List of Marshals of the First French Empire

Marshal of the Empire was a civil dignity in the First French Empire between 1804 and 1815. The successor of the dignity, the Marshal of France, is a five-star rank with a NATO code of OF-10, equivalent to an Admiral of France in the French Navy. The distinction was used sporadically and was vacant during parts of its history. A marshal was a grand officer of the Empire, entitled to a high-standing position at the court and to the presidency of an electoral college. In total, Napoleon granted 26 men a marshal's baton.
Unlike many positions, the Marshal of the Empire distinction was not a rank, rather a reward. Almost all officers to hold the position of Marshal were professional soldiers in the French Army. Some, including Józef Poniatowski, served in foreign armies. Of all 26, 5 were killed in action, or by accident. One Marshal was present at the Battle of Vitoria, fought in 1813, where the Duke of Wellington earned the British equivalent of the distinction. Most had defected to the royalists before the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's subsequent defeat, with only four serving under Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.
Auguste de Marmont, born in 1774, was the youngest officer to earn the distinction, while Francois Kellerman, born in 1735, was the oldest. The majority were given the title in 1804, while Grouchy received the last, in 1815, shortly before the Battle of Waterloo.

List of Marshals