Fort Travis Seashore Park is also the historic Fort Travis , a 60 acres (24 ha) military site with bunkers. The park is located in an area known as Bolivar Point , on the extreme west side of the Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston County , Texas .
86-565: Mexican manuscript maps from 1816, show the location of campomentos by Jean Joseph Amable Humbert and Henry Perry. Francisco Xavier Mina built earthworks at Point Bolivar in 1816. In 1818, Dr. James Long led 300 men in an attempt to liberate Spanish Texas. He established fortifications here in August 1819, known as Fort Las Casas , before proceeding inland. During the winter of 1820-1821, Long's wife, Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long , remained behind with one child and one servant. Giving birth to
172-642: A private and fought in the Battle of New Orleans while wearing his old French uniform during the War of 1812 . He formed a Foreign Legion in 1815, but the war ended before they could see combat. General Andrew Jackson thanked him for his assistance there after the American victory in January 1815, and thereafter Humbert lived peacefully as a schoolteacher until his death. In 1989, sculptor Carmel Gallagher unveiled
258-770: A "school for marshals", to emphasize the importance of experience under these conditions in training the future leadership of Napoleon 's army. The rulers of Europe viewed the 1789 revolution in France as an internal matter between the French king and his subjects. In 1790, Leopold succeeded his brother Joseph as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire ; by 1791, the danger to his sister, Marie Antoinette and her children, alarmed him. In August 1791, in consultation with French émigré nobles and Frederick William II of Prussia, Leopold's Declaration of Pillnitz articulated that
344-710: A bust of General Humbert in Killala , Ireland, to mark the upcoming bicentennial of the 1798 Rebellion . Army of the Rhine and Moselle The Army of the Rhine and Moselle ( French : Armée de Rhin-et-Moselle ) was one of the field units of the French Revolutionary Army . It was formed on 20 April 1795 by the merger of elements of the Army of the Rhine and the Army of the Moselle . The Army of
430-559: A daughter, Jane became known as "The Mother of Texas". Samuel D. Parr started a settlement in 1838 that would become Port Bolivar. The original Fort Travis was located on the east end of Galveston. The present location was the Confederate Fort Green In 1872 Bolivar Point Lighthouse was constructed north of Fort Travis. Construction of Fort Travis began on 8 April 1898, and was completed in October 1899. The fort
516-543: A day, Moreau had four divisions across the river. Unceremoniously thrust out of Kehl, the Swabian contingent reformed at Rastatt by 5 July, which they held until reinforcements arrived. Furthermore, at Hüningen, near Basel , Ferino executed a full crossing, and advanced east along the German shore of the Rhine with the 16th and 50th Demi-brigades, the 68th, 50th and 68th line infantry, and six squadrons of cavalry that included
602-417: A defeat, they were capable of mutiny, as Théobald Dillon learned when his troops lynched him in 1792. Military cohesion became more acute following the 1793 introduction of mass conscription, the levée en masse . The basic unit of the army, the demi-brigade , mixed the men of the old army with the recruits from the levée en masse. Ideally, it was designed to include the regular infantry inherited from
688-637: A general armistice with the Swabian Circle. The third column, which included the Condé's Corps, retreated through Waldsee to Stockach , and eventually Ravensburg . The fourth Austrian column, the smallest (three battalions and four squadrons), under General Wolff, marched the length of the Bodensee's northern shore, via Überlingen , Meersburg , Buchhorn , and the Austrian city of Bregenz . Given
774-762: A line from Switzerland to the North Sea and Wurmser's troops stretched from the Swiss-Italian border to the Adriatic ; furthermore, a portion of the troops in Fürstenberg's corps were pulled in July to support Wurmser's activities in Italy. Habsburg troops comprised the bulk of the army, but the thin white line of Habsburg infantry could not cover the territory from Basel to Frankfurt with sufficient depth to resist
860-643: A line that stretched on the west bank of the Rhine from Basel to the Main River. At Basel, where the river makes a wide, northerly turn at the Rhine knee , it enters what the locals call the Rhine Ditch ( Rheingraben ). This forms part of a rift valley some 31 km (19 mi) wide bordered by the mountainous Black Forest on the east (German side) and the Vosges mountains on the west (French side). At
