Ange Hyacinthe Maxence de Damas de Cormaillon, baron de Damas (Russian: Максим Иванович де Дамас; 30 September 1785 – 6 May 1862), was a French general and statesman who participated in the Napoleonic Wars on the Russian side before returning to France after Napoleon's exile. Upon his return to France, he continued his military career and entered into politics, eventually becoming the Minister of War and the Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Capetian kings.
Son of Colonel Charles de Damas, nephew of the Duke of Richelieu he was born in Paris. Soon after the revolution, he and his family /family of Damas was known for its irreconcilable attitude towards the French Revolution/ found themselves in exile in Russia. In 1795-1800 he studied at the Artillery and Engineering Noble Cadet Corps, in which he mastered the Russian language and the professional skills of an officer. In 1800, a fifteen-year-old second lieutenant was sent to serve in the Pioneer Regiment, but soon /thanks to patronage/ he was transferred to the prestigious and easy peacetime service in the guard.
Despite the fact that Napoleon was loyal to the former emigrants, without preventing their return, Damas remained among the irreconcilable. In 1805, as an officer in the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment, he fought at Austerlitz. He did not participate in the campaign of 1806-1807, but was engaged in training recruits. In 1811, he was already a colonel, commander of a battalion of the Life Guards Semenovsky Regiment (in the guard, officers of similar ranks held positions lower than in the army).
At the beginning of 1812, the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment, in which Damas served, was part of the Guards Infantry Division /5th Corps of Lieutenant General Lavrov in the 1st Western Army of the Infantry General Barclay de Tolly/. At Borodino, Colonel Damas, being in the thick of the battle, was wounded by a bullet in the arm. For this battle he received the Order of St. Anne, 2nd class. In December 1812, Damas was placed at the head of the grenadier brigade (Astrakhan and Phanagorian regiments - selected army infantry).
The brigade performed well in the Saxon campaign of 1813 (at Lützen , Bautzen and Leipzig), and its commander was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class, and promoted (September 15, 1813) to major general. In 1814, Damas fought on French soil - at Brienne , at La Rotière (for this battle he was awarded the Golden Weapon “For Bravery” ), at Arcy-sur-Aube.
At the end of the campaign, on May 5, 1814, he received the Order of St. George, 3rd class. Original citation:
"В воздаяние отличных подвигов мужества, храбрости и распорядительности, оказанных в сражении против французских войск 18 марта при Париже/In reward for the excellent feats of courage, bravery and stewardship performed in the battle against French troops on March 18 near Paris".
He retired on May 10, 1814, immediately after the end of hostilities, and joined the French Bourbon army that same year with the rank of lieutenant general. He took part in a campaign in Spain, where the city of Figueres capitulated to him. In 1823 he became a peer of France. During the Second Restoration, Baron de Damas served as Minister of War (1823 - 1824) and Minister of Foreign Affairs of France (1824 - 1828). He was the tutor of the grandson of Charles X, Duke of Bordeaux (better known as the Comte de Chambord).
In 1830 he followed his pupil into exile, but in 1833 he returned to France and settled in the Chateau de Hautefort. He was involved in agriculture and charity. He corresponded with Russian acquaintances, including the Olenin family.
