In 1811, Dufour joined the French Army and was sent to help defend
Corfu, in the
French Ionian Islands, where he mapped the island's old fortifications. on 27 December 1856 due to the
Neuchâtel Crisis, and in 1859 due to the
Second Italian War of Independence. In 1850 the mountaineer and topographer
Johann Coaz served as his private secretary. From 1861, he was the honorary president of the
Swiss Geodetic Commission a commission of the
Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences. This commission was created during the publication of the Dufour map, and its initial work contributed to the design of the
Topographic Atlas of Switzerland. In 1861,
Johan Jacob Baeyer proposed the creation of the
Central European Arc Measurement, whose objective was to redetermine anomalies in the shape of the Earth using precise
geodetic surveys combined with
gravimetry. The aim was to figure out the
geoid using gravimetric and leveling measurements to derive an accurate understanding of the
Earth ellipsoid while taking
vertical deflections into account. In 1863 he was part of a committee with
Gustave Moynier,
Henry Dunant,
Louis Appia and
Théodore Maunoir that discussed Dunant's ideas for the creation of a voluntary care organization for the assistance of the wounded in battle. Dunant's vision and the committees work ultimately led to the foundation of the
International Red Cross, presided by Dufour. The following year he presided over the international conference which framed the
First Geneva Convention as to the treatment of the wounded in time of war. On 16 July 1875, 60,000 persons participated at Dufour's burial at
Cimetière de Plainpalais in Geneva. ==Saint Antoine Bridge==