946-582: A relationship with French pirate Jean Lafitte . In 1813, Humbert joined the revolutionary Juan Bautista Mariano Picornell y Gomila in an unsuccessful attempt to foment rebellion in New Spain . In 1814, Humbert left New Orleans again to join the Patriot cause in the Argentine War of Independence , briefly commanding a corps before returning home. A year later, Humbert enlisted in the U.S. Army as
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#17327753457451032-464: A state of disruption; experienced soldiers of the Ancien Régime fought side by side with volunteers. Recruits, urged on by revolutionary fervor from the special representatives —agents of the legislature sent to ensure cooperation among the military—lacked the discipline and training to function efficiently; frequently insubordinate, they often refused orders and undermined unit cohesion. After
1118-514: The 15éme Cavalerie (Royal Allemande) regiments defected en masse to the Austrians. The artillery arm, considered by the old nobility to be an inferior assignment, was less affected by emigration and survived intact. By 1794-95, military planners in Paris considered the upper Rhine Valley , the south-western German territories and Danube river basin of strategic importance for the defense of
1204-855: The Armies of the Center , later called the Army of the Moselle , the entire Army of the North and the Army of the Ardennes were combined to form the Army of the Sabre and Meuse , which was stationed on the west bank of the Rhine north of the junction of the Main and the Rhine rivers. The remaining units of the former Army of the Center and the Army of the Rhine were united, initially on 29 November 1794, and formally on 20 April 1795, under command of Jean-Charles Pichegru . These troops were stationed further south, in
1290-579: The Army of Sambre and Meuse , before being appointed to command French troops in an attempt to support the Irish Rebellion of 1798 . The troops under his command consisted chiefly of infantry of the 70th demi-brigade with a few artillerymen and elements of the 3rd Hussar Regiment ,. By the time he arrived off the Irish coast the rebellion had already been suppressed by the British. The expedition
1376-618: The Army of the Rhine . Humbert also participated in the United Irishman Rebellion and the War of 1812 . In 1794, after serving in the Army of the Coasts of Brest , Humbert served under Lazare Hoche in the Army of the Rhine and Moselle . Charged to prepare for an expedition to Ireland , he took command of the Légion Noire under Hoche, sailing in the ill-fated Expédition d'Irlande to Bantry Bay in 1796, and
1462-535: The Assignat ; after April, pay was made in metallic value, but pay was still in arrears. Throughout the spring and early summer, the soldiers were in almost constant mutiny: in May 1796, in the border town of Zweibrücken , a demi-brigade revolted. In June, pay for two demi-brigades were in arrears and two companies rebelled. In late 1794, military planners in Paris reorganized the army into task forces. The right flank of
1548-558: The Battle of Amberg on 24 August, Charles inflicted another defeat on the French, but that same day, his commanders lost a battle to the French at Friedberg , when the French army, which was advancing eastward on the south side of the Danube , isolated an Austrian infantry unit, Schröder Infantry Regiment Nr. 7, and the French Army of Condé. In the ensuing clash, the Austrians and Royalists were cut to pieces. The tide now turned in
1634-498: The French Revolutionary Wars . The Army of the Rhine and Moselle (and its subsequent incarnations) included five future Marshals of France: Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, its commander-in-chief, Jean-Baptiste Drouet , Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr , and Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier . François Joseph Lefebvre, by 1804 an old man, was named an honorary marshal, but not awarded a field position. Michel Ney, in
1720-670: The Main River , completely isolating Mainz . Pichegru's Army of the Rhine and Moselle surprised the Bavarian garrison of Mannheim ; by mid-month, both French armies held significant footholds on the east bank of the Rhine. The French fumbled away the promising start to their offensive. Pichegru bungled at least one opportunity to seize Clerfayt's supply base in the Battle of Handschuhsheim , with resultant significant losses. With Pichegru unexpectedly inactive, Clerfayt massed against Jourdan, beat him at Höchst in October, and forced most of
1806-455: The Meuse on 18 October. After taking Nijmegen , he drove the Austrians across the Rhine. Then, instead of going into winter quarters, he prepared his army for a winter campaign, always a difficult proposition in the eighteenth century. Several brilliant actions in the winter established Pichegru's position. Pichegru's actions sometimes seemed inexplicable: although an associate, even a friend, of
