Jean Baptiste van Merlen

Jean Baptiste van Merlen

Baron de l'Empire
Born15 April 1773 (1773-04-15)
Died18 June 1815(1815-06-18) (aged 42)
Buried
Allegiance United Belgian States
French Republic
Batavian Republic
Kingdom of Holland
French Empire
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
BranchCavalry
Service years1788–1815
ConflictsFrench Revolutionary Wars
Napoleonic Wars
AwardsKnight of the Order of the Union
Knight of the Order of the Reunion
Officer of the Legion of Honour

Major General Jean Baptiste Baron van Merlen (11 May 1772 – 18 June 1815) (also spelt Joannes Baptista Baron van Merlen) was an army officer born in the Austrian Netherlands who, following the varied fortunes of his homeland, fought on both sides during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Fighting in a series of campaigns in the Netherlands, Germany and Spain, he played an important part in the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo, where he was killed in action.