Memorial Jourdan Limoges

"Au Maréchal Jourdan
Général en chef
des armées
du nord
de la moselle
de sambre et meuse"

The statue of Jean-Baptiste Jourdan (1762-1833), was inaugurated in 1860.
It is a bronze statue by sculptor Louis Valentin Élias Robert.
It shows the full-length marshal, draped in his coat, ready to draw his sword.

Jourdan enlisted as a soldier in April 1778 and held a range of ranks and decorations during his military career: private, captain, lieutenant colonel, brigadier general, major general, etc. He was involved in several wars and campaigns.

The monument specifically mentions Jourdan as commander-in-chief of the Army of the Ardennes and the Army of the Moselle. He commanded these two armies in March 1794 and the right of the Army of the North which assembled on the Sambre on 8 June 1794. He was the architect of the victory of Fleurus, in which military balloonists were used for the first time.

From 1800 onwards his further career took place mainly in Italy, where he was appointed governor of Naples in the service of Joseph Bonaparte. He then went to Madrid where, in addition to being governor, he also became chief of staff of the army.
Jourdan retired in 1813 and returned to service in 1814 as senior commander of the 14th and 15th military divisions in Rouen.
He died on November 23, 1833 and was buried in the Caveau des Gouverneurs of the Hôtel National des Invalides.