General François Xavier Roussel

Chief of staff in the Imperial Guard who was killed at Heilsberg

Born: December 3, 1770

Place of Birth: Charmes, Vosges, France

Died: June 10, 1807

Cause of Death: Killed in action

Place of Death: Heilsberg, Poland

Pronunciation:

After first joining the army in May of 1789 as a dragoon, François Xavier Roussel left his regiment in May of 1792 and then three months later he became a capitaine in the 9th Battalion of Volunteers of Meurthe. Serving with the Army of the Moselle, in March of 1793 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the same battalion. That September Roussel fought at Pirmasens where he was taken prisoner.

Finally released in July of 1795, Roussel next joined the Army of the North with the rank of chef de bataillon. In 1796 he served with the 60th of the Line and the Army of the Sambre and Meuse, and in 1797 General Hoche promoted him to chef de brigade of the 60th of the Line for his good conduct during the affair of Herborn. Roussel went on to serve in the Army of Germany later that year and then in Holland in 1798 and 1799. August of 1799 saw him receiving a promotion to général de brigade and then he was employed with the Army of Observation of the Rhine. That November Roussel took command of a brigade in the Army of the Rhine and he led this brigade into action at Engen and Biberach in May of 1800. In November he was placed with Montrichard's division and then in December he served at the combats of Götzing and Kremsmünster.

During the years of peace that followed, General Roussel was assigned to the 2nd military division as commander of the department of Meuse and in 1804 he was named a Commander of the Legion of Honor. When the Grande Armée marched to war in 1805, Roussel briefly served as Marshal Lannes' chief of staff before he was appointed to the Imperial Guard as chief of staff to Marshal Lefebvre. Roussel took part in the campaigns of 1805 and 1806, and in late 1806 he became chief of staff to Marshal Bessières and fought at Biezun. In January of 1807 he received a promotion to général de division. When the campaign resumed later that year, General Roussel was serving at the Battle of Heilsberg when he was hit by a ball and killed.

Bibliography

Six, Georges. Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux & Amiraux Français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). 2 vols. Paris: Gaston Saffroy, 2003.

Related Pages:

Ambiguous Names on the Arc de Triomphe: Roussel

Updated June 2026