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#17327753457451892-531: The Second Battle of Zurich . He then embarked on an expedition to Saint-Domingue , which was in the midst of a slave rebellion , to restore French control over the colony and reestablish slavery. Humbert was accused of looting in Saint-Domingue by Jean Baptiste Brunet , and was also rumored to be having an affair with Pauline Bonaparte , the wife of his commanding officer Charles Leclerc . He
1978-600: The siege of Mannheim . In January 1796, Clerfayt concluded an armistice with the French, sending the Army of the Rhine and Moselle back to France, and retaining a large portions of the west bank. The opening of the Rhine Campaign of 1796 began with Jean-Baptiste Kléber 's attack south of his bridgehead at Düsseldorf. After Kléber won sufficient maneuver room on the east bank of the Rhine River, Jean Baptiste Jourdan
2064-512: The 1795–1799 campaigns an intrepid cavalry commander, came into his own command under the tutelage of Moreau and Massena in the south German and Swiss campaigns. Jean de Dieu Soult had served under Moreau and Massena, becoming the latter's right-hand man during the Swiss campaign of 1799–1800. Jean Baptiste Bessieres, like Ney, had been a competent and sometimes inspired regimental commander in 1796. MacDonald , Oudinot and Saint-Cyr, participants in
2150-590: The 3rd and 7th Hussars and the 10th Dragoons. The Habsburg and Imperial armies were in danger of encirclement. With Ferino's quick movements to encircle him, Charles executed an orderly withdrawal in four columns through the Black Forest, across the Upper Danube valley, and toward Bavaria. By mid-July, the French forces maintained persistent pressure on Charles' force. Two imperial columns encamped near Stuttgart were surrounded and surrendered, leading to
2236-530: The Army of the Sambre and Meuse to retreat to the west bank of the Rhine. These maneuvers left the Army of the Rhine and Moselle isolated. When Wurmser sealed off the French bridgehead at Mannheim, the Army of the Rhine and Moselle was trapped on the east bank. The Austrians defeated the left wing of the Army of Rhine and Moselle at the Battle of Mainz and moved down the west bank. In November, Clerfayt defeated Pichegru at Pfeddersheim and successfully wrapped up
2322-426: The Austrians prepared to storm the bridgehead, General of Division Dufour pre-empted what would have been a costly attack for both sides, offering to surrender the position. On 5 February, Fürstenberg finally took possession of the bridgehead. Following the losses in 1796 and early 1797, the French regrouped their forces on the west side of the Rhine. An abbreviated campaign in late spring of 1797 led to Austrians and
2408-436: The Black Forest, with Ferino supervising the rear guard, he claimed one more victory: an Austrian corps commanded by Latour drew too close to Moreau at Biberach and lost 4,000 prisoners, some standards and artillery; Latour followed at a more sensible distance. Both sides were hampered by heavy rains; the ground was soft and slippery, and the Rhine and Elz rivers had flooded. This increased the hazards of mounted attack, because
2494-476: The British authorities, Humbert requested that his Irish officers receive considerate treatment, and was dismayed when several of his Irish officers were ordered to be executed by Gerard Lake on the basis that they had previously been British subjects. Humbert was shortly repatriated in a prisoner exchange and appointed in succession to the armies of Mainz , the Danube and Helvetia , with which he served at
2580-572: The Coalition's favor. Both French Armies had overstretched their lines, moving far into the German states, and were separated too far from each other for one to offer the other aid or security. The Coalition's concentration of troops forced a wider wedge between the two armies of Jourdan and Moreau, what the French had tried to do to Charles and Wartensleben. Despite Charles' instructions to withdraw northward toward Ingolstadt , Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour retreated eastward to protect
2666-739: The European states sharing its land or water borders, plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire. Elements of the armies that were later formed into the Army of the Rhine and Moselle participated in the conquest of the Netherlands and the siege of Luxembourg . The various elements of the army won a victory at the Battle of Fleurus on 16 June 1794. Shortly after Fleurus, the position of the First Coalition in Flanders collapsed and
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2752-544: The French and Austrians agreed to the Treaty of Campo Formio and, on 29 September 1797, the Army of the Rhine and Moselle merged with the Army of the Sambre and Meuse to form the Army of Germany . The Army of the Rhine and Moselle campaigns provided experience for a cadre of young officers. In his five-volume analysis of the Revolutionary Armies, Ramsey Weston Phipps called the Army of the Rhine and Moselle
