Jean Antoine Rossignol (7 November 1759 – 27 April 1802) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Biography[]
Rossignol's Memoirs was published in 1820 by Victor Barrucand. The beginning of the Memoirs stated that his father was a Bourguignon and died before he was born. His father and his mother had five children, he was the youngest one. At the age of 14, Rossignol already had 3 years of apprenticeship as a goldsmith. He placed his personal freedom as his top priority and decided to leave Paris but he did come back six months later. Because of the difficulties of finding work, he joined the Royal-Roussillon infantry regiment at Dunkirk, prior to the fall of the Ancien Régime. During the French Revolution, he was a participant in the Storming of the Bastille. He was rumored to be the person that shot Antoine Jean Galiot Mandat, a respected French noblemen, general, and politician. Rossignol was the lieutenant colonel for National Gendarmerie, one of the national police forces for France. He was responsible for widespread looting. He was accused of his inability to effectively carry out the responsibilities of a general by Augustin Tuncq. He was removed from his role as the general by Representatives on Mission Leonard Bourdon and Philippe Charles Aimé Goupilleau de Montaigu. Georges Danton defended Rossignol. He was later reinstated by the National Convention. In 1793, he became Commander in Chief for several armies within the French Revolutionary Army. He was able to keep his role as general even though he suffered several setbacks. His plan to the advocates of the Council of War at Saumur was criticized by Pierre Philippeaux and soldiers in the French Revolutionary Army. In 1794, he was removed from his role by the Committee of Public Safety after disputes with Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne. He was imprisoned for a short period of time after the Thermidorian Reaction. After Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise, he was put in prison by Bonaparte. Rossignol was deported to Seychelles in 1801 and was transferred to Comoros. He died in Anjouan in 1802.