batallion of Corsican Tirailleurs, serving in Legrand's division. Campaigning with the army, he served with distinction at Austerlitz, Jena, and Lubeck. In early 1807 he received a promotion to chef de brigade and commanded dragoons in Beker's division.
Rewarded in 1808 by being made a Count of the Empire, Colonel Ornano would spend the next few years in Spain and Portugal. Serving in the 5th Division of Dragoons in 1809, he served at the crossing of the Navia and at Alba de Tormès. The next year he fought at at Ciudad-Rodrigo and then served under Trelliard, and in 1811 he fought at Fuentes de Onoro and was promoted to general de brigade on the battlefield.
In 1812 Ornano returned to France to take comand of the 16th Brigade of light cavalry for the Russian campaign. In Russia he served at Mohilew, and then at Borodino charged the enemy at the head of the cavalry of IV Corps. In recognition of his performance, he was promoted to general de division the day afterwards, and then a week later received command of a division of cavalry of Prince Eugene's IV Corps. During the retreat he fought at Maloyaroslavetz and then at Krasnoe, where he was wounded and left for dead on the battlefield.
After somehow making it out of Russia, Ornano became a major colonel of dragoons in the Imperial Guard in early 1813, serving in Saxony. After the death of Marshal Bessières, General Ornano took command of all the cavalry of the guard for a time. He would go on to fight at Dresden, Kulm, Leipzig, and Hanau before returning to France. Back in France, he took command of all the Imperial Guard troops defending Paris.
After Napoleon's abdication, Ornano escorted his cousin with 1500 soldiers of the Imperial Guard to Saint-Tropez, where Napoleon departed for Elba. On Napoleon's triumphant return, he was placed with the Dragoons of the Guard, but soon got in a fight with General Bonet. During the duel with Bonet, he was wounded and therefore unable to take an active part in the campaign. After the second abdication, he was arrested in July by agents of the Bourbons and then exiled. Choosing to take refuge in Liège, there Ornano met Marie Walewska, the Emperor's former lover, and married her in 1816, becoming a stepfather to Napoleon's illegitimate son by Marie Walewska. Unfortunately, his new wife died the next year. In 1818, he was allowed to return to France where he again led a distinguished career.
Sources: Elting (Swords Around a Throne), Haythornthwaite (Who Was Who), Six (Dictionnaire Biographique)