François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg

François Henri de Montmorency was born in Paris. His father, the François de Montmorency-Bouteville, had been executed six months before his birth for participating in a duel against the Marquis de Beuvron. His aunt, Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency, Princess of Condé, took charge of him and educated him with her son, the Duke of Enghien. The young Montmorency (or Bouteville as he was then called) attached himself to his cousin, and shared his successes and reverses throughout the troubles of the Fronde. He returned to France in 1659 and was pardoned, and Condé, then much attached to the Duchess of Châtillon, Montmorency's sister, contrived the marriage of his adherent and cousin to the greatest heiress in France, Madeleine de Luxembourg, Princess of Tingry and heiress of the Luxembourg dukedom (1661), after which he was created Duke of Luxembourg and peer of France.^[2]

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François de Montmorency-Bouteville

François de Montmorency-Bouteville

François de Montmorency-Bouteville was the second son of Louis de Montmorency, Comte de Bouteville, Vice-Admiral of France under Henri IV. In 1612, he became prior of Le Plessis-Grimoult in name, and in person in 1616. He remained prior until 1618 when he stepped down in favor of his brother Louis. François succeeded his brother Henri in 1616 and became Duke of Luxembourg and Governor of Senlis. He served with distinction at the sieges of Saint-Jean-d'Angély, Montauban, Royan and Montpellier.

Duel

Duel

A duel was an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules.

Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency

Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency

Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency was an heiress of one of France's leading ducal families, and Princess de Condé by her marriage to Henri de Bourbon. She almost became a mistress of Henry IV of France, but her husband escaped with her after the wedding and did not return to France until after King Henry's death.

Princess of Condé

Princess of Condé

War of Devolution and the Franco-Dutch War

At the opening of the War of Devolution (1667–68), Condé, and consequently Luxembourg, had no command, but during the second campaign he served as Condé's lieutenant general in the conquest of Franche-Comté. During the four years of peace which followed, Luxembourg cultivated the favour of Louvois, and in 1672 held a high command against the Dutch during the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678).^[2] He defeated a counterattack by the Prince William III of Orange at Woerden but was blocked by the Dutch Water Line. On 27 December the inundations were frozen over and he began to cross over the ice, but a sudden thaw cut his force in half. Retreating, de Luxembourg found the fortress town of Bodegraven abandoned by its garrison and ordered the entire civilian population to be burned alive with their houses. The Dutch anti-French propaganda quickly exploited this massacre and when de Luxembourg bragged to Louis XIV that he had roasted any Dutchman he could find in the town, he was surprised to find that some at court considered such cruelties unnecessary. In 1673 he made his famous retreat from Utrecht to Maastricht with only 20,000 men in face of 70,000, an exploit which placed him in the first rank of generals. In 1674 he was made captain of the Garde du Corps, and in 1675 Marshal of France.^[2]

On 10 March 1676 (N.S.) he was made commander of the Army of the Rhine replacing Condé, who was in bad health.^[3] However, he could not relieve the siege of Philippsburg. This fortress had been invested by Imperial troops under Charles V, Duke of Lorraine on 1 May. Luxembourg could neither break through the defenses of Wissembourg established by the Imperials, nor draw them out to do battle. Philippsburg fell on 17 September. In 1677 he stormed Valenciennes, defeated William of Orange again at Cassel and in 1678, repulsed another of his assault at Saint-Denis after the signature of the Peace of Nijmegen. His reputation was now high and it is reputed that he quarrelled with Louvois, who managed to involve him in the "Affair of the Poisons" and get him sent to the Bastille. Rousset in his Histoire de Louvois has shown that this quarrel is probably apocryphal. Luxembourg doubtlessly spent some months of 1680 in the Bastille, but on his release took up his post at court as capitaine des gardes.^[2]

War of the Grand Alliance 1688-97

Dutch engraving of Montmorency; in the background his troops massacre Dutch civilians

By 1690, during the War of the Grand Alliance, Luxembourg was entrusted with the command of King Louis' army in the Spanish Netherlands, superseding Louis de Crevant, Duke of Humières. On 1 July 1690, he won his greatest victory over William's allied commander, the Prince of Waldeck, at Fleurus. In the following year he was again victorious at Leuze on 18 September 1691.

In the next campaign he covered the king's 1692 Siege of Namur, and defeated William at Steenkerque in 1692; and again on 29 July 1693, won the most famous of his battles over his eternal adversary at Neerwinden, after which he was called "Le Tapissier de Nôtre Dame" (The Upholsterer of Notre Dame) due to the number of captured enemy flags that he sent to the cathedral. He was received with enthusiasm at Paris by all but the king, who looked coldly on a relative and adherent of the Condés. St-Simon describes in the first volume of his Memoirs how, instead of ranking as eighteenth peer of France according to his patent of 1661, he claimed through his wife to be duc de Piney of an old creation of 1571, which would place him second on the roll. The affair is described with St-Simon's usual interest in the peerage, and was chiefly checked through his assiduity.^[4]

In the campaign of 1694, Luxembourg did little in Flanders, except conducting a famous march from Vignemont to Tournai in face of the enemy.^[4]

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War of Devolution

War of Devolution

In the 1667 to 1668 War of Devolution, France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comté, both then provinces of the Holy Roman Empire. The name derives from an obscure law known as the Jus Devolutionis, used by Louis XIV of France to claim that these territories had "devolved" to him by right of marriage to Maria Theresa of Spain.

