Soult

Soult, NICOLAS JEAN DE DIEU, MARSHAL, DUKE OF DALMATIA, the son of a country notary, was born at St. Amans-la-Bastide in 1769, enlisted at the age of 16, and, having won his captain's epaulettes in 1793, in the following year leaped to the rank of brigadier-general for his brilliant services under Lefebvre in Flanders. Five years were now spent in Germany, where the battle of Altenkirchen added to his fame, and he next joined Massena in Switzerland, took a distinguished part in the battle of Zurich, and pursued Suvorof into Italy. He was wounded and taken prisoner outside Genoa in 1800, but got an exchange after Marengo. As marshal he commanded the centre at Austerlitz, and then won the battles of Jena, Eylau, and the city of Konigsberg. In 1808 he began his protracted struggle against Wellington in the Peninsula, and in 1814 gave his services to the new dynasty, coming to England with the Allied Sovereigns. However, he went back to his old master for the Waterloo campaign, and then remained for four years in exile. Under Louis Philippe he became Minister of War, ambassador in London, and was loaded with honours. He declared himself a Republican in 1848, and died in 1851.