2838-405: The French and the Coalition sought to control the Rhine river crossings at Kehl and Hüningen. At Kehl , 20,000 French defenders under Louis Desaix and the overall commander of the French force, Jean Victor Marie Moreau, almost upset the siege when they executed a sortie that nearly captured the Austrian artillery park; the French managed to capture 1,000 Austrian troops in the melee. On 9 January
2924-601: The French armies overran the Austrian Netherlands and the Dutch Republic in the winter of 1794–1795. French and Coalition military strategy subsequently focused on the Rhine river as the principle line of defense: for each side, control of the opposite bank or, at least, the river's principal crossings, was the basis of defensive strategy. By 1792 the armies of the French Republic were in
3010-429: The French general Desaix proposed the evacuation to General Latour and they agreed that the Austrians would enter Kehl the next day, on 10 January at 16:00. The French immediately repaired the bridge, rendered passable by 14:00, which gave them 24 hours to evacuate everything of value and to raze everything else. By the time Latour took possession of the fortress, nothing remained of any use: all palisades, ammunition, even
3096-493: The French occupied several principal towns in southwestern Germany, including Stockach, Meersburg, Constance , Überlingen am Bodensee, Ulm , and Augsburg . As Charles withdrew further east, the neutral zone expanded, eventually encompassing most of southern German states and the Ernestine duchies . By mid-summer, the strategic goals of the Army of the Rhine and Moselle appeared to have succeeded; Jourdan or Moreau seemed on
3182-462: The French right wing in the Stieg valley. Nauendorf's men were able to ambush St.-Cyr's advance; Latour's columns attacked Beaupuy at Matterdingen, killing the general and throwing his column into confusion. Wartensleben, in the center, was held up by French riflemen until his third (reserve) detachment arrived to outflank them; the French retreated across the rivers, destroying all the bridges. After
3268-464: The French to agree to the Treaty of Campo Formio , ending the War of the First Coalition . The subsequent armistice at Leoben led to long term negotiations for peace between Revolutionary France and Austria. On 29 September 1797, the Army of the Rhine and Moselle merged with the Army of the Sambre and Meuse to form the Army of Germany . Excruciating command challenges plagued the Army of
3354-473: The German states was essential, not only in terms of war aims, but also in practical terms: the French Directory believed that war should pay for itself and did not budget for the payment or feeding of its troops. Although this solved some of the problems of feeding and paying the army, it did not solve them all. Until April 1796, soldiers were paid in an increasingly worthless paper currency called
3440-634: The German states. Frustration created rivalries between and among subcommanders. Ferino continued his seemingly random maneuvers along the border with Switzerland, and through the Swabian Circle, as if he too were operating autonomously. These problems were not limited to Moreau's army; in the Army of the Sambre and Meuse, Jourdan had a spat with his wing commander Kléber and that officer suddenly resigned. Two generals from Kléber's clique, Bernadotte and Colaud, also made excuses to leave immediately. Faced with this mutiny, Jourdan replaced Bernadotte with General Henri Simon and divided Colaud's rebellious units among
3526-540: The Mexican-American War. This battery contained three pedestal guns with searchlights. Battery Kimble was built between August 1917 and April 1922, and named after Major Edwin R. Kimble, killed during WWI . This battery contained twelve inch guns with a range of 17 miles. Battery 236 was built at the start of WWII . This battery contained two six-inch guns within a casement that included a power plant, magazines , fire control , and crew quarters. During
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3612-472: The Republic. The Rhine offered a formidable barrier to what the French perceived as Austrian aggression and the state that controlled its crossings controlled the river and access into the territories on either side. Ready access across the Rhine and along the Rhine bank between the German states and Switzerland or through the Black Forest, gave access to the upper Danube river valley. For the French, control of
3698-514: The Rhine and Moselle could merge. Once Jourdan withdrew to the west bank of the Rhine, Charles could focus his attention on Moreau. By October they were fighting on the western slope of the Black Forest , and by December Charles had the French forces under siege at the principal river crossings of Kehl and Hüningen . By early 1797 the French had relinquished control of the bridgeheads over the Rhine. After an abbreviated German campaign in 1797,
