Edmé-Martin Vandermaesen [SEP] conflict
Edmé-Martin Vandermaesen
Edmé-Martin Vandermaesen (Versailles, 11 November 1767 - 1 September 1813; also spelled Vander Maesen) was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was killed in action while leading his troops to safety after the Battle of San Marcial in the Peninsular War.
French Revolution.
Vandermaesen joined the Army in 1782 in the Touraine Regiment as a foot soldier, rising to lieutenant in 1792. He was employed as an instructor for the Jura battalion, then put
as a very heavy rainstorm began. By the time the retreating divisions reached the Bidassoa, the river was rising dangerously. The first brigades of both Taupin and Darmagnac got across but the second brigades became stranded on the far bank with Edmé-Martin Vandermaesen's division. Vandermaesen marched upstream to the bridge at Bera (Vera) and at 2:00 am on 1 September began making desperate attacks against the 100 British riflemen defending the span. The French finally dislodged the defenders and escaped, though Vandermaesen and many others were killed.