Hugues Alexandre Joseph Meunier

He thus served in the Army of the North under generals Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette and Charles-François Dumouriez, commanding the 1st Grenadier Battalion in its reserves from 1 August to 15 September 1792.

In that role he converged to guarantee the armée du Grand-Pré's safe retreat to Sainte-Menehould, bringing in all the position's artillery under enemy fire and beat off several Prussian attacks at the entrance to Senuc wood.

Pierre Riel de Beurnonville, then a general and minister for war, also showed the government's appreciation by sending him a fully equipped horse.

There he fought against the Quiberon Expedition and was made a brigadier general by the commander in chief Lazare Hoche on the field of battle on 16 July 1795 – this rank was confirmed on 23 August.

Soon Hoche, Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse and Laurent Truguet put him in command of a planned expedition to capture the Cape of Good Hope, though this never came to fruition.

He was granted lands in Westphalia and the title of baron de l'Empire by Napoleon on 19 March 1808, who on that date also made him inspector of the infantry in the 21st Military Division on 30 April and later commander of the Méditerranée department in Tuscany.

Meunier briefly retired for health reasons on 14 October 1809 but otherwise remained in his position until 21 June 1810, when he was put in charge of a branch of the Hôtel des Invalides in Louvain.