Richard Guyon
Richard de Beaufrécomtede Guyon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1813 Walcot,Somerset, England |
| Died | 12 October 1856 Scutari,Constantinople,Ottoman Empire |
| Allegiance | Hungary |
| Rank | General |
| Battles | Battle of Pákozd Battle of Schwechat Battle of Kapolna Battle of Hegyes Battle of Szőreg Battle of Temesvár |
| Other work | Governor of Damascus |
Richard de Beaufrécomtede Guyon(1813 – 12 October 1856) was aBritish-bornHungariansoldier, general in theHungarianrevolutionary army andOttomanpasha(Kurshid Pasha).
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
He was born atWalcot,nearBath, Somerset,[1][2]the son of Commander John Guyon RN (1767-1844), a shipmate and friend of theDuke of Clarence(laterWilliam IV of Britain), and descended from a French noble family.[3]
After receiving a military education in England, Guyon fought againstDom Miguelin theLiberal Warsin Portugal.
In 1832 Guyon entered the Austrian service joining theHungarian Hussars;and was attached asaide-de-campto General BaronIgnác Splényi(1772-1840), who had served at theBattle of Marengoand was captain-in-chief of the Hungarian noble bodyguard, and Standard Bearer of Hungary. Guyon married Baron Splényi's daughter, Baroness Marie, on 22 November 1838. They had two sons and a daughter together: Victor, Edgar and Marie Anne.[4]
Until the outbreak of theHungarian Revolution,Guyon led the life of a country gentleman on his estates nearKomárom.
Hungarian Revolution[edit]
At the outbreak of the Hungarian Revolution, Guyon was among the first to offer his services to the national government as an officer of theRoyal Hungarian Army,and played a prominent part in the struggle for independence during theHungarian Revolution of 1848.
He won great distinction in theBattle of Pákozd(29 September 1848) and theBattle of Schwechat(30 October) and after theBattle of Kapolna(26 and 27 February 1849) was made a general.[1][5]
During the retreat ofArtúr Görgey's army in the winter of 1848–1849, Guyon carried the mountain-pass ofBranyiszkóon 5 February 1849, and by that daring feat of his re-established the communication with the government atDebrecen,as also with the several other Hungarian army corps.
When, in April 1849, the garrison of the besiegedFortress of Komáromwas to be apprised of the victorious approach of the national army, Guyon, with a detachment of hussars, cut his way through the enemy's lines, and announced the approaching relief.
On 14 July 1849, Guyon defeated the imperial army led byJosip Jelačićin theBattle of Hegyes,one of the last Hungarian victories of the freedom war, which assured Southern Hungary for the revolutionary army keeping the road open for the leaders of the revolution to escape in the Ottoman Empire.
The bloodyBattle of Szőreg(5 August 1849) allowed GeneralHenryk Dembiński,protected by the self-sacrificing ten battalions of Guyon, to retire toTemesvár,where theBattle of Temesvár,the last in the campaign, was fought and lost on 9 August. Guyon escaped toTurkey.[1][5][6]
Two streets inBudapestare named after Count Guyon: Guyon Richárd Utca, and Guyon Kőz. Guyon's Hussar uniform is preserved on display at the Museum of Military History in theBuda Castle Quarter.[7][8]
Ottoman Empire[edit]
In 1852 Guyon entered the service of theSultanwithout being required to change his faith.
Under the name of Kourshid Pasha, he, as a general of division, wasGovernor of Damascus,and at the beginning of the Crimean war, did much to organise the army ofKars.Guyon died ofcholeraatScutariin 1856.[1][5]According to theOxford Dictionary of National Biographyhe was "the first Christian to obtain the rank of pasha and a Turkish military command without being obliged to change his religion".[citation needed]
The 1863Chambers Encyclopaediastates "Indomitable courage, and an incessant care for the comfort of the troops under his command, were the chief features in Guyon's character".[5]
TheIstanbul Military Museumholds a memorial bust of Guyon together with other Hungarian artifacts.[9]
Notes and references[edit]
- ^abcdEncyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
- ^"General Comte Richard Debaufre Guyon b. 31 Mar 1813 5, Lower East Hayes, Walcot, Bath, Sommerset, England d. 11 Oct 1856 Scutari: Geneagraphie – Families all over the world".geneagraphie.com.
- ^"Commander John Guyon b. 16 Jun 1767 d. 15 Jan 1844 Richmond, Surrey, England: Geneagraphie – Families all over the world".geneagraphie.com.
- ^https://geneagraphie.com/getperson.php?personID=I41112&tree=1
- ^abcd"GUYON, RICHARD DEBAUFRE",Chambers's Encyclopaedia,Appleton, 1863, pp. 167, 168
- ^William Henry Stiles (January 1999),Austria in 1848-49: Being a History of the Late Political Movements in Vienna, Milan, Venice, and Prague with Details of the Campaigns of Lombardy and Novara a Full Account of the Revolution in Hungary and Historical Sketches of the Austrian Government,Adamant Media Corporation, pp. 179, 296,ISBN0-543-94386-0
- ^"Hadtörténeti Intézet és Múzeum".militaria.hu.
- ^https://storage.spink.com/source/Insider/Insider30.pdf[bare URL PDF]
- ^"Hungarian Artefacts in the Museum of Military History".
References[edit]
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Guyon, Richard Debaufre".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- This article incorporates text from theChambers's Encyclopaedia1863 edition.
Further reading[edit]
- A. W. Kinglake,The Patriot and the Hero General Guyon(1856).
| Belligerents | |
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 Leaders for Austria | |
 Leaders for Hungary | |
 Leaders for Russia | |
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| People | |
- 1813 births
- 1856 deaths
- People from Bath and North East Somerset
- 19th-century Ottoman military personnel
- Hungarian generals
- British generals
- People of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
- Hungarian people of British descent
- Hungarian exiles
- Deaths from cholera
- Burials at Haydarpaşa Cemetery
- Military personnel from Bath, Somerset