Petr Ivanovich Bagration

Born 1765; died Sept. 12 (24), 1812. Prince; Russian general of infantry (1809); hero of the Patriotic War of 1812.

Bagration was born in the city of Kizliar into the family of a colonel who belonged to an ancient Georgian princely family. In military service from 1782, he served in the Caucasus and took part in the Russo-Turkish war of 1787–91 and the Polish Campaign of 1793–94. As a major general he commanded the advance guard in the Italian and Swiss campaigns of 1799 of A. V. Suvorov, distinguishing himself in all major battles. During the war with France (1805–07), heading the rear guard of the Russian army, he distinguished himself at Schoengraben, Preussisch Eylau, and Friedland. He took part in the Russo-Swedish war of 1808–09, commanding the division which in the spring of 1809 occupied the Aland Islands. From July 1809 to March 1810, during the Russo-Turkish war of 1806–12, he commanded the Moldavia Army. After August Í811 he commanded the Podol’sk Army, and from March 1812, the Second Western Army, which during the Patriotic War of 1812 he led clear of the thrust of the enemy’s superior forces by skillful maneuvering, uniting it with the First Western Army near Smolensk. In the Battle of Borodino, he commanded the left wing of the Russian army, showing extraordinary steadfastness and personal bravery; he was gravely wounded and died in the village of Sima in Vladimir Province, where he was buried. In 1839 his remains were transferred to the Borodino battlefield.