Jean-Baptiste Marchand (1863-1934) was a French soldier who led an expedition from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the Nile River in order to expand French territory. He was confronted by the British at the Sudanese town of Fashoda and forced to retreat.

Jean-Baptiste Marchand was born in the little French town of Thoissey in eastern France north of the city of Lyons. His family was poor, and he was forced to quit school after the first year of high school (lycée). He was apprenticed to a notary at the age of 13 and worked there until the death of his mother when he was 20. He enlisted in the French Army on October 1, 1883. He was promoted to corporal on April 1, 1884 and then progressed to sergeant. His superiors thought so highly of him that he was sent to officer training school in 1886 and returned to his former regiment...