Below is the translation of the action that earned the 29 years old Sous-Lieut Laurent-Stanislas-Joseph Gobe (Gob) the Légion d'honneur on 23 April 1809
On the 15 (17th) of April 1809, at one hour of assembly, the 4th Company of Voltigeurs, of which Mr. Gobe was a member, received an order to pass the Regen, near Ratisbonne, to chase the enemy from the village of Reinhausen, in which they had withdrawn after cutting the bridge. He took a boat in which a voltigeur had embarked with him. The boat had to be placed across from one arch to another (of the bridge) to facilitate the passage of the troops. The current was so strong that it dragged the boat and capsized it. Knowing how to swim, the sub-lieutenant Gobe saved the voltigeur, who would have perished without rescue.
After this action, he took another boat and continued to pass successively under the fire of the enemy, the men from one bank to the other, until the five in the evening. Pressed by the chiefs and in particular by the General of Division Comte St. Hilaire to go and rest in the village. While passing the bridge, he spotted a voltigeur who fell in the river and was going to perish. He immediately swam again, fully dressed, and managed to save the rescued man.
This action was noticed by his Excellency the Duke of Auerstaedt and earned him the decoration which was given to him on 25 April 1809.
Thanks for looking,
Michael