Statue of General Chazal

The statue of general Chazal on the ‘Zegeplaats’ (Yard of Victory) was unveiled in 1908, in the presence of 2000 veterans of 1870. The artist is Desenfans.

Pierre Emmanuel Felix Chazal was born in Tarbes (France) on January 1, 1808. His family immigrated to Brussels in 1814. In 1844 he was naturalized Belgian.

Chazal was one of the figureheads of the liberal party. In 1865, when Chazal was Minister of War, it came a big dispute with the member of Chamber De Laet from Antwerp. The cause of this was the recruiting forms that were delivered to volunteers for the Mexican Civil War. The dispute ended in a duel with firearms between both gentlemen.

Chazal lost and because a duel was considered a crime by the law of 1841, both gentlemen were convicted by the Court of Cassation.

General Chazal was one of the leaders during the Belgian Revolution against the Netherlands in 1830. As Minister of War he had Camp Beverlo rebuild to the biggest and most important of Europe.