Louis Dieudonné Gaillard was born on January 24, 1824 at the headquarters of the cavalry in Meaux (he was son of a blacksmith). He died at the age of 63 on January 18, 1888 avenue de la Porte Neuve in Pau.
Bachelor of Arts, in 1842; entered Saint-Cyr the same year; lieutenant of staff in the 69th line infantry regiment, in 1848 he was in Rouen when Revolution of 1848 brole out; captain of staff in the Army of the East, at the headquarters of Sebastopol, in 1855; Knight of the Legion of Honor, June 1, 1855; Wounded and mentioned at the order of the army corps, at the battle of Rezonville, August 16, 1870; Colonel of Staff, Military Attaché at the French Embassy in Saint Petersburg in 1877; Commander of the Legion of Honor, February 6, 1877; he participated in the Russo-Turkish war which was led by Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia /he was sent on a mission to accompany Prince Charles of Romania, throughout this campaign; he was also General Skobelew's aide-de-camp, during the capture of the redoubts, on the road to Loftcha (Bulgaria)/.
Colonel Gaillard was close to the Grand Duke Nicholas (son of Nicholas I of Russia and brother of Emperor Alexander II) and the imperial family. He considered by historians as one of the architects of the Franco-Russian friendship of the time. On returning from Saint-Petersburg in May 1878, he was appointed state adviser on extraordinary service (July 20, 1878/November 19, 1879), but he quickly resigned and returned to Russia in 1880 to accompany Alfred Chanzy to the Funeral of the Empress of Russia at St. Petersburg /on this occasion he was awarded Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stanislaus/
He was appointed brigadier general on April 26, 1879 and commander of the 72nd line infantry brigade and subdivisions of the Pau and Tarbes regions from 1880 to 1886. He retired from military service in 1886. He died two years later on January 18, 1888 in Pau.
Comparative sizes of all five Saint George crosses.