3784-477: The Rhine and Moselle in its early operations. The campaign of 1795 had been entirely a French failure and the difficulties the Army of the Rhine and Moselle faced, especially in 1795, had much to do with Pichegru's own situation: his competition with both Moreau and Jourdan and his disaffection with the direction in which the revolution was headed. Originally a dedicated Jacobin , by 1794, his own intrigues had placed him in command after he had undermined Lazare Hoche
3870-445: The Rhine and Moselle participated in two principal campaigns in the War of the First Coalition . Military planners in Paris formed armies based on specific strategic tasks, and the task of this Army was to secure the French frontier at the Rhine and to penetrate the German states, potentially threatening Vienna . The unsuccessful 1795 campaign concluded with the removal of General Jean-Charles Pichegru from command. In 1796 , under
3956-409: The Rhine, and the French center was unassailable. Instead, he attacked the French flanks directly, and in force, which increased casualties for both sides. The Duc d'Enghien led a spirited (but unauthorized) attack on the French left, cutting their access to a withdrawal through Kehl. Nauendorf's column marched all night and half of the day, and attacked the French right, pushing them further back. In
4042-491: The Sambre and Meuse , commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan , confronted Count Clerfayt 's Army of the Lower Rhine in the north, while the French Army of Rhine and Moselle under Pichegru lay opposite Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser 's army in the south. From April until August, both sides engaged in a waiting game until, in August, Jourdan crossed and quickly seized Düsseldorf . The Army of the Sambre and Meuse advanced south to
4128-424: The Upper Danube or any point in between, was of immense strategic value and would give the French a reliable approach to Vienna . The planners also understood the importance of moving the French army out of France and into the territories of other polities. Theirs was an army entirely dependent for support upon the countryside it occupied. Parisian revolutionaries and military commanders alike believed an assault into
4214-518: The aged Nicolas Luckner , Jean Nicolas Houchard , Adam Philippe Custine , Arthur Dillon and Antoine Nicolas Collier , were killed. Francisco de Miranda 's failure to take Maastricht landed him in La Force Prison for several years. Many of the old officer class had emigrated, forming émigré armies; the cavalry in particular suffered from their departure and the Hussards du Saxe and
4300-490: The army. French commanders walked a fine line between the security of the frontier and the Parisian clamor for victory. Commanders were constantly under suspicion from the representatives of the new regime and sometimes from their own soldiers. Failure to achieve unrealistic expectations implied disloyalty and the price of disloyalty was an appointment with Madame guillotine : several of the highest ranking generals, including
4386-495: The borders of Austria. Moreau did not seize the opportunity to place his army between the two Austrian forces (Wartensleben's and Charles'). As the French withdrew toward the Rhine, Charles and Wartensleben pressed forward. On 3 September at Würzburg, Jourdan attempted unsuccessfully to halt the retreat; at the Battle of Limburg , Charles pushed him back to the Rhine. Once Moreau received word of Jourdan's defeat, he initiated his withdrawal from southern Germany. Retreating through
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#17327753457454472-576: The bridge. The Swabians were hopelessly outnumbered and could not be reinforced. Most of the Imperial Army of the Rhine was stationed further north, by Mannheim, where the river was easier to cross. Neither Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé 's Army of Condé in Freiburg nor Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg 's force in Rastatt could reach Kehl in time to relieve the Swabian troops. Consequently, within
4558-405: The brink of flanking Charles and Wartensleben, forcing a wedge between the two; inexplicably, Wartensleben continued to withdraw to the east-north-east, despite Charles' orders to unite with him. At the Battle of Neresheim on 11 August, Moreau crushed Charles' force and at last, however, Wartensleben recognized the danger; he changed direction, moving his corps to join at Charles' northern flank. At
4644-467: The carriages of the bombs and howitzers, had been evacuated. The French insured that nothing remained behind that could be used by the Austrian/Imperial army; even the fortress itself was but earth and ruins. The siege concluded 115 days after its investment, following 50 days of open trenches, the point at which active fighting began. At Hüningen Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg's force initiated
