Very beautiful Laurel wreath in carved and gilded... Lot 9

Very beautiful Laurel wreath in carved and gilded wood, having belonged to the General Baron Daumesnil. Mark in ink on the back "Fronton du ciel de lit du/ Général Baron Dausmenil/ à Vincennes 1814". Empire period. 24 x 26 cm. (small missing gilding). Pierre Dausmenil (Perigueux 1776 - Vincennes 1832) nicknamed the Peg-leg, General of Empire. He joined the army at the age of 17 in 1794 and was seriously wounded at the Battle of Elne a few months later. He joined the guides of General Bonaparte in 1797, and followed him in all his battles. Member of the Legion of Honor in 1804. In 1809, he was created Baron of the Empire and was named Brigadier General in 1812. The same year, he was appointed Governor of the Chateau de Vincennes with a special order from the Emperor to General Daumesnil, "to stay there, never to leave, and not to leave for a moment without an order". In 1814, Daumesnil refused to return Vincennes to the occupying armies. In 1815, the General was assigned to the place of Condé and made Knight of St Louis; but when the Emperor returned, Daumesnil returned to Vincennes. He refused to return the place after the second abdication of Napoleon, in front of the occupying armies, surrendering only to King Louis XVIII. Retired shortly afterwards, he was reinstated in the government of Vincennes after the Revolution of 1830, where he died of cholera on August 17, 1832.