Ferdinand-Isaac de Rovéréa
Colonel Ferdinand-Isaac de Rovéréa (Vevey, 10 February 1763 -- Baveno, 8 August 1829 [1]) was a Swiss Army officer and counter-revolutionary, who fought in French and British service during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Biography
After serving in Erlachts' Swiss with the French army,[2] Rovéréa enrolled in the service of Bern.
In February 1798, Rovéréa constituted a 600-man strong Faithful Legion to defend Bern against Revolutionary influence from France. On 5 March, French troops invaded Switzerland, capturing the city of Bern, and Rovéréa gave battle near Nidau; he surrendered three days later in Thielle.
The next year, Rovéréa was exiled to Germany, where he constituted a 14-company regiment fighting with the British, comprising two chasseur companies.[2] They took part in several battles, sustaining heavy casualties.
Rovéréa eventually returned to Switzerland under an amnesty in 1801. In his later life, he became one of the leaders of the Aristocratic Party of Vaud, though he eventually came to terms with the independence of Vaud from Bern.
Sources and references
- ^ Rovéréa, Ferdinand Isaac de, dictionnaire historique de la Suisse.
- ^ a b Émigré & foreign troops in British service (1), 1793-1802 By René Chartrand, Patrice Courcelle