General of the Empire
He was born in Le Quesnoy (Nord) on May 9, 1772 and died on October 28 , 1837.
His father was Brigadier Albert Mermet, killed on 29 fructidor an II at the battle of Freligne,
On May 10 , 1788, he joined the cavalry, where he served until 1791, when he left France with the 39th regiment to take part in the West Indies campaign against the royalists.
On his return to France, he was appointed squadron leader of the 7th hussar regiment on Brumaire 22, Year II, and became colonel of the 10th a month later, then brigadier general on Brumaire 28 , Year III.
Appointed General Hoche's Chief of Staff, he struck up a friendly relationship with the latter.
In the Italian campaign, he took part in the fighting on the left bank of the Stura, was wounded at the Molino affair, and again distinguished himself at the village of Valleglo.
He was awarded the Légion d'Honneur on Vendémiaire 23, Year XII, and made Commander of the Order on Prairial 25 of the same year. He was then attached to the electoral district of Nîmes.
On February1, 1805, he was appointed Major General.
Napoleon conferred on him the title of Baron of the Empire in 1809, and ordered him to go to Spain, where he was particularly conspicuous at the attack on Vilaboa.
After defeating the English at the village of Elvina, he took part in the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, which he surrendered on June 10, 1810. General Mermet commanded the cavalry of the Portuguese army in 1813, and in 1814 upheld his reputation for bravery at the Mincio affair.
During the Restoration, he was appointed Inspector General of Cavalry in the 6th, 1st and 19th military divisions, Chevalier de Saint-Louis on June 27 , 1814, and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor on August 23 of the same year. He was in Lons-le-Saunier on March 13, 1815, when Marshal Ney asked him to go to Besançon to take command on behalf of Louis XVIII. On the 14th, just as he was about to leave for his destination, the marshal warned him that he had other orders to give him: he was to go to Besançon, but to command it in the Emperor's name. Mermet refused to obey, and was ordered to remain under arrest.
During the Second Restoration, General Mermet was recalled to the position of Inspector General of Cavalry. He was made a viscount (February 12, 1817, confirmed by letters patent of March 3, 1818), and became Gentleman of the King in 1821, Commander of theRoyal and Military Order of Saint-Louis (August 1823), then aide-de-camp to Charles X in 1826.
Made Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor on August 23, 1834 ,he died on October 28, 1837, aged 65, and is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery.
His name is engraved on the 8th column of the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile.
