Jean Antoine de Collaert

Jean Antoine de Collaert
Born	13 June 1761 (1761-06-13) Liège, Austrian Netherlands
Died	17 June 1816 (1816-06-18) (aged 55) Brussels, Kingdom of the Netherlands
Allegiance	Habsburg Austria Batavian Republic Kingdom of Holland France Kingdom of the Netherlands
Service/branch	Cavalry
Years of service	1778–1779 1795–1806 1806–1810 1810–1814 1815–1816
Rank	General of Brigade Lieutenant General
Battles/wars	War of the Bavarian Succession War of the Second Coalition Battle of Bergen (1799) Battle of Castricum (1799) War of the Fourth Coalition War of the Sixth Coalition Battle of Dresden (1813) Battle of Leipzig (1813) Battle of Mormans (1814) Hundred Days Battle of Waterloo (1815)
Awards	Légion d'Honneur, 1813 Order of Saint-Louis, 1814 Military William Order, KC 1815

Jean Marie Antoine Philippe de Collaert (13 June 1761–17 June 1816) led the Dutch-Belgian cavalry division at the Battle of Waterloo. While a teenager, he participated in the War of the Bavarian Succession as an Austrian cavalryman. After the armies of the First French Republic overran the Dutch Republic in 1795, Collaert became a lieutenant colonel of hussars in the new army of the Batavian Republic, a French satellite state. He fought with distinction at Bergen and Castricum in 1799. He was promoted colonel in 1803 and major general in 1806. Because of ill health and accidents, he missed most active service under the Kingdom of Holland from 1806 to 1810. After Holland was annexed to the First French Empire, he entered French service as a general of brigade and was assigned to garrison duty for two years. In 1813 Collaert was appointed to command a French cavalry brigade in Germany. That year he led his horsemen at Dresden and Leipzig. In February 1814 he fought at Mormans. Returning to the newly created Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, he was soon appointed lieutenant general of its cavalry. He was badly wounded at Waterloo and died of his injuries a year later.