"General Raolle?" Topic

I was recently told about a French general Raolle who was a friend of the Emperor, fought at Waterloo and committed suicide when Napoleon went into exile. I can find no record of this character. Has anyone else heard of him? (The spelling may be …. questionable.)

There was Reille who commanded II Corps – but he most certainly did not commit suicide (he died in 1860)

Yes, I checked on Reille as he was my first thought.

So if not Reille, then who? I'm afraid Raolle doesn't ring any bells with me, and doesn't sound very French either.

An excellent site for information on French officers of the Napoleonic era is

arcdetriomphe.info

If you go to the Exhibits page, you can select 'suicide' as a filter.
That lists five officers that are represented on the Arc de Triomphe, that committed suicide.

There is no Raolle listed on the Arc de Triomphe that this site references, maybe he wasn't a general…..

My first thought, is that maybe he was a character in a historical novel written as non-fiction.
I have fallen for that a couple of times.

Colonel Louis-Gabriel Hypolyte Ruelle commanded the 8th Line at Waterloo.

"Ruelle commanded the 8th Line at Waterloo" – yes, but he died in 1865, just short of his 90th birthday, and was not a suicide.

The name "Raolle" is actually not a French name, as far as I know.
I looked at the French colonels and generals with names beginning in"R", and none committed suicide (for losing Waterloo or any other reason). Actually suicide, real suicide (for sure suicide – not maybe suicide, maybe fell out of the window or maybe executed) was really rare.

Can we ask the OP, what was the context in which you found this story of "Raolle"?

Thank you,
- Sasha

This was from someone who claimed to have had ancestors on both sides at Waterloo. I tracked down the British officer and found that he actually was not there but did serve in the Peninsular and in the Army of Occupation. The French officer has so far proved a mystery. It may prove to be a 'family legend'.