Born in Nijmegen, his military career began at the age of nine when he became a cadet in the Dutch army. He rose through the ranks and by 1793, at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, he held the rank of colonel, and was wounded in the campaign.[1]
Batavian Republicedit
The Dutch surrender in 1795 made way for the mostly peaceful establishment of the Batavian Republic, a satellite state of the French First Republic. From 1795 to 1802, Colonel Janssens served mostly as an administrator within the new Batavian Army. He was appointed governor of the Cape Colony upon its return to the Dutch by the British under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Arriving in early 1803, he attempted to strengthen the defences of the colony, but found resources lacking, having few trained troops at his disposal and the political situation tenuous at best. During this time, he was promoted to Lieutenant-General.
The start of the War of the Third Coalition marked another British invasion of the Cape Colony. Janssens was under no impression that he had the ability to defeat the British force, led by Lieutenant-General Sir David Baird, yet he mobilized his forces and engaged the British on 8 January 1806, at the Battle of Blaauwberg, near Cape Town. His force was routed and the Cape Colony was surrendered to the British for the last time on 18 January. Under the terms of the surrender, Janssens was transported back to the Netherlands, arriving at the Hague on 8 June 1806.
By the time Janssens surrendered to the British, the war in Europe had ended with the Treaty of Pressburg. When he returned to the Netherlands, Napoleon had already installed his brother Louis Bonaparte as the king of the newly formed Kingdom of Holland.
Kingdom of Holland and the French Empireedit
Louis Bonaparte named Janssens Secretary-General of the Department of War upon his return. He held a series of high-ranking administrative posts within the kingdom until the abdication of Louis Napoleon and the annexation of the Netherlands by France in 1810. On 11 November 1810, he was appointed governor-general of the territory known, before the annexation, as the Dutch East Indies, replacing Herman Willem Daendels. He arrived in Batavia, Java on 15 May 1811 and immediately involved himself in efforts to strengthen the colony's defenses. Java benefited from a larger amount of both Dutch and French troops, as well as better defenses, compared to the Cape Colony. However, the British invasion fleet arrived shortly thereafter, on 30 July, led by Sir Samuel Auchmuty.
Janssens mounted a defense that centered around the existing fortifications, namely Meester Cornelis. However, the French soldiers under his command lacked well-trained officers and as the British laid siege to the fortress, Janssens personally led a futile defense and was forced to retreat to Buitenzorg (later the place of residence of the British governor-general, Sir Stamford Raffles. A large number of French soldiers were captured during the retreat and ensuing pursuit and Janssens was forced to surrender on 18 September 1811. He was imprisoned in Britain until 12 November 1812, when he was repatriated to the Netherlands.
In mid-March 1814, Janssens collected 3,600 French soldiers from various garrisons and successfully marched through Allied-held territory to join Napoleon at Reims.[2] At the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube his division was assigned to the corps commanded by Marshal Michel Ney.[3] On 21 March 1814 his division was embroiled in a terrific struggle for the village of Grand-Torcy during which he was wounded.[4]
He resigned his post in the French Army on 9 April 1814.
Post-Napoleonic War careeredit
Janssens was involved with the nascent Kingdom of the Netherlands as the provisional Commissary-General of War, but he resigned his post after his request to be posted once again as the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies was denied. He resigned from active duty on 22 May 1815.
He died as a highly decorated veteran in The Hague on 23 May 1838 aged 75.
