Patrice de MacMahon

Patrice de MacMahon
Official portrait of Marshal de MacMahon, President of the Republic
President of France
In office 24 May 1873 – 30 January 1879
Prime Minister	Albert de Broglie Ernest Courtot de Cissey Louis Buffet Jules Armand Dufaure Jules Simon Albert de Broglie Gaëtan de Rochebouët Jules Armand Dufaure
Preceded by	Adolphe Thiers
Succeeded by	Jules Grévy
Governor-General of Algeria
In office 1 September 1864 – 27 July 1870
Monarch	Napoleon III
Preceded by	Édmond de Martimprey
Succeeded by	Louis Durrieu
Member of the Senate of France
In office 24 June 1864 – 4 September 1870
Monarch	Napoleon III
Personal details
Born	(1808-06-13)13 June 1808 Sully, France
Died	17 October 1893(1893-10-17) (aged 85) Montcresson, France
Nationality	French
Political party	Miscellaneous right (Legitimist)
Spouse(s)	Élisabeth de La Croix de Castries ​ ​ (m. 1854⁠–⁠1893)​ ; his death
Children	Marie Armand Patrice de Mac Mahon (1855–1927) Eugene de Mac Mahon (1857–1907)  [fr] (1859–1930) Marie de Mac Mahon (1863–1954) Countess de Pinnes
Education	Special Military School of Saint-Cyr
Profession	Military officer
Military service
Allegiance	Bourbon Restoration July Monarchy Second French Empire
Branch/service	French Army
Years of service	1827–1873
Rank	Captain Commandant Lieutenant colonel General Marshal of France
Unit	French Foreign Legion Lt. colonel 2nd Foreign Legion Regiment 2ème R.E.L.E/ (1843–1845) Commander I Army Corps Army of the Rhin (1870) Commander-in-Chief Army of Châlons (1870)
Battles/wars	Conquest of Algeria (1827–1857) Siege of Constantine (1837) Crimean War (1853–1856) Battle of Malakoff (1855) Franco-Austrian War (1859) Battle of Magenta (1859) Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) Battle of Wörth (1870) Battle of Sedan (1870) Paris Commune (1871)

Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon,^[1] duc de Magenta (French pronunciation: ​[patʁis də makma.ɔ̃]; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893) was a French general and politician, with the distinction of Marshal of France. He served as Chief of State of France from 1873 to 1875 and as President of France, from 1875 to 1879.

MacMahon led the main French army in the war against the Germans in 1870. He was trapped and wounded at the Battle of Sedan in September 1870. The army surrendered to the Germans, including MacMahon and Emperor Napoleon III. Thus France lost the war and the Emperor went into exile. After convalescence MacMahon was appointed head of the Versailles Army, which defeated the Paris Commune revolt in May 1871 and set the stage for his political career. MacMahon was a devout conservative Catholic, a traditionalist who despised socialism and strongly distrusted the secular Republicans. He took his duty as the neutral guardian of the Constitution seriously and rejected suggestions of a monarchist coup d'état. He also refused to meet with Gambetta, the leader of the Republicans. He moved for a parliamentary system in which the assembly selected the ruling government of the Third Republic, but he also insisted on an upper chamber. He later dissolved the Chamber of Deputies, resulting in public outrage and a Republican electoral victory. Soon after MacMahon resigned and retired to private life.

Biography[]

Family origins[]

The Mac Mahon family is of Irish origin. They were Lords of Corcu Baiscind^[2] in Ireland and descended from Mahon, the son of Muirchertach Ua Briain, High King of Ireland.^[3][4] After losing much of their land in the Cromwellian confiscations, a branch moved to Limerick for a time before settling in France during the reign of King William III because of their support of the deposed King James II in the Glorious Revolution^[5] They applied for French citizenship in 1749; after the definitive installation of the family in France, their nobility was recognised by the patent letter of King Louis XV of France.

A military family (14 members of the house of de Mac Mahon were in the Army), they settled in Autun, Burgundy, at the Chateau de Sully, where Patrice de Mac Mahon was born on 13 June 1808, sixteenth and the second last son of Baron  [fr] (1754–1831), Baron of Sully, Count de Mac Mahon and de Charnay, and Pélagie de Riquet de Caraman (1769–1819), a descendant of Pierre-Paul Riquet.

Patrice de MacMahon (as he was usually known before being elevated to a ducal title in his own right) was born in Sully near Autun, in the département of Saône-et-Loire. He was the 16th of 17 children of a family already in the French nobility; his grandfather Knight Lord Overlord Jean-Baptiste de MacMahon,^[6] was named Marquis de MacMahon and 1st Marquis d'Éguilly (from his wife Charlotte Le Belin, Dame d'Éguilly) by King Louis XV, and the family in France had decidedly royalist politics.

