Sergent Blandan

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.

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

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]

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References
  1. "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. 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. "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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