{{Short description|French general (1758–1841)}} {{Infobox military person |name = Pierre-Augustin Hulin |birth_date = 6 September 1758 |death_date = {{death date and age|1841|1|9|1758|9|6|df=y}} |birth_place = Paris, France |death_place = Paris, France |image =Hulin.jpg |caption =portrait miniature of Hulin |allegiance ={{flag|Kingdom of France}}<br/>{{flag|Kingdom of the French}}<br/>{{Flag|French First Republic}}<br/>{{flag|First French Empire}} |rank = General de division |service_years=1771-1815 |battles = [[Siege of Genoa (1800)|Siege of Genoa]] |commands = Military governorship of Paris<br>1st Division |awards = [[Legion of Honor]] }}
'''Pierre-Augustin Hulin''' ({{IPA|fr|pjeʁ oɡystɛ̃ ylɛ̃}}; 6 September 1758 – 9 January 1841) was a French general under [[Napoleon]] who took part in the [[storming of the Bastille]], the trial of the [[Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien|Duke of Enghien]], and the foiling of the [[Malet coup of 1812|Malet coup]].
== Early life == [[File:Lallemand - Arrestation du gouverneur de la Bastille - 1790.jpg|thumb|left|Oil painting by [[Jean Baptiste Lallemand]] depicting the arrest of the [[Bernard-Rene de Launay|Marquis de Launay]], the governor of the Bastille. Either the soldier or the grey-clad civilian next to Launay may be Hulin ([[Musée de la Révolution française]]).]]
Pierre Augustin Hulin, the son of a Parisian draper, was born on 6 September 1758. He entered the army in 1771,<ref name=H28>Haythornthwaite, p. 28.</ref> serving in a [[Champagne, France|Champagne]] infantry regiment. In 1772 he was transferred to the [[French Guards]], in the ranks of which he rose to sergeant. In 1787<ref name=H28/> he had already retired from the guards and was a successful operator of the Royal Laundry.<ref name=B45>Lüsebrink and Reichardt, p. 45.</ref><ref>Warren, p. 91: "Director of the Queen's Laundry".</ref> During the week that preceded the [[storming of the Bastille]] Hulin was several times spotted agitating the mob against the Crown.<ref name=B45/> [[Germaine de Staël|Madame de Staël]] wrote that Hulin told her: "I want to take revenge for [[Jacques Necker|your father]] on these bastards who want to butcher us."<ref name=B45/> [[Louis Abel Beffroy de Reigny]] recorded similar inflammatory speeches addressed to the royal soldiers, [[Louis-Guillome Pitra]] dramatized Hulin's speech into "The Parisians are slaughtered like lambs, and you are not marching with us?"<ref name=B58>Lüsebrink and Reichardt, pp. 58-59.</ref>
On the day of the [[storming of the Bastille]] Hulin offered his services to the [[Hôtel de Ville, Paris|Hôtel de Ville]].<ref name=B43/> He assembled a company of seventy men armed with five cannons. Around 3 o'clock he led his men from [[Les Invalides]] to the Bastille. Two hours later artillery fire and pressure from the Bastille personnel persuaded its governor [[Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay|Marquis de Launay]] to capitulate.<ref name=B43>Lüsebrink and Reichardt, p. 43.</ref> By this time the attacking mob lost around a hundred men, the defenders of the Bastille had only one man killed.<ref name=B43/> Hulin and his deputy [[Jacob Job Élie|Jacob Job Elie]] defended De Launay from the mob and sent him under an armed escort to the Hôtel de Ville.<ref name=B44/> According to Pitra, Hulin and Elie saved De Launay from lynching at least once, when the mob attacked them near the church of St. Louis.<ref name=W42>Warren, p. 42.</ref> The mob finally forced their way past the convoy on the [[Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville|Place de Grève]],<ref name=W92>Warren, p. 92.</ref> when it was near its destination. A cook named Denót or Desnot killed De Launay, royalist [[Provost (civil)|provost]] [[Jacques de Flesselles]] was killed too. Although five were lynched, most of the Bastille's defenders were escorted safely to the Hôtel de Ville.<ref name=W42/> The governor's head was severed and carried around the city on a pike.<ref name=B44>Lüsebrink and Reichardt, p. 44.</ref><ref name=W43>Warren, p. 43.</ref>
The next day, 15 July 1789, Hulin was appointed company commander of the ''Volontaires de la Bastille'', an armed force paid by the city government which later evolved into the National Guard.<ref name=B87>Lüsebrink and Reichardt, p. 87.</ref> This permanent core of the newly created Paris militia was recruited from certified veterans of the Bastille Day such as Hulin, plus former French Guards.<ref name=B87/> Hulin's own performance made him a national hero, a "herculean victor",<ref name=B217>Lüsebrink and Reichardt, p. 217.</ref> and a staple of patriotic leaflets and magazines issued since 1790.<ref name=B292>Lüsebrink and Reichardt, pp. 92-93.</ref> Republican historians of the 19th century amplified popular perception and downplayed the excesses of the mob and underscored Hulin's own moderation.<ref name=B217/>
As aristocrats left the army in large numbers, new officers were promoted from the enlisted ranks. Hulin, however, did not escape the excesses of the [[Reign of Terror]] and was incarcerated for almost a year, 1793–1794.<ref name=H28/> When Robespierre's radical government fell in 1794, Hulin was released. During the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], Hulin served in the [[Army of Italy (France)|Army of Italy]] and fought against the [[Holy Roman Empire|Austrians]] in the defense of [[Genoa]] and commanded troops in Milan, eventually rising to the rank of [[colonel]].