Early military career and service in Algeria[]

In 1820, MacMahon entered the Petit Séminaire des Marbres at Autun; then completed his education at Lycée Louis-le-Grand at Paris. He then entered the Special Military School at Saint-Cyr on 23 October 1825. He then joined the application school at the General Staff Headquarters on 1 October 1827, for a period of two years.

Following his graduation from Saint-Cyr, MacMahon entered the French Army in 1827. He was assigned to the 4th Hussars Regiment in 1830. MacMahon subsequently participated in the French conquest of Algeria as a sous-lieutenant in the  [fr]. He was commended for his capacity and bravery during the seizure of Algiers. On 24 November 1830, MacMahon further distinguished himself while serving with his regiment, during the  [fr], during the  [fr]. He was awarded the Knight Order of the Legion d'honneur.

Recalled to France, MacMahon participated in 1832 to the Ten Days' Campaign where he was noticed again during the Siege of Antwerp.

He became a captain in 1833, and returned to Algeria, this time, in 1836 where he was placed under the orders of General Bertrand Clausel, and then General Charles-Marie Denys de Damrémont. He led several audacious cavalry raids across tribal occupied plains and distinguished himself during the Siege of Constantine, in 1837, where he was slightly wounded. In 1840, he left Africa (Algeria) and upon his return to France, he learnt that he had been promoted to chef d'escadron (cavalry squadron chief).

In May 1841, he returned again to Algeria at the head of the  [fr] with whom he distinguished himself with, in April, at the and against the troops of Emir Abdelkader, on 25 May.

On 31 December 1842, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel at the 2nd Regiment of the French Foreign Legion 2^ème R.E.L.E. In 1843, he assumed the functions of regimental commander, by replacing the ill holder, a command which he kept until 1845.

MacMahon distinguished himself again during the and the on 14 October and 17 October 1844.

Nominated to colonel in December 1845, he assumed the command of the  [fr], garrisoned at Marnia.

Since 1848, MacMahon was nominated at the head of the subdivision of Tlemcen, where he was designated as a général de brigade on 12 June of the same year.

In 1849, he became a Commander of the Order of the Legion d'honneur, and served under General Aimable Pélissier, chief of the general staff of the Oran Province.

In 1852 MacMahon organized in Algeria the plebiscite of legitimation by universal suffrage destined to approve the French coup d'état of 1851. In March the same year he was appointed commandment of the  [fr], before being promoted to Général de division, in July.

Crimean War, Sevastopol[]

Général MacMahon.

During the Crimean War, he was given command of the 1st Infantry Division of the 2nd Orient Army Corps and, in September 1855, he won a victory at the Battle of Malakoff during the Siege of Sevastopol. During the battle he is reputed to have said: "Here I am; here will I stay !" (French: J'y suis, j'y reste !)^{[citation needed][7][8]}

Senator and further Algerian service[]

After his return to France, he received a number of honours and was appointed Senator. Desiring a more active life, he refused a senior position in the French metropolitan army, and returned to Algeria. Here where he served against the Kabyles. On his return to France, he voted as senator against the unconstitutional law on general security, proposed after the failed assassination attempt of Felice Orsini against Emperor Napoleon III.

Magenta: Marshal of France[]

Patrice de Mac-Mahon, Marchal of France.

MacMahon distinguished himself during the Italian Campaign of 1859. He advanced his troops without having received orders at a critical moment during the Battle of Magenta, which assured French victory.

For his military services, he was appointed a Marshal of France by Emperor Napoleon III, and awarded the title of Duke of Magenta.

Governor General of Algeria[]

In 1861 MacMahon represented France at the coronation of William I as King of Prussia. In 1864, he was named as Governor General of Algeria.

MacMahon did not distinguish himself in this appointment. While he initiated several reforms, numerous complaints were made against him. During the first half of 1870, he submitted his resignation to Napoleon III. When the Olivier cabinet was formed, the Emperor abandoned his Algerian projects and MacMahon was recalled.

War and the Paris Commune[]

MacMahon led the main French army in the Franco-Prussian War where he suffered several defeats in Alsace. He was seriously wounded during the Battle of Sedan. In 1871 the French army surrendered, and the Germans had clearly won the war. Overall his strategic planning was confused and marked by indecision. He, along with the rest of the army including the Emperor, was made prisoner during the capitulation of Sedan on 1 September.

In 1871, he became the head of the  [fr] which, under the orders of the French Third Republic, repressed the Paris Commune, killing or capturing thousands of people.

