Armand Du Paty De Clam

Vocation

Traits

French army officer, an amateur graphologist, and a key figure in the Dreyfus affair. Du Paty de Clam framed Dreyfus, claiming that Dreyfus's handwriting was the same as that on a note written by a spy within the army. He subsequently testified at Dreyfus's court-martial in late December, 1894, and was later promoted to lieutenant-colonel for his role in convicting Dreyfus. Emile Zola directly cited du Paty de Clam in his "J'accuse...!" of January 1898, declaring: "At the root of it all is one evil man, Lt. Colonel du Paty de Clam, who was at the time a mere Major. He is the entire Dreyfus case...". In March 1899 the Supreme Court of Appeals reviewed the Dreyfus case and ordered du Paty de Clam's arrest in June 1899, just prior to Dreyfus's re-trial (i.e. re-court-martial). Dreyfus reluctantly accepted a pardon in late 1899, accompanied by amnesty for all those involved in the case. Stigmatized by his role in the affair, du Paty de Clam resigned from the army in early 1901. He successfully applied to be re-admitted to the military in 1913 as a lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army (reserve forces). He was wounded at the First Battle of Marne in September 1914, receiving the Legion d'Honneur. Du Paty de Clam died from his wounds at Versailles on 3 September 1916. Link to Wikipedia biography