CARNOT, Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, French soldier and statesman: b. Nolay, Bur gundy, 1753; d. Magdeburg, 2 Aug. 1823. From his youth he exhibited an uncommon talent for the mathematical and military sciences, entered the corps of engineers, and rose in office by the favor of the Prince of Conde. He pub lished, afterward, 'Mathematical Essays,' which caused him to be elected a member of several learned societies. His eulogy on Vauban re ceived the prize of the Academy of Dijon. In 1791 he was appointed deputy to the Constituent Assembly, but at first took part only in mili tary affairs. On his proposal the officers of the nobility were removed from the army, and others substituted from the citizens. He also propdsed that implicit obedience should only be demanded of the soldier in presence of the enemy, at other times he should have all the privileges and rights of the citizen; a strange proposal to come from a military chief. As a member of the convention he voted for the death of Louis. In the following March he was sent to the Army of the North, where he put himself at the head and repulsed the enemy. On his return to the convention he was made a member of the Committee of Public Safety. The influence of Carnot in the military operations now began to be more deeply felt. In posses sion of all the plans deposited in the archives of Louis XIV, he organized and directed the French armies; and his direction undoubtedly contributed very much to their success. After the fall of Robespierre he was often accused, but always acquitted, because his duty had been to take care of the defense of the country, and he could not be made answerable for the cruel decrees of Robespierre, in which Carnot's name, as he was a member of the committee, was of course to be found. At the establishment of the Directory in 1795 Carnot was chosen a mem ber, and for some time maintained an import ant influence. Barras at length succeeded him in the Department of War, and was ever after his enemy. His plan for the overthrow of Bar ras was unsuccessful, and with some others he was sentenced to transportation on the 18th Fructidor (4 Sept.) 1797. He fled to Germany and published a defense, which was eagerly read in Paris, and by the exposure of the conduct of his former colleagues hastened their throw on the 30th Prairial (18 June) 1799.
After the 18th Brumaire Carnot was recalled, and appointed inspecteur aux revues, and two months later, in April 1800, Minister of War. He soon after retired into the bosom of his family, but was called to the tribunate, 9 March 1802. He often opposed the views of the gov ernment, voted against the consulship for life, and his was the only voice raised against the proposal for the Imperial dignity. He remained, however, a member of the tribunate till it was abolished, passed the next seven years of his life in retirement and published several valu able military works. In 1814 Napoleon gave him the chief command at Antwerp. He con nected a vigorous defense with a careful re gard for the interest of the city, which, by the command of Louis XVIII, he afterward sur rendered to the British General Graham. He still retained his titles and his honors, but as a firm republican he could never expect the favor of the court; particularly as, in his me morial to the King, he openly and severely cen sured the measures of government, in conse quence of which he was passed over in the new organization of the Academy of Sciences. When Napoleon was once more at the helm of state in 1815, he made Carnot count and peer of the empire, and pressed upon him the Min istry of the Interior. Carnot discharged the difficult duties of this office with his usual in tegrity. After the Emperor's second fall he was made a member of the provisory govern ment of France, and was afterward the only one of the members of it comprehended in the ordinance of 24 July. He retired to Cerney, where he employed his pen on political subjects; then to Warsaw with his family; and finally to Magdeburg. Athong Carnot's writ ings the most valuable are his tEssai sur les ma chines' ; sur la metaphysique du calcul infinitesimal' ; (Sur la geometric de posi tion' ; De la defense des places fortes' ; 'Ex pose de la conduite politique de Carnot, depuis le I Juillet 1814.' In Magdeburg Carnot pub lished 'Memoire sur la fortification primitive' ; and a volume of poems. He was rigid in his love of virtue, a scholar, a general and an in flexible republican. He was universally es teemed, both in France and in foreign lands, and was honored by all parties. 'Consult Arago, 'Eulogy of Carnot' (in Vol. I of Arago's 'CEuvres completes,' Paris 1854).