Jean Augustin Ernouf

Divisional-General Manuel Louis Jean Augustin Ernouf (29 August 1753 – 12 September 1827) was a French Army officer and colonial administrator who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He demonstrated moderate abilities as a combat commander; his real strength lay in his organizational and logistical talents. He held several posts as chief-of-staff and in military administration.

He joined the military in 1791, as a private in the French Revolutionary Army; from September 1791 to September 1793, he was promoted from lieutenant to brigadier general. He and his commanding officer were accused of being counter-revolutionaries, disgraced, and then, in 1794, restored to rank. In 1804, Napoleon I appointed him as governor general of Guadeloupe, following the suppression of revolt by Black Guadeloupeans opposed to the restoration of direct French rule and slavery. Although he was able to reestablish some semblance of order and agricultural production, the British invaded the colony in 1810 and after a brief engagement forced him to capitulate.

He returned to France on a prisoner exchange, but was charged with treason by Napoleon I, enraged by the loss of the colony to the British. Before he could be exonerated by a court, the First Empire fell; with the Bourbon Restoration, he retained his honors, and received command of the III Corps, in Marseille. After the second restoration, he held an administrative position in one of the occupation zones, and later he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of France.