François Henri Mouton
François Henri Mouton | |
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Born | 17 August 1804 Montélimar, France |
Died | 9 November 1876 Algiers, French Algeria | (aged 72)
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François Henri Mouton (17 August 1804 – 9 November 1876) was a
in 1838.Mouton afterwards entered the service of the
Mouton travelled back to India in 1844 seeking employment and, after initially being refused entry, was eventually made military adviser to the Sikh commander
Mouton returned to France in 1846 and published an account of his service in India. He rejoined the French Army and was granted a position with the Chasseurs d'Afrique. Mouton was appointed a chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1848. He served as a staff officer during the Crimean War for which he was rewarded with appointment to the Ottoman Order of the Medjidie and advanced to the rank of officer in the Legion of Honour. Mouton retired, as a colonel, in 1865.
Early life and career
François Henri Mouton was born on 17 August 1804 at Montélimar in the Drome department of France.[1] He volunteered to join the French Army in 1822 and was appointed a second lieutenant in the Garde du Corps, the bodyguard of Charles X, in 1826. Mouton was promoted to lieutenant in the Spahis, African light cavalry, in 1830 and became a captain in 1835. He was placed on half-pay in 1838, no employment being available for him in the army.[2] At this time the French adventurer Jean-Baptiste Ventura was home on leave from his position in the military service of Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Mouton asked that Ventura find him a position with the Sikh Army, the Khalsa, to which Ventura agreed.[2]
With the Sikh Khalsa
When Mouton arrived in the Punjab the Sikh cavalry under the command of another Frenchman, Jean-François Allard, was in the process of reorganisation. This gave a perfect opportunity for Mouton to be found a position and he was appointed to command the Sikh cuirassiers, on a salary of 800 rupees a month. Around this time Mouton married, probably to a Muslim Kashmiri woman. Mouton and his men were posted to the Sikh capital, Lahore, in 1839.[3]
Soon afterwards he was sent to fight, under Ventura, on operations in the Guler and Mandi hills. Due to the steep terrain it is likely that Mouton and his cavalrymen fought dismounted. Whilst on this service in February 1841 disaffected members of the Khalsa murdered another European officer named Foulkes. The rebels infiltrated Mouton's camp and demanded his surrender. Some of Mouton's men sided with the rebels but others, encouraged by the pleas of Mouton's wife, came to his defence and drove the attackers off. Mouton's wife persuaded the cuirassiers to escort the couple to Lahore where the men were rewarded with a bonus; they were afterwards posted to Peshawar because of lingering doubts over their loyalty. The then Maharaja of the Sikhs, Sher Singh, was soon afterwards murdered and all the Europeans in his service resigned or took leave.[3]
Mouton returned to France where he married Louise Brigitte Jolly in 1844.
The
Later life
In 1846, soon after his arrival in Paris, Mouton published a report on his time in India, in which he described himself as the commander of the Sikh Khalsa's regular cavalry.[4] He returned to the French Army, from which he had been considered on leave and which generally appreciated the service of its personnel with the Sikhs.[8] He was appointed a captain in the 1st Regiment of the Chasseurs d'Afrique and made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour on 18 October 1848.[9] Mouton served as a staff officer during the Crimean War (1853–56) and was honoured for this service with the award of the Order of the Medjidie 4th class by the Ottoman Empire on 5 October 1855.[9][8] He was advanced to the position of officer in the Legion of Honour on 15 November 1856, by which time he held the rank of chef d'escadron in his regiment.[9] Mouton reached the rank of colonel before his retirement in 1865.[8] He died at Algiers on 9 November 1876.[1][8] Mouton maintained a collection of Sikh art, which now forms part of the Toor Collection.[10]
References
- ^ a b "Legion of Honour Records p1" (in French). French Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ a b Grey, C. (1929). Garrett, H. L. O. (ed.). European Adventurers Of Northern India 1785–1849. Lahore: Superintendent, Government Printing. p. 336.
- ^ a b c Grey, C. (1929). Garrett, H. L. O. (ed.). European Adventurers Of Northern India 1785–1849. Lahore: Superintendent, Government Printing. p. 337.
- ^ a b "Mouton, Francois Henri". The Sikh Encyclopedia. 19 December 2000. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Grey, C. (1929). Garrett, H. L. O. (ed.). European Adventurers Of Northern India 1785–1849. Lahore: Superintendent, Government Printing. p. 338.
- ISBN 978-1-317-32128-6.
- ISBN 978-1-911271-06-2.
- ^ a b c d e Grey, C. (1929). Garrett, H. L. O. (ed.). European Adventurers Of Northern India 1785–1849. Lahore: Superintendent, Government Printing. p. 339.
- ^ a b c "Legion of Honour Records p3" (in French). French Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "The Toor Collection of Sikh Art". Retrieved 27 January 2021.