Auvergnedela Tourd

Auvergne, de la Tour d', Theophile, known as "The First Grenadier or France," an illegitimate descendant of the illustrious house whose name he bore, was born in 1743. He entered the Black Musketeers, and rose to the rank of captain, commanding at the beginning of the revolutionary wars the Imperial Column of Grenadiers. In 1795 he had retired, when the son of an old friend was drawn for the conscription, and La Tour d'Auvergne offered himself as a substitute. He served as a private, and no persuasion could induce him to accept promotion. He was killed in 1800, but for many years his name was kept on the roll-call of the regiment. He was the author of several treatises as well as a history of the antiquities of Brittany.