4730-463: The command of General Jean Victor Marie Moreau , the Army was more successful. After crushing the Reichsarmee ' s elements at Kehl, the Army advanced into southwestern Germany. Its success depended on the cooperation with France's Army of the Sambre and Meuse , commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan . In 1796, the jealousies between Jourdan and Moreau, and among the subcommanders, complicated
4816-471: The conduct of operations in Germany by undermining the senior command confidence. In the field in 1796, competition between generals, not ideology, caused command problems. Jealousies between Jourdan and Moreau further complicated the success of the Army of the Rhine and Moselle by refusing to unite their fronts. Moreau moved rapidly into Bavarian and toward Vienna, as if he commanded the only French army in
4902-541: The efficient operations of both armies. After a summer of maneuver in which the Coalition force enticed the French deeper and deeper into German territory, the Habsburg commander Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen drubbed the French at Wurzburg and at second Wetzlar , and then defeated Jourdan's army at the Limburg-Altenkirchen . These battles destroyed any chance that Jourdan's force and Moreau's Army of
4988-465: The engagement at Altenkirchen: François Joseph Lefebvre as a division commander, Jean-de-Dieu Soult , as a brigadier and Michel Ney , as leader of a flanking column. Altenkirchen is located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate about 50 km (31 mi) east of Bonn . Wetzlar was located in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel , 66 kilometers (41 mi) north of Frankfurt . Altenkirchen
5074-468: The far edges of the eastern flood plain, tributaries cut deep defiles into the western slope of the mountains. Further to the north, the river became deeper and faster, until it widened into a delta where it emptied into the North Sea . The Rhine Campaign of 1795 (April 1795 to January 1796) opened both French armies attempted to cross the Rhine and capture the Fortress of Mainz . The French Army of
5160-462: The horses could not get a good footing. Archduke's force pursued the French, although carefully. The French attempted to slow their pursuers by destroying bridges, but the Austrians repaired them and crossed the swollen rivers despite the high waters. Upon reaching a few miles east of Emmendingen , the Archduke split his force into four columns. Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf 's column, in
5246-426: The installation was declared surplus and sold. In 1973 the Galveston County Commissioners Court purchased the site for use as a public park Battery Davis was built in 1898, and named after Lieutenant Thomas Davis, killed in 1847 during the Mexican-American War . This battery contained two eight-inch disappearing guns . Battery Ernst was built in 1898, and named after Lieutenant Rudolph Ernst, killed in 1847 during
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#17327753457455332-448: The interests of the monarchs of Europe were as one with the interests of Louis and his family. He and his fellow monarchs threatened unspecified consequences if anything should happen to the royal family. French émigrés continued to agitate for support of a counter-revolution, and on 20 April 1792 the French National Convention declared war on Austria. In this War of the First Coalition (1792–1798), France ranged itself against most of
5418-462: The intervening weeks. Fürstenberg ordered them opened again, and the water drained out on 25 January. The Coalition force secured the earthworks surrounding the trenches. On 31 January the French failed to push the Austrians out. Archduke Charles arrived that day and met with Fürstenberg at nearby Lörrach . The night of 31 January to 1 February was relatively tranquil, marred only by ordinary artillery fire and shelling. At mid-day 1 February 1797, as
5504-425: The night, while Charles planned his next day's attack, Moreau began the withdrawal of his troops toward Hüningen. Although the French and the Austrians both claimed victory at the time, military historians generally agree that the Austrians achieved a strategic advantage. However, the French withdrew from the battlefield in good order and several days later crossed the Rhine River at Hüningen. After Schliengen, both
5590-405: The number of troops extended over a 211-mile front, stretching from Basel to Bingen . Furthermore, Charles had concentrated the bulk of his force, commanded by Count Baillet Latour , between Karlsruhe and Darmstadt, where the confluence of the Rhine and the Main river made an attack most likely, as it offered a gateway into eastern German states and ultimately to Vienna, with sturdy bridges crossing