France surrendered to the Prussians in January 1871, and formed a new interim government based in Versailles. Radicals in Paris rejected this government and formed the Paris Commune. In May 1871, MacMahon led the troops of the Versailles government against the Commune. In the bitter fighting of what was later called La Semaine Sanglante ("The Bloody Week"), the government forces under MacMahon crushed the Commune with many communards being executed. He was not blamed for the repression, but instead became the hero of the hour for the right.^[9]

President of the Republic[]

Visit of the President-Marshal to the Emperor and Empress of Brazil, in Paris (L'Univers illustré,nº 1.153, 28 April 1877).

In May 1873, MacMahon was elected President of the French Republic, with by the royalist and conservative majority in the National Assembly. Only one vote was cast against him.^[10] Renowned for his popularity, Mac Mahon was elected following the unsuccessful election of Adolphe Thiers on 24 May 1873. He replaced Prime Minister Jules Armand Dufaure with Duke Albert, 4th duc de Broglie, a monarchist. With Duke Broglie as Prime Minister, he adopted a series of  [fr] measures.

MacMahon favoured a restoration of the monarchy but when this project failed, accepted a seven-year mandate which the Assembly gave him on 9 November 1873. Mac Mahon deemed himself responsible to the country than to parliament, which brought him into conflict with the Chamber of Deputies.

In his still unpublished memoirs, MacMahon described his political convictions: "By family tradition, and by the sentiments towards the royal house which were instilled in me by my early education, I could not be anything but a Legitimist." Nevertheless, in November 1873, he refused to meet with the Bourbon claimant to the throne, Henri, Count of Chambord, as he thought this incompatible with his duties as President of the Republic.^[11] On 4 February 1874, MacMahon declared that he would respect the established legal order. Preferring to remain "au-dessus des partis" (on top of the parties), he observed rather than took part in the procedures which in January and February 1875 led to the French Constitutional Laws of 1875, which established the French Third Republic as the government of France.

During the night of 23–24 June 1875 the Garonne region suffered heavy flooding. While visiting the inundated cities and villages he declared "que d'eau… que d'eau !… " (nothing but water…only water!…).^[12] The prefect of the department responded to him: "Et encore, Monsieur le Président, vous n'en voyez que le dessus!" (Then again, Mr. President, you are only seeing what's above the surface!").

In September 1875, he stayed at Vernon for several days, in order to prepare the grand maneuvers of the third army. Following the 1876 French legislative election, which resulted in a republican majority, he agreed with great reluctance to the formation of governments under prime ministers Jules Dufaure and Jules Simon, which were dominated by Republicans.

In order to contain and destabilize France, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck sought to promote republicanism in France by strategically and ideologically isolating MacMahon's clerical-monarchist supporters.^[13] Bismarck's containment policy almost got out of hand in 1875 during the "War in Sight" crisis. There was a war scare in Germany and France when the German press reported that influential Germans, alarmed by France's rapid recovery from defeat in 1871 and its rearmaments program, were talking of launching a preemptive attack on France. Britain and Russia made it clear that they would not tolerate such aggression. Bismarck did not seek war either, but the unexpected crisis forced him to take into consideration the alarm that his aggressive policies, plus Germany's fast-growing power, were causing among its neighbors.^[14][15][16]

The 16 May 1877 crisis heightened MacMahon's conflict with the Chamber of Deputies. After the bishops of Poitiers, Nimes and Nevers had ensured Pius IX of the French government's support in the Roman Question, the Chamber passed a resolution that asked the government to "suppress the ultramontanism manifestations". Twelve days later, dismissed Prime Minister Jules Simon and again appointed Albert de Broglie. Hoping for a conservative victory, MacMahon then convinced the Senate to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, and campaigned across the country, while protesting that he had no intention of overthrowing the Republic.^[17] On 15 August 1877, Léon Gambetta declared: "Le Président n'a que ce choix: il lui faut se soumettre ou se démettre." ("The President has only but one choice: he must submit or resign.")

The elections of 14 October gave the Republicans a majority of 120 seats, and prime minister Broglie accordingly resigned on 19 November. MacMahon attempted first to form a government under General Gaëtan de Rochebouët, but the Chamber refused to cooperate with him. Rochebouët resigned the next day, and the President recalled Dufaure to form a Republican government. On 5 January 1879, elections to the Senate also resulted in a Republican majority, depriving MacMahon of his last parliamentary support. Faced with a decree which revolved around confiscating and diminishing a number of military authorities and commands to certain generals, MacMahon preferred to resign on 30 January 1879.

His presidency may be summarised thus: on the one hand, he allowed the Republic to establish itself; on the other hand, so far as his lawful prerogatives permitted, he restrained the political advance of parties hostile to the Catholic Church, convinced that the triumph of Radicalism would be to the detriment of the nation. MacMahon's government was mildly repressive toward the left. Newspapers were prosecuted, senior officials were removed if they were suspected of support for republicanism. Critical pamphlets were suppressed while the government circulated its own propaganda. The proprietors of meeting places were advised not to allow meetings of critics of the government. On the other hand, he gave no support to a coup d'état by monarchists. MacMahon truly believed that the National Assembly should rule France and not the president.^[18]

Last years[]

From 1887 to 1893, he directed the Société de secours aux blessés militaires (S.S.B.M) - Rescue Society of Wounded Military, which in 1940 became the French Red Cross.

