Saint-Cyr, Marshal Laurent Gouvion, Marquis de (1764-1830). Saint-Cyr, an artist by trade and inclination, joined the army in 1792 and subsequently rose very rapidly to become a divisional commander. He saw service at the siege of Mainz, and with the Army of the Rhine and Moselle. Saint-Cyr received his marshal's baton from Napoleon after his sterling performance in taking over from the wounded Oudinot at the battle of Polotsk on 18 August 1812, but he was generally a slow and cautious commander. He saw service in the Spanish theatre in 1808 and 1809 (see Peninsular war), fighting at Rosas, Barcelona, Molinos del Rey, and at the siege of Gerona, but left his post there without orders and was recalled in disgrace. His health prevented him from participating in the early stages of the 1813 campaign, but he commanded XIV Corps at Dresden, holding the city until 11 November.
Saint-Cyr swore loyalty to the Bourbon Restoration and led a force that unsuccessfully tried to stop Napoleon's return from Elba. At Bourges on 24 March 1815 his troops deserted but, unlike Ney, he did not and wisely played no part in the Hundred Days. He became minister of war under Louis XVIII, and was made a marquis, retiring to devote himself to painting and music in 1819.
The town of Saint-Cyr was where the École Spéciale Militaire (very roughly the French Sandhurst or West Point) was established in 1802, and where it stayed until after WW II when it moved to Coëtquidan in Brittany.
— Toby McLeod