== Service under Napoleon == Hulin, under the command of self-appointed [[First Consul]] [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], served as chief of staff in several divisions and was later given command of the grenadiers of the [[Consular Guard]]. In August 1803 Hulin was promoted to [[brigadier general]].<ref name=H28/> In 1804 he presided over the commission that tried [[Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien]]. The Duke, a descendant of the [[Princes of Condé|Condé]] family, a cadet branch of the [[House of Bourbon]], was convicted of treason and was executed by [[firing squad]], an act that was met by horror and anger from other European nations.<ref name=H28/>
Hulin fought in the [[Grande Armée]] in the campaigns of [[War of the Third Coalition|1805]] and 1806, fighting in present-day [[Germany]]. He was given command of troops in [[Berlin]] after the completion of the [[War of the Fourth Coalition|Prussian campaign]]. In 1807 he was promoted to major general and appointed [[Military governor of Paris|governor of Paris]].<ref name=H28/> He held the latter title until 1814, and during the [[Hundred Days]] in 1815.<ref name=H28/> In 1808 he was styled [[Nobility of the First French Empire|Count of the Empire]], and in 1809 was made Grand Officer of the [[Legion of Honor]].
Hulin was the military governor of Paris in 1812, when pro-[[Republicanism|Republican]] General [[Claude François de Malet]] launched a [[Malet coup of 1812|coup]] while Napoleon was pursuing a disastrous [[French invasion of Russia|campaign]] in [[Russian Empire|Russia]]. Troops loyal to Malet seized many [[Bonapartism|Bonapartist]] officers in the city and tried to take control of the government. When Hulin attempted to arrest the rebel general, Malet shot him in the face. Hulin's resistance caused troops and military police to turn on Malet and take him into custody.<ref name=H28/> Malet and other conspirators were executed, Hulin was rewarded with the command of the 1st Division.
When Napoleon [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)|abdicated]], Hulin's command was taken away from him by the [[First Restoration|restored Bourbon monarchy]]. However, when the former emperor returned from exile in 1815, Hulin was given back his position as divisional commander, which was again stripped from him when Napoleon was defeated. Hulin was exiled by the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbons]], but was allowed to return to France in 1819.<ref name=H28/>
Hulin died in [[Paris]] on 9 January 1841.
== In popular culture == He served as the main inspiration for the female character [[Oscar François de Jarjayes]] in the manga ''[[The Rose of Versailles]]'' by [[Riyoko Ikeda]].
== References == {{Reflist|2}}
== Sources == * Philip J. Haythornthwaite (2001). ''[Napoleon's Commanders (1) 1792-1809]''. Osprey Publishing. {{ISBN|1-84176-055-2}}. * Hans-Jürgen Lüsebrink, Rolf Reichardt (1997). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=5KPHEQZ_uKAC The Bastille: a history of a symbol of despotism and freedom]''. Duke University Press. {{ISBN|0-8223-1894-6}}. * Robert Warren (2000). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=hSMhDG3iPacC Jacques-Louis David and Jean-Louis Prieur, revolutionary artists: the public, the populace, and images of the French Revolution]''. SUNY Press. {{ISBN|0-7914-4288-8}}.
{{Military governors of Paris}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hulin, Pierre Augustin}} [[Category:1758 births]] [[Category:1841 deaths]] [[Category:Military governors of Paris]] [[Category:Counts of the First French Empire]] [[Category:French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars]] [[Category:French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars]] [[Category:Commanders in the French Imperial Guard]] [[Category:French exiles]] [[Category:Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour]] [[Category:Military personnel from Paris]]