5676-420: The old Royal regiments, who were relatively well-trained and equipped, dressed in white uniforms and wearing tarleton helmets , with the national guard units, who were less well-trained or equipped, with blue uniforms, and the fédéré volunteer battalions, who were poorly trained and equipped, with no uniform other than a red phrygian cap and a cockade of France . Disruption reached the upper echelons of
5762-469: The other divisions. The campaigns in which the Army of the Rhine and Moselle participated also provided exceptional experience for a cadre of extraordinary young officers. In his five-volume analysis of the Revolutionary Armies, Ramsey Weston Phipps emphasized the importance of experience under these trying conditions of manpower shortage, poor training, equipment and supply shortage, and tactical and strategic confusion and interference. Phipps's objective
5848-444: The pressure of the opposition. In spring 1796, drafts from the free imperial cities , and other imperial estates , augmented the Habsburg force with perhaps 20,000 men at the most. It was largely guesswork where they would be placed, and Archduke Charles , commander of the Reichsarmee and the Habsburg forces, did not like to use the militias, which were poorly trained and unseasoned. Compared to French coverage, Charles had only half
5934-405: The previous year, insuring his own appointment as commander of this army. As the revolution waxed and waned in its ardency, however, so did Pichegru to its principles: by late 1794, he was leaning heavily toward the royalist cause. The Directory replaced him with Desaix, and later Moreau. Undeniably a capable, possibly brilliant, and popular commander, Pichegru began his second campaign by crossing
6020-469: The recently executed Saint-Just , Pichegru offered his services to the Thermidorian Reaction ; after having received the title of Sauveur de la Patrie ("Saviour of the Fatherland") from the National Convention , he subdued the sans-culottes of Paris during the bread riots of 1 April 1795. As a hero of the Revolution captured Mannheim but inexplicably he allowed his colleague Jourdan to be defeated; throughout 1796, his machinations in Paris complicated
6106-419: The relatively well-defined river bank. To the north, Wilhelm von Wartensleben ’s autonomous corps stretched in a thin line between Mainz and Giessen. On 22 June, the Army of the Rhine and Moselle executed simultaneous crossings at Kehl and Hüningen . At Kehl, Moreau's advance guard, 10,000 men, preceded the main force of 27,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry directed at a mere several hundred Swabian pickets on
6192-423: The scheme to perfection. The opposition armies of the First Coalition included imperial ( Reichsarmee ) contingents and the infantry and cavalry of the various states, amounting to about 125,000 (including the three autonomous corps), a sizeable force by eighteenth century standards but a moderate force by the standards of the later Revolutionary wars. In total, though, Imperial and Habsburg troops stretched in
6278-411: The shambles at Emmendingen, the French withdrew to the south and west, and formed for battle by Schliengen. There, Moreau established his army along a ridge of hills, in a 11-kilometer (7 mi) semi-circle on heights that commanded the terrain below. Given the severe condition of the roads at the end of October, Archduke Charles could not flank the right French wing. The French left wing lay too close to
6364-637: The siege within days of the Austrian victory at the Battle of Schliengen. Most of the siege ran concurrently with the siege at Kehl, which concluded on 9 January 1797. Troops engaged at Kehl marched to Hüningen in preparation for a major assault, but the French defenders capitulated on 1 February 1797. The French commander, Jean Charles Abbatucci , was killed in the early days of the fighting, and replaced by Georges Joseph Dufour . The trenches, opened originally in November, had refilled with winter rain and snow in
6450-530: The size of the attacking force, Charles had to withdraw far enough into Bavaria to align his northern flank with Wartensleben's autonomous corps. As he withdrew, his own line compressed, making his army stronger; his opposition's flanks extended, making their line weaker. In the course of this withdrawal, most of the Swabian Circle was abandoned to the Army of the Rhine and Moselle, which enforced an armistice and extracted sizeable reparations; in addition,
6536-574: The upper Elz, had eight battalions and 14 squadrons, advancing southwest to Waldkirch; Wartensleben had 12 battalions and 23 squadrons advancing south to capture the Elz bridge at Emmendingen. Latour, with 6,000 men, was to cross the foothills via Heimbach and Malterdingen, and capture the bridge of Köndringen, between Riegel and Emmendingen, and Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg's column held Kinzingen, about 3.2 kilometers (2 mi) north of Riegel. Frölich and Condé (part of Nauendorf's column) were to pin down Ferino and