willem, janssens, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jan Willem Janssens news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Jonkheer Jan Willem Janssens GCMWO 12 October 1762 23 May 1838 was a Dutch nobleman soldier and statesman who served both as the governor of the Dutch Cape Colony and governor general of the Dutch East Indies 1 JonkheerJan Willem JanssensGCMWOPortrait by Jan Willem Pieneman Governor General of the Dutch East IndiesIn office 15 May 18 September 1811MonarchNapoleon BonapartePreceded byHerman Willem DaendelsSucceeded byAbolished Robert Rollo Gillespie Lieutenant Governor of Bencoolen under British ruleGovernor of the Dutch Cape ColonyIn office 1803 1806Preceded byJacob Abraham Uitenhage de MistSucceeded byDavid Baird British administration Personal detailsBorn 1762 10 12 12 October 1762Nijmegen Guelders Dutch RepublicDied23 May 1838 1838 05 23 aged 75 The Hague NetherlandsSpousesAnna Barbara Balneavis m 1786 died 1801 wbr Sara Louisa Hartsen m 1822 wbr Childrenwith Anna Barbara Balneavis Wilhelmina Anna Janssens daughter Henri Janssens son Adriana Carolina Janssens daughter Jan Willem Janssens jr son with Sara Louisa Hartsen Henri Guillaume Charles Louis Janssens son ParentsJohan Jacob Janssens father Adriana Rees mother Contents 1 Early life 2 Batavian Republic 3 Kingdom of Holland and the French Empire 4 Post Napoleonic War career 5 Decorations and medals 5 6 Notes 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksEarly life editBorn in Nijmegen his military career began at the age of nine when he became a cadet in the Dutch army He rose through the ranks and by 1793 at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars he held the rank of colonel and was wounded in the campaign 1 Batavian Republic editThe Dutch surrender in 1795 made way for the mostly peaceful establishment of the Batavian Republic a satellite state of the French First Republic From 1795 to 1802 Colonel Janssens served mostly as an administrator within the new Batavian Army He was appointed governor of the Cape Colony upon its return to the Dutch by the British under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 Arriving in early 1803 he attempted to strengthen the defences of the colony but found resources lacking having few trained troops at his disposal and the political situation tenuous at best During this time he was promoted to Lieutenant General The start of the War of the Third Coalition marked another British invasion of the Cape Colony Janssens was under no impression that he had the ability to defeat the British force led by Lieutenant General Sir David Baird yet he mobilized his forces and engaged the British on 8 January 1806 at the Battle of Blaauwberg near Cape Town His force was routed and the Cape Colony was surrendered to the British for the last time on 18 January Under the terms of the surrender Janssens was transported back to the Netherlands arriving at the Hague on 8 June 1806 By the time Janssens surrendered to the British the war in Europe had ended with the Treaty of Pressburg When he returned to the Netherlands Napoleon had already installed his brother Louis Bonaparte as the king of the newly formed Kingdom of Holland Kingdom of Holland and the French Empire editLouis Bonaparte named Janssens Secretary General of the Department of War upon his return He held a series of high ranking administrative posts within the kingdom until the abdication of Louis Napoleon and the annexation of the Netherlands by France in 1810 On 11 November 1810 he was appointed governor general of the territory known before the annexation as the Dutch East Indies replacing Herman Willem Daendels He arrived in Batavia Java on 15 May 1811 and immediately involved himself in efforts to strengthen the colony s defenses Java benefited from a larger amount of both Dutch and French troops as well as better defenses compared to the Cape Colony However the British invasion fleet arrived shortly thereafter on 30 July led by Sir Samuel Auchmuty Janssens mounted a defense that centered around the existing fortifications namely Meester Cornelis However the French soldiers under his command lacked well trained officers and as the British laid siege to the fortress Janssens personally led a futile defense and was forced to retreat to Buitenzorg later the place of residence of the British governor general Sir Stamford Raffles A large number of French soldiers were captured during the retreat and ensuing pursuit and Janssens was forced to surrender on 18 September 1811 He was imprisoned in Britain until 12 November 1812 when he was repatriated to the Netherlands In mid March 1814 Janssens collected 3 600 French soldiers from various garrisons and successfully marched through Allied held territory to join Napoleon at Reims 2 At the Battle of Arcis sur Aube his division was assigned to the corps commanded by Marshal Michel Ney 3 On 21 March 1814 his division was embroiled in a terrific struggle for the village of Grand Torcy during which he was wounded 4 He resigned his post in the French Army on 9 April 1814 Post Napoleonic War career editJanssens was involved with the nascent Kingdom of the Netherlands as the provisional Commissary General of War but he resigned his post after his request to be posted once again as the governor general of the Dutch East Indies was denied He resigned from active duty on 22 May 1815 He died as a highly decorated veteran in The Hague on 23 May 1838 aged 75 Decorations and medals 5 editCommander of the Order of the Union 25 November 1807 Grand Cross of the Order of the Union 3 February 1808 Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour 16 May 1811 Grand Cross of the Order of the Reunion 22 February 1812 Grand Cross of the Military William Order KB No 16 8 July 1815 Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands LionNotes edit a b Van Uythoven 2013 Nafziger 2015 p 306 Nafziger 2015 p 311 Nafziger 2015 p 319 w nl Jan Willem JanssensReferences editNafziger George 2015 The End of Empire Napoleon s 1814 Campaign Solihull UK Helion amp Company ISBN 978 1 909982 96 3 Van Uythoven Geert 2013 Lieutenant General Jan Willem Janssens The Napoleon Series Retrieved 30 July 2016 Further reading editWurtzburg Charles Edward 1953 Raffles of the Eastern Isles Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 582605 0External links edit nbsp Media related to Jan Willem Janssens at Wikimedia CommonsGovernment officesPreceded byJacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony1803 1806 Succeeded byDavid Bairdas Governor of the Cape Colony acting British rule Preceded byHerman Willem Daendels Governor General of the Dutch East Indies1811 Succeeded byAbolished Robert Rollo Gillespie Lieutenant Governor of the Dutch East Indies under British rule Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jan Willem Janssens amp oldid 1179696093, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
