Jean-Louis-Ebenézer Reynier

Born in Lausanne on January 14, 1771, Jean-Louis-Ébénézer Reynier first trained as an engineer at the École des ponts et chaussées in Paris before the French Revolution changed his path. He volunteered for service in 1792 and advanced quickly, showing enough ability to become a general while still a young man.

Reynier served in some of the defining campaigns of his era. He fought in the Revolutionary Wars, then joined Napoleon's expedition to Egypt and Syria, where he commanded a division. Under the Empire, he continued in major commands and later led troops in the Peninsular War as well as in the campaigns of 1812–1813.

He died in Paris on February 27, 1814. Remembered as a Swiss-French general of division, Reynier belongs to that generation of officers whose lives were shaped almost entirely by the upheavals of the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.