6622-603: The value of this "school for marshals." In 1895, Richard Phillipson Dunn-Pattison also singled out the French Revolutionary army as "the finest school the world has yet seen for an apprenticeship in the trade of arms. The resurrection of the Ancien Régime civil dignity of the marchalate allowed Emperor Napoleon I to strengthen his newly-created power . He could reward the most valuable of his generals or soldiers who had held significant commands during
6708-794: The war, 2500 troops were stationed at the fort. The park and playground is located within the boundaries of the historic Fort Travis and is under the jurisdiction of the Galveston County Department of Parks & Cultural Services. There are several amenities such as cabanas (6), camping areas, three covered picnic areas, and three wetland overlooks. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Galveston County on 30 March 2006. Jean Joseph Amable Humbert General Jean Joseph Amable Humbert (22 August 1767 – 3 January 1823)
6794-523: Was a French military officer who participated in several notable military conflicts of the late 18th and early 19th century. Born in the townland of La Coâre Saint-Nabord , outside Remiremont Vosges , he was a sergeant in the National Guard of Lyon . He rapidly advanced through the ranks to become brigadier general on 9 April 1794 and fought in the Western campaigns before being allocated to
6880-735: Was able to land in Ireland at Killala on Thursday 23 August 1798, meeting with initial success in the Battle of Castlebar where they routed the Irish Militia . Humbert subsequently declared the establishment of an Irish Republic , before marching on Dublin . However, Humbert's small force was defeated at the Battle of Ballinamuck by the British Army and he was captured as a prisoner of war . Humbert and his fellow French soldiers were taken by canal to Dublin, where they were exchanged for British prisoners of war. In his first request to
6966-524: Was engaged in actions at sea against the Royal Navy . Contrary weather and engagements with the British forced this expedition to withdraw. The trip home resulted in the action of 13 January 1797 during which Humbert, onboard the Droits de l'Homme , narrowly escaped death. As the ship was sunk, hundreds of men perished, but Humbert was among the last to escape. On his return to France, Humbert served in
7052-434: Was named in honor of William B. Travis . The federal government purchased 97 acres (39 ha) in 1898 and completed Batteries Ernst and Davis. After the 1900 Galveston hurricane a 17 feet (5.2 m) seawall was built for storm protection. Battery Kimball was built in 1925 and Battery No. 236 was completed in 1943. Armament consisted of two twelve-inch guns on Barbette carriages and three-inch rapid-fire guns. In 1949
7138-422: Was only a distraction to entice the Austrian commander to move troops from the south to strengthen his force in the middle Rhine; Moreau lent credence to this distraction by seeming to move part of the Army of the Rhine and Moselle north from Strasburg. When Archduke Charles moved troops north to oppose what looked to be a crossing in force, Moreau reversed to Kehl and crossed the river. Kléber carried out his part of
7224-448: Was sent back to France by order of Leclerc in October 1802, for "prevarications, and liaison relationships with organisers of the inhabitants and with leaders of brigands". A committed republican , his displeasure at Napoleon's imperial pretensions led to him being dismissed in 1803 and he retired to Morbihan , Brittany . In 1810, after briefly serving in the Army of the North , Humbert emigrated to New Orleans , where he established
7310-443: Was supposed to join him with the remainder of the Army of the Sambre and Meuse. At the first battles of Altenkirchen (4 June 1796) and Wetzlar , two Republican French divisions commanded by Kléber attacked a wing of the Habsburg army led by Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg . A frontal attack combined with a flanking maneuver forced the Austrians to retreat. Three future Marshals of France played significant roles in
7396-453: Was to show how the training received in the early years of the war varied not only with the theater in which they served but also with the character of the army to which they belonged. The experience of young officers under the tutelage of such experienced men as Pichegru, Moreau, Lazar Hoche, Lefebvre, and Jourdan provided young officers with valuable experience. Phipps' analysis is not singular, although his lengthy volumes address in detail
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