Patrice de MacMahon died on 17 October 1893, at the  [fr] at Montcresson, after having written his memoirs. He was buried on 22 October at the Hôtel des Invalides after a state funeral and a religious mass at La Madeleine. The five cordons (ornamental cords) of the funeral chariot were held by General  [fr], Grand Chancellor of the Legion d'Honneur; Admiral Henri Rieunier, Ministère de la Marine; Général  [fr], Minister of War; of the Senate; and M. Malvy^[who?] from the Chamber of Deputies.

Arms[]

Figure	Blazon
	Arms of House de MacMahon : "Argent, three leopards (lions passant regardant) gules.
	Arms of House de MacMahon, thereon the "couronne comte" (crown of a count of the Ancien Régime).
	Arms of Duke of Magenta (argent, three leopards gules, a chief of the second semé of mullets of the first) thereon the "couronne ducale" (crown of a duke of the Ancien Régime).

Marshal MacMahon.

Honours[]

• French Empire:
  • Knight of the Legion of Honour, 1830; Officer, 1837; Commander, 1849; Grand Officer, 1853; Grand Cross, 1855; Grand Master, 1873
  • Médaille militaire, 1857
•  United Kingdom: Honorary Grand Cross (military) of the Order of the Bath, 3 January 1856^[19]
• Kingdom of Sardinia: Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, 5 August 1859^[20]
• Sweden-Norway: Knight of the Order of the Seraphim, 26 August 1861^[21]
• Kingdom of Prussia: Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, 18 October 1861^[22]
•  Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant, 4 May 1869^[23]
•  Austria-Hungary: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen, 1874^[24]
•  Belgium: Grand Cordon (military) of the Order of Leopold, 19 September 1874^[25]
•  Spain: Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, 1 March 1875^[26]

Battle honours[]

Wounded four times: in 1837, at the Siege of Constantine, a bullet pierced his uniform; in 1840, a bullet pierced his sabre through the rib cage; in 1857 at the  [fr]; and finally seriously on 1 September 1870 at Sedan.

Quotes[]

• "I have remained a soldier", he says in his memoirs, "and I can conscientiously say that I have not only served one Government after another loyally, but, when they fell, have regretted all of them with the single exception of my own".

In his voluntary retirement he carried with him the esteem of all parties: Jules Simon, who did not love him, and whom he did not love, afterwards called him:

un grand capitaine, un grand citoyen et un homme de bien (a great captain, a great citizen, and a good man)

.

• Showing his faith in the Foreign Legion during the Battle of Magenta: "The Legion is here. It's in the bag!" ("Voici la Légion ! L'affaire est dans le sac !").^[27]
• During the Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War, MacMahon led an assault by French troops against the Malakoff redoubt. MacMahon captured the Malakoff, but was urged to withdraw rather than be crushed by imminent Russian counter-attacks. He refused, replying "J'y suis. J'y reste!" ("Here I am, Here I stay!"). MacMahon's troops held the Malakoff, and Sevastopol soon fell.^[28]

MacMahon's line became widely quoted as an expression of defiance. P. G. Wodehouse's character Bertie Wooster used it in response to pressure from his valet Jeeves to shave off his new moustache ('Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit' Ch.1).

Gallery[]

• 

  Élisabeth de MacMahon (1834–1900), wife of Patrice.

• 

  Marshal de MacMahon (1860s, Bibliothèque nationale de France).

• 

  Official portrait of Patrice de MacMahon by Pierre Petit (1873)

• 

  Caricature of Marshal MacMahon by Théobald Chartran for Vanity Fair (1879).

• 

  Patrice de MacMahon, The Duke Magenta.

See also[]

• Origins of the French Foreign Legion
• Marie Louis Henry de Granet-Lacroix de Chabrières
• François Certain Canrobert
• Jean-Luc Carbuccia
• Francois Achille Bazaine

References[]

Further reading[]

• D.W. Brogan, France Under the Republic: The Development of Modern France (1870-1939) (1940) pp 127–43.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Patrice de Mac-Mahon.

• Firinne, D. H.; O'Curry, Eugene (1859), Life of Marshal MacMahon, Dublin: The "Irishman" Office, retrieved 9 August 2008
• Works by Patrice de MacMahon at Open Library
• https://web.archive.org/web/20030224080507/http://www.limerick.com/history/marshallmcmahon.html
• Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Marie-Edmé-Patrice-Maurice de MacMahon" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Marie-Edmé-Patrice-Maurice de MacMahon". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.