French military officer. Born 1772, died 1802.
Enlisting in 1791, Leclerc was made a staff assistant in the Army of Italy, in 1793. He advanced rapidly, to become chief of staff under General Lapoype, serving in the siege of Toulon. In the Italian Campaign, he participated at Castiglione and Rivoli.
In 1797, he married Pauline Bonaparte (sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, who by this time was making a high-profile name for himself in the Italian Campaign).
In 1798, he was appointed chief of staff in the "Army of Ireland", later being transferred to the same post in the "Army of England". In August 1799, he was made general of division. In this capacity, he supported the Brumaire coup d'état of Napoleon.
Made commander of the Saint Domingue (Santo Domingo) expedition (to put down Toussaint L'Ouverture's rebellion) in 1801, Leclerc disembarked with his army in Haiti in February 1802. After several months of fighting the rebels, he succumbed to yellow fever on November 2, 1802.