Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie, who took the last name of his black slave mother, Marie Dumas, rose from the rank of private in the army of Louis xvi to general of division during the French Revolution. His father was Alexandre-Antoine Davy, a lesser French nobleman who spent more than twenty-five years in Saint Domingue. An illegitimate mulatto, born in a French colony (1762), Thomas-Alexandre's future was not promising. But when the French Revolution opened all ranks in the army to all men, Alexandre Dumas rose rapidly. He commanded the Army of the Alps in 1794 and served under General Bonaparte in Italy (1796-1797) and Egypt (1798-1799). His bad relationship with Bonaparte brought an early end to his military career, and two years in an Italian prison destroyed his health and brought an early end to his life (1806).

General Dumas is best known for having fathered the author of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. However, his life provides an excellent study of the revolutionary principles of liberty and equality as they applied to a "man of color" who had neither a powerful family to support him nor political or social connections. His life also provides a look into the relationship between the army and the government in Paris during the Reign of Terror. Finally, his relationship with Napoleon Bonaparte provides a very interesting window to view a side of the Emperor of the French that is not always manifested in studies of Napoleon.

My interest in General Dumas came by way of my studies of foreign soldiers in the armies of the French Revolution and the empire. Among the documents at the Château de Vincennes (Service Historique de l'Etat-Major de Armée) dealing with the Légion franche des Américains (Xk 9), an all black corps, I found Alexandre Dumas. the printed information of General Dumas comes primarily from the first volume of his son's Mémoires. However, Alexandre Dumas (père) idolized his father, hated Napoleon, and made little effort to hide his feelings. As a result, he is selective as to what he includes and excludes with respect to the life of his father. Nevertheless, one must begin any study of the general with the son's Memoires. But Dumas (père) must be carefully checked against the archival material whenever that is possible. Other biographers have relied heavily on Dumas (père). I have relied primarily on . . .