Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult (duke of Dalmatia) was a French soldier. He was born in 1769 at St Amans-la-Bastide and died in 1851. He joined the army in 1785 as an ordinary soldier and by 1794 had become a brigadier-general. His service under Massena in Switzerland and in Italy added to his reputation, and in 1804 he was made a marshal. He took part in the campaigns against the Prussians and the Austrians, and was present at Austerlitz and Eylau. In 1808 he was made a duke and transferred to Spain where he forced the British to evacuate Portugal despite his defeat at Corunna, only to be ousted by Wellington. When Napoleon abdicated, Soult switched allegiance to the new regime, only to support Napoleon once more in the Hundred Days' campaign, and went into exile after the defeat at Waterloo. In 1819 he was allowed to return to Paris, and represented France at the coronation of Queen Victoria and under Louis Philippe was minister for war from 1830 until 1834 and again from 1840 until 1844. Research Nicolas Soult
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