Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/530

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FORESTIER
FORMES

tered on the practice of his profession in Ferrara. In 1816 he was made praetor of Crespino, and soon entered prominently into political affairs. In 1816 he became a member of the Carbonari, and was arrested and imprisoned. After two years in a dungeon, and an unsuccessful attempt to take his own life, he was condemned to die on the public square of Venice, but when, with others, he was taken out for execution, the sentence was changed to “carcere duro” in Spielberg for twenty years. From the scaffold he and his companions' were transferred to the island of St. Michael. On the death of the reigning emperor, Foresti and others were liberated, but condemned to perpetual exile in the United States, whither they were shortly sent. Soon after his arrival in New York, Foresti became professor of Italian in Columbia, and was a popular teacher for more than twenty years. In 1858 he received the appointment of U. S. consul at Genoa. The degree of LL. D. was conferred on him. He wrote “Twenty Years in the Dungeons of Austria,” for the “Watchman and Crusader” in 1856, and also published “Chrestomazia Italiana” (1846) and edited an edition of Ollendorff's Italian grammar (New York, 1846).


FORESTIER, Henri Joseph, French painter, b. in Puerto Ilincado, Santo Domingo, in 1787; d. in Paris, 28 Dec, 1874. II is father, a rich planter of the Spanish part of Santo Domingo, sent him to Paris in 1809 to study art. After studying under David and Vincent, in 1810-'12, he went to the school of the fine arts, where he took the second prize in 1812. and in 1818 the gold medal for his picture " The Death of Jacob." After two years in Rome he returned, in 1816, to his own country, where he remained for two years, and settled after- ward in Paris. Then, owing to the insecurity of the government, he sold everything he possessed, retired to Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe, and devoted himself to his art. Forestier was considered one of David's best pupils. He had all the technique of his master, added to the fire of the ardent creole nature. His best pictures are scenes of colonial life and tropical landscapes. Among his works are "Saint Pierre delivre par I'ange " (1827) ; " Vn negre buvant le premier tafia," which took a medal at'the Paris salon (IS'27); " Ecce Homo" (1831);

  • ' Funerailles de Guilhuime le conquerant " (1841);

" Paysages de Saint-Domingue " (1854) ; " Coueher de soleil sous les tropiques " (1855) ; " Le bon sa- maritain," ordered for the prefecture of the Seine ; and " Une vierge a la creche," in the cathedral of Fort de France, Martinique. His "Jesus Christ guerissant une possede " (1827) was purchased by the French government, and placed in the national museum in the palace of the Luxembourg. This picture gained for the artist the cross of the legion of honor. Forestier was also for some time a colo- nel in the national guard.


FOREY, Elie Frederic, French soldier, b. in Paris, 10 Jan.. 1804 ; d. there, 20 June, 1872. He studied at the Louis le grand lyceum in Paris, and in 1822 entered the military school of Saint Cyr. He left it in 1830 and served as sub-lieuten- ant in the 2d light dragoons, of which he was drill-master. After distinguishing himself in Al- giers he returned to France for his health, in 1844, with the rank of colonel. He became a major- general in 1848, formed with his command part of the garrison of Paris, and was one of the gener- als who, at the coup-d'etat of 2 Dec, 1851, helped place Napoleon III. on the throne. On 22 Dec, 1852, he was made lieutenant-general and grand officer of the legion of honor. In 1854 he com- manded the reserves of the army of the east, and was for a time commander-in-chief of the whole French army before Sebastopol. He fought through the campaign in Italy in 1859, and on 16 Aug. was made senator of the empire, and deco- rated with the grand cross of the legion of honor. When Napoleon resolved to send out his expedi- tion to Mexico, Forey was made general-in-chief of the invading army, 31 Oct., 1861. From the first he was opposed to the expedition, his good sense leading him to see that it would probably prove disastrous ; but Lou is Napoleon intimated to him that only by accepting the command could he ob- tain the staff of a marshal of France. He landed at Vera Cruz in January, 1862, with 30,000 men admirably equipped. On 29 Jan. he issued a proclamation saying that he had only come to re- store order, that life and property should be re- spected, and that the Mexicans should be free to choose the form of government that best suited them. This proclamation had a favorable effect. The government of the United States approved highly of it, but Napoleon was greatly exasperated. He wrote with his own hand to Gen. Forey, repri- manding him severely, and threatening him with an immediate recall if his future acts should be in accordance with his promises. Forey, on receipt of this mandate, suppressed all sympathy with the Mexican cause, and confiscated the property of all Mexicans who would not aid him. After the sur- render of Puel)la by the Republicans, 17 May, 1863, Forev marched on Mexico, which was taken by Gen. Bazaine, 12 July, 1863. After the fall of Puebla, Gen. Forey, becoming disgusted with his task, demanded to be recalled, and his request was granted. On 2 Jxily he formed a provisory gov- ernment, composed of three Mexicans, Almonte, the archbishop of Mexico, and Gen. Salas. On 1 Oct. he delivered the command of the army to Gen. Bazaine, and sailed from Vera Cruz for France. He was made marshal and commander of the 2d division of the army, 24 Dec, 1863. On va- rious occasions bespoke long and eloquently in the senate in behalf of the Mexicans, and in the session of 10 Feb., 1866, boldly declared that to subjugate Mexico it would be necessary to send thither an army of 150,000 men, and if that could not be done the project would have to be abandoned. Napoleon chose the latter alternative.


FORMAN, David, soldier, b. near Englishtown, N. J. ; d. about 1812. He commanded the New Jersey militia at Germantown, and was known by the nicknanie of " Black David " among the Jersey loyalists, owing to his excessive cruelty toward those who did not favor the Revolution. After the war he was a judge of the county court, and a member of the council of state. He was also one of the original members of the order of Cincinnati.


FORMES, Charles John, singer, b. in Miihlheim, Germany, 7 Aug., 1810; d. in San Francisco, Cal., 15 Dec, 1889. He received his early musical education in Cologne and Vienna, and sang in church choirs till 1841, when he attracted attention in Cologne as a concert singer. His appearance in opera soon followed, and In 1843 he became a member of the Mannheim theatre, and in 1844 joined the opera in Vienna. Incautious expressions of sympathy with revolutionary movements caused his sudden retirement, and after an engagement in Hamburg he was invited to join a German opera-company in London, where, in 1849, he first performed at Drury Lane. In 1850, Formes became a member of the Italian opera of Covent Garden, and in the same year sang at the Philharmonic concerts. At this time it was the opinion of critics that for volume, compass, and sonor-