Hippolyte Mircher was a French soldier, Arabist and topographer who served for many years in Algeria and then Egypt during the construction of the Suez Canal. He is known for a mission to the Tuaregs he undertook in 1862.
Life
Hippolyte Etienne Alphonse Mircher was born on 13 August 1820 in Strasbourg, Alsace. His parents were Guillaume Mircher and Catherine Victoire Devaux. His father had been a junior officer in the Napoleonic armies and had little money. Hippolyte Mircher volunteered for the army at the age of 18 and was made a sergeant. He passed the competition at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr. He attended the staff college and graduated in 1842 first in his class out of 241 students. He was named Lieutenant in 1845 and Captain in 1847. He was posted to Algeria in 1852 and assigned to the governor general. He worked in the topographic office and studied the Arabic civilization and language. He had a daughter, Marie Noëlie, born in 1854 to Marguerite Victorine Gady. They married in Cairo on 3 January 1858. During the Crimean War Mircher spent a few months with the Army of the East in the political and topographical service, starting in April 1854. He helped prepare for the march of the armies from Gallipoli to Adrianople and Varna, then to the Crimea. Mircher distinguished himself at the Battle of Alma. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor after the Battle of Inkerman. He served in Kinburn when that city was occupied by the French. After the Crimean War Mircher was employed in Transcaucasia and Armenia to work on mapping the border between the Russian and Turkish empires. He was awarded the Turkish Order of the Medjidie. He returned to Paris, where he wrote a report on Anatolia. Mircher returned to Algeria and served in the topographical brigade and in an expedition as aide-de-camp of General Édouard-Jean-Étienne Deligny. He was then promoted to Chef d'Escadrons. He served on the staff of General Edmond-Charles de Martimprey during the Italian campaign. He returned to Algeria and served in the campaign against the Beni Snassem. As a distinguished Arabist he was charged with a mission to the Bey of Tunis. In 1862 he was assigned to arrange a commercial treaty with the Tuareg people. He undertook this mission between September and December 1862, travelling from Tripoli to Ghadames and then returning to Philippeville in Algeria. In 1863 Mircher was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. His report on the mission to the Tuaregs, co-authored with his companion Ludovic de Polignac, was published in 1863. Mircher was head of the military mission in Egypt from 7 May 1864 to 17 August 1870 during construction of the Suez Canal. He led a team of advisers to Isma'il Pasha, who was to pay their salaries but was to consult with the consul-general Maxime Outrey on their assignments. This led to repeated difficulties between Ismail and the French authorities. In 1866 Mircher was promoted to Colonel. On 20 January 1870 in Nancy, Lorraine, he married Marguerite de Mercy. They had three children. Mircher was chief of staff of an infantry division in the 12th army corps during the Franco-Prussian War and fought in the Battle of Sedan. He was taken prisoner at Sedan and held captive in Dresden. The letters that he wrote to his daughter Marie Noëlie from Dresden between September 1870 and March 1871 have been preserved. After being released, he served as first aide-de-camp and chief of staff to the governor general of Algeria from 2 April 1871 to 4 July 1873. He gave advice to the future explorer of French Africa Paul Soleillet, who was introduced to him by Auguste Warnier, the Deputy for Algeria. In 1873 he was named Chief of Staff of the 12th army corps. He retired as a Bridadier General in command of an infantry brigade in 1875. He died on 15 December 1878.
