Dominique Joseph René Vandamme

Born Nov. 5, 1770, in Cassel, Nord Department; died there July 15, 1830. French general; Count Iuneburg (1808).

Vandamme came from the ranks of the revolutionary army. In 1805, commanding a division, he distinguished himself at Austerlitz. In the wars with Prussia (1806-07) and Austria (1809) he commanded a corps. Early in the war with Russia (1812) he was appointed commander of the Westphalian troops, but because of a dispute with Jerome Bonaparte, he was sent to Cassel to form new contingents. In 1813 he commanded a corps at Hamburg, Dresden, and Chlumec, where he was taken prisoner by the Russians. He returned to France in September 1814, and during the Hundred Days he supported Napoleon. Commanding the III Corps, he defeated the Prussians at Ligny. After Waterloo, Vandamme shifted his support to the Bourbons, but in 1816 he was driven from France. He returned to France in 1819.