"GENERAL GABRIEL VENANCE REY, IN GENERAL'S UNIFORM,... Lot 8

"GENERAL GABRIEL VENANCE REY, IN GENERAL'S UNIFORM, AT NAPLES". (1763-1836). Round miniature on ivory. Diameter : 11 cm. Under glass. Gilt wood frame with palmettes. B.E. 19th century. Related work : - The capture of Gaète by General Rey by Charles Thévenin. Museum of Millau. Engraving representing the General Rey commanding the front guard of the army of Naples. It is the same composition as our miniature. The general carries a sword of command model AN VI on our miniature. Biography : Gabriel Venance Rey (1763-1836) He entered the service on June 3, 1783, in the Royal Cavalry Regiment, he became a brigadier on November 26, 1789, and adjutant-major in the 5th battalion of volunteers of Calvados on November 1, 1792. On 13 May 1793 he became provisional adjutant-general and on 17 July 1793 he was appointed general-in-chief of the army assembled in Chinon, by order of the people's representative Philippeaux. He was confirmed in the rank of major general on 30 July 1793, in the army of the coast of La Rochelle. On the following 30 September he was suspended from his duties, and was reinstated in the army of the Brest coast on 6 September 1794. On 1 January 1796 he was sent to the army of Italy, and on 30 September he commanded Coni. On the 24th November, he joined General Chabot's division during the siege of Mantua, and on the 1st January 1797, he commanded the reserve of the army of Italy. On 27 May 1797, took command of Ancona, and on 5 August that of the 3rd cavalry division. In March 1798, he was assigned to the army of Rome, commanding the army's cavalry on the 25th November, then on the 23rd January 1799, he held the same position in the army of Naples. In January 1799, he brought down the town of Gaète and its garrison of 4,000 men, with only 400 men. On 10 July 1799, he commanded the 12th military division at La Rochelle, then the 16th division at Caen on the 23rd of the same month. On the 18th November 1799 he commanded a division of the army of England, and on the 24th April 1800, was put in charge of the organisation of the Italian legion. On 15 July 1800, he commanded the vanguard division in the 2nd reserve army, then the 1st division of the same army, before moving to the reserve army of the Grisons in November 1800. He was placed on inactive status on November 23, 1801, and was admitted to retirement on August 27, 1803. Appointed consul in the United States, recalled to France in 1808, for having had relations with General Moreau, who was exiled in America at the time.