Louis Pelletier

Commander of the Legion of Honor

Louis Pelletier was born in the hamlet of La Haye, in Saint-Lubin-de-la-Haye (later Eure-et-Loir), on May 20, 1754.

Enlisted in 1771, he became sergeant in 1779, lieutenant in 1792 and captain in 1793.

During the wars of the Revolution, he first served in the Army of Italy. There, in June 1793, he was wounded by a gunshot that took his right cheekbone.

Present at the siege of Toulon Toulon, he then moved to the Pyrénées-Orientales army, where he was promoted to brigadier general in December 1794. After a few months of inactivity, he was recalled to service in the Army of the Alps and Italy in July 1795. Pelletier distinguished himself as commander of the Terme camp. On August 3, 1796, he led a brigade at the battle of Castiglione, and then took part in the siege of Mantua.

During the Consulate, he was assigned to the 8th military division in the south of France.

Napoleon I made him one of the first knights, then Commander of the Legion of Honor, and subsequently entrusted him with the command of the Gard and Hérault departments.

Louis Pelletier retired on October 1, 1814. He died in Montpellier on August 27, 1843.

He is buried in Montpellier, in a burial plot  in the Saint-Lazare cemetery.

A commemorative monument surmounted by his bronze bust  honors the memory of the general in his native village.