Benoît de Boigne
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Count Benoît de Boigne (March 8, 1751 - June 21, 1830) was a French soldier, the first of the military adventurers in India from his country.
He was born at Chambéry in Savoy, the son of a fur merchant.
He joined the Irish Brigade in France in 1768, and subsequently he entered the Russian service and was captured by the Turks. Hearing of the wealth of India, he made his way to that country, and after serving for a short time in the French East India Company, he resigned and joined Mahadji Sindhia in 1784 for the purpose of training his troops in the European methods of war. In the battles of Lalsot and Chaksana Boigne and his two battalions proved their worth by holding the field when the rest of the Mahratta army was defeated by the Rajputs.
In the Battle of Agra (1788) he restored the Maratha fortunes, and made Mahadji Sindhia undisputed master of Hindustan. This success led to his being given the command of a brigade of ten battalions of infantry, with which he won the victories of Patan and Merta in 1790. In consequence Boigne was allowed to raise two further brigades of disciplined infantry, and made commander-in-chief of Sindhia's army. In the battle of Lakhairi (1793) he defeated Holkar's army.
On the death of Mahadji Sindhia in 1794, Boigne could have made himself master of Hindustan had he wished it, but he remained loyal to Daulat Rao Sindhia. In 1795 his health began to fail, and he resigned his command, and in the following year returned to Europe with a fortune of £400,000. He lived in retirement during the lifetime of Napoleon, but was greatly honoured by Louis XVIII.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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"Swords for Hire" Shelford Bidwell (says De Boigne served in the army of the British East India Co not the French)
