The French military engineer, soldier, and statesman Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot (1753-1823) refashioned the French Revolutionary armies into an effective fighting force. For his invaluable services he was called the "Organizer of Victory."

Lazare Carnot was born on May 13, 1753, in Nolay, Burgundy, where his father was a lawyer, royal notary, and local judge. He was educated at Autun and at the École de Mézières. Upon graduation he joined the army as a military engineer. He first earned attention for his Éloge de Vauban, in praise of the Marquis de Vauban, Louis XIV's great military engineer and social critic, who became Carnot's ideal. His involvement in the controversies over the utility of frontier fortifications, on the side of innovator Marc René Montalembert, earned the displeasure of his superiors, and he was imprisoned for a short period. After marrying Marie Jacqueline Sophie Du...