Sergent Blandan

Sergent Blandan by Charles Gauthier, c.1886–87. Rue Sergent Blandan, Nancy.
An 1894 illustration of Blandan's death
The statue of the Sergent in Lyon

Sergent Blandan (9 February 1819 – 12 April 1842)[1] was a French soldier, Jean Pierre Hippolyte Blandan, known for his historic resistance on the battlefield at Boufarik in Algeria. He was posthumously made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.

Career

Blandan joined the French Army at the age of eighteen, and served in the conquest of Algeria.[1] He left Lyon on 9 September 1837 for the city of Annaba (then called Bône) in the province of Constantine in Algeria to fight the tribe led by Oued Radjett.[2] He was appointed Corporal on 6 August 1839, and promoted to Sergent on 1 February 1842.[1]

Death

On 11 April 1842, Blandan led a detachment of twenty men to carry mail from Boufarik to Béni Mered, some 8–9 km away. After about an hour of marching, his company was attacked by a group of 200–300 Arab horsemen. Blandan exhorted his men to fight, even though he was seriously wounded.[1] He refused to surrender before the superior force, and cried "Courage mes amis, défendez-vous jusqu'à la mort!" (be brave my friends, fight to the death!) The noise of battle was heard in Boufarik and relief arrived under Joseph de Breteuil.[3] They found only five soldiers still fighting, the others all being dead or wounded. Blandan died of his wounds that night in hospital in Boufarik, at the age of 23.[1]

Tributes

In 1886 a public competition was run to create a statue of Blandan as a tribute to his heroism. The jury awarded the work to French sculptor Charles Gauthier who completed it in 1887 and the statue was placed in Boufarik.[3] Following Algerian independence, however, it was moved to France in 1963, where it was placed in the courtyard of a barracks in Nancy. As part of the ceremony to mark the placement of the statue, Blandan's ashes were placed in the new monument's base.[4][5] In 1990, it was moved again to Rue du Sergent Blandan, Nancy.[5]

In 1887, la rue Saint-Marcel, one of the oldest streets of Lyon, was renamed Rue du Sergent Blandan in his honour.[1] Medals were struck in the name of Blandan.[6]

The creation of Parc du Sergent Blandan in the 3rd, 7th and 8th arrondissements of Lyon was due to start in 2012. It will cover 17 hectares.[7]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sergent Blandan.
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Le Sergent Blandan". Musée d'histoire militaire, Lyon. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Begag, Azouz. (2007). Ethnicity & equality: France in the balance. Translated by and with an introduction by Alec G. Hargreaves. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 108. ISBN 0803206917. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  3. 1 2 Morell, John Reynell. (1854). Algeria: The Topography and History, Political, Social, and Natural, of French Africa. London: Nathaniel Cooke. p. 140. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Boufarik: statue en l'honneur du sergent BLANDAN rapatriée à Nancy". Memorial GenWeb. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Le Sergent Blandan". Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Armée d'Afrique : lot de 4 médailles, la Légion, sergent Blandan, les troupes africaines et Bournazel par Bouchard, les 4, coinarchives.com, 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Parc du Sergent Blandan". Lyon.fr. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
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