Charles de Lorencez

Charles Ferdinand Latrille, Comte de Lorencez (23 May 1814 –16 July 1892) was a French Army general [1] under Emperor Maximilian of Mexico during the 19th century. He was a relative of the Empress Charlotte, who was the only daughter of King Leopold I, King of the Belgians and wife of Emperor Maximilian.

Charles Ferdinand Latrille, Comte de Lorencez
Born	(1814-05-23)May 23, 1814 Paris, France
Died	July 16, 1892(1892-07-16) (aged 78) Château Laas
Allegiance	Second French Empire
Service/branch	French Army
Years of service	1832-1872 (ESM (1830-1832))
Rank	Army General
Battles/wars	Crimean War French intervention in Mexico Battle of Puebla Franco-Prussian War
Relations	Charlotte of Belgium

Lorencez was born in Paris to a noble family. He studied at the military academy of Saint-Cyr from 1830 to 1832, graduating as a third lieutenant. He served first in Algeria, where he was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1852. In 1855, at the Battle of Malakoff during the Crimean War, he won a commission to major general.

Latrille de Lorencez then served in the French intervention in Mexico. Most notably, he fought at the Battle of Puebla, on 5 May 1862, where the French troops under his command were defeated by Mexican troops led by General Ignacio Zaragoza. The disgraced general left Veracruz on 17 December 1862. During the rest of the war, Lorencez would be one of many pressuring the emperor to recall the expedition warning him of a potential disaster.

He later fought during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. His contraction of yellow fever in Mexico compelled him to retire from active service two years later. He was survived by his wife the Comtesse Emilia Alvarez de Perez and his daughter the Comtesse Emilia Latrille de Lorencez.