Editing André Masséna (section)

==Early life and career==
André Masséna was born on 6 May 1758 in [[Nice]], in the [[County of Nice]], then part of the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720-1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]], the son of Jules César Masséna (1731–1764) and Catherine Fabre.{{sfn|Valynseele|1957|pp=85-86}} He was baptized Andrea Massena the same day at the [[Nice Cathedral|Cathedral of Saint Reparata]] by [[Canon (title)|Canon]] Ignazio Cacciardi. His father's family, originally from [[Piedmont]], had lived for at least three centuries in the [[Vésubie]] valley and owned land in [[Levens, Alpes-Maritimes|Levens]], a town in the hinterland of Nice. His father, after serving in the army for seven years,{{sfn|Valynseele|1957|p=86}} became a wine merchant on his return home in 1754. That same year he married Catherine Fabre, daughter of a contractor and shipowner from [[Toulon]], with whom he had six children. He died from [[tuberculosis]] in 1764 and his widow, who quickly remarried, entrusted their children to the care of her first husband's relatives; André, the eldest of three sons, was then six years old.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=625-629}}

Masséna spent his childhood in the family home in Levens and revealed himself early on a turbulent boy. When he was not yet ten years old, his grandmother, anxious to compensate for his lack of education, tried to make him a [[baker]], but Masséna did not appreciate this career any more than he did working in his uncle's soap factory, where he remained until the age of 14. Giving up on becoming a craftsman, he preferred to run away and became a [[cabin boy]] aboard a [[merchant ship]]. He sailed in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and on an extended voyage to [[French Guiana]].{{sfn|Six|1934|p=164}} In 1775, at the age of 17, Masséna definitively gave up sailing and, on the advice of his uncle Marcel, who was already serving in the unit as a non-commissioned officer, enlisted in the {{ill|Royal Italian Regiment|fr|Régiment Royal-Italien}} stationed in Toulon.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=629-631}}

Benefiting from his good physical condition, Masséna learned the profession of arms while his uncle took care of his education. Appointed corporal on 1 September 1776, he was successively promoted to sergeant on 18 April 1777, to quartermaster on 14 February 1783, and finally to [[adjutant]] at the age of 26 on 4 September 1784.{{sfn|Six|1934|p=164}} This was the highest rank a non-nobleman could achieve in the [[French Royal Army]].{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=631-633}} On 13 April of the same year, Masséna was received as an apprentice in the Toulon [[masonic lodge]] ''Les Élèves de Minerve''. His progression within the hierarchy of the lodge was rapid and he became its master of ceremonies on 15 August. On 27 September 1787, the [[Grand Orient de France]] created the lodge ''La Parfaite Amitié'' within the Royal Italian Regiment itself, of which Masséna became the president.{{sfn|Hivert-Messeca|1997|pp=48-49}}

In 1788, following the restructuring of the Royal Italian, Masséna was sent to [[Antibes]] where he joined the corps of Royal [[Chasseurs]] of [[Provence]]. He stood out as a competent non-commissioned officer; with further advancement blocked, Masséna requested the following year to be transferred to the [[gendarmerie]], but his request was rejected despite the recommendations of his commanding officer. He finally left his regiment on 3 August 1789, in the early days of the [[French Revolution]], to settle in Antibes. There he married Marie Rosalie Lamare, daughter of a master [[surgeon]], on 10 August.{{sfn|Valynseele|1957|p=87}} With little wealth, Masséna opened up a grocery store and, without much success, engaged in [[smuggling]] for about two years. During this time he became an active member of local revolutionary circles. With the establishment of the [[National Guard (France)|National Guard]] in French cities, Masséna was appointed instructor of the Antibes unit due to his military experience. He showed great efficiency in this post and was soon elected instructor captain of the 2nd [[National Volunteers (France)|volunteer battalion]] of [[Var (department)|Var]] on 14 September 1791. He became second lieutenant-colonel on 1 February 1792 and first lieutenant-colonel on 1 August.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=634-641, 879}}