Men of the Time, eleventh edition/Bourbaki, Charles Denis Sauter
BOURBAKI, Charles Denis Sauter, a French general, of Greek extraction, born at Paris, April 22, 1816, was a sub-lieutenant in the Zouaves, from 1836 to 1838, when he was appointed a Lieutenant in the 1st regiment of the Foreign Legion. He was appointed Captain in the Zouaves in June, 1842; Major of the Native Skirmishers in Aug. 1846; Lieutenant-Colonel in Jan. 1850, first of the 7th regiment of the line and afterwards of the Zouaves; Colonel in Dec. 1851; Brigadier-General, Oct. 14, 1854; and General of Division, Aug. 12, 1857. During the Crimean war in 1855 he greatly distinguished himself at the battles of the Alma and Inkermann and in the assault on Sebastopol. He also took part in the Italian expedition of 1859. In May, 1869, he was appointed to the command of the second camp at Châlons, and in the following July nominated aide-de-camp to the Emperor. General Bourbaki played a conspicuous part in the Franco-German war. In Dec. 1870, he was appointed by the Delegate Government at Tours to the chief command of the first Army of the North, with General Borel as his Chief of Staff. After a series of engagements with the German forces, General Bourbaki was compelled to retreat in the direction of Switzerland, and at the close of the month of Jan. 1871, he was driven over the Swiss frontier with the remains of the army, consisting of about 80,000 men. The General attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself with a pistol, but the wound did not prove fatal. Subsequently he returned to France, and, in July, 1871, he was appointed to a military command at Lyons, where he suppressed several attempts at insurrection. Placed in command of the 14th Army Corps he held that post till Feb. 11, 1879, when he was replaced by General Farre.