Louis, Grand Condé

Louis, Grand Condé

Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, known as the Great Condé for his military exploits, was a French general and the most illustrious representative of the Condé branch of the House of Bourbon. He was one of Louis XIV's pre-eminent generals.

Franche-Comté

Franche-Comté

Franche-Comté is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saône and the Territoire de Belfort. In 2016, its population was 1,180,397.

Franco-Dutch War

Franco-Dutch War

The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War, was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Norway. In its early stages, France was allied with Münster and Cologne, as well as England. The 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and 1675 to 1679 Scanian War are considered related conflicts.

Bodegraven

Bodegraven

Bodegraven is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covers an area of 38.50 km2 (14.86 sq mi) of which 1.02 km2 (0.39 sq mi) is water.

Maastricht

Maastricht

Maastricht is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the Meuse, at the point where the Jeker joins it. Mount Saint Peter (Sint-Pietersberg) is largely situated within the city's municipal borders. Maastricht is adjacent to the border with Belgium and is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, an international metropolis with a population of about 3.9 million, which includes the nearby German and Belgian cities of Aachen, Liège and Hasselt.

Marshal of France

Marshal of France

Marshal of France is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) and for a period dormant (1870–1916). It was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration, and one of the Grand Dignitaries of the Empire during the First French Empire.

Siege of Philippsburg (1676)

Siege of Philippsburg (1676)

The siege of Philippsburg was a siege of the fortress of Philippsburg during the Franco-Dutch War.

Charles V, Duke of Lorraine

Charles V, Duke of Lorraine

Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Bar succeeded his uncle Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine as titular Duke of Lorraine and Bar in 1675; both duchies were occupied by France from 1634 to 1661 and 1670 to 1697.

Battle of Cassel (1677)

Battle of Cassel (1677)

The Battle of Cassel, also known as the Battle of Peene, took place on 11 April 1677 during the Franco-Dutch War, near Cassel, 15 km (9 mi) west of Saint-Omer. A French army commanded by the duc de Luxembourg defeated a combined Dutch–Spanish force under William of Orange.

Battle of Saint-Denis (1678)

Battle of Saint-Denis (1678)

The Battle of Saint-Denis was the last major action of the 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch War. It took place on 14 August 1678, four days after Louis XIV of France had agreed the Treaty of Nijmegen with the Dutch Republic, but before he finalised terms with Spain. The battle was initiated by the Allies to prevent the French capturing the Spanish-held town of Mons, then on the border between France and the Spanish Netherlands. Both sides claimed victory and the result is disputed.

Treaties of Nijmegen

Treaties of Nijmegen

The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Brandenburg, Sweden, Denmark-Norway, the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, and the Holy Roman Empire. The most significant of the treaties was the first, which established peace between France and the Dutch Republic and placed the northern border of France very near its modern position.

On his return to Versailles for the winter he fell ill, and died. In his last moments he was attended by the famous Jesuit priest Bourdaloue, who said on his death, "I have not lived his life, but I would wish to die his death." Luxembourg was considered immoral, even in those times, but as a general he was Condé's grandest pupil. Though slothful like Condé in the management of a campaign, at the moment of battle he seemed seized with happy inspirations, against which no ardour of William's and no steadiness of Dutch or English soldiers could stand. His death and Catinat's disgrace close the second period of the military history of the reign of Louis XIV.^[4]

St-Simon said of Luxembourg:

...in his final calculations no one was ever more conscientious than M. de Luxembourg; no one more brilliant, prudent and far-sighted in the face of the enemy or in battle. He had daring and confidence, and at the same time a cool-headedness that allowed him to observe and foresee in the midst of the fiercest cannonade, in dangerously critical moments. That was when he was truly great. At all other times he was idleness itself; no exercise, except where absolutely necessary; gambling; conversing with intimates; every night a small supper party; nearly always with the same company, and, if they happened to be near a town, an agreeable mingling of the sexes.^[5]

He was distinguished for a pungent wit. One of his retorts referred to his deformity. "I never can beat that cursed humpback", William was reputed to have said of him. "How does he know I have a hump?" retorted Luxembourg, "he has never seen my back." He left four sons, the youngest of whom was a marshal of France as Marechal de Montmorency.^[4]

On 17 March 1661 François-Henri de Montmorency married Madeleine de Clermont-Tonnerre, duchess of Luxembourg, princess of Tingry, comtess of Ligny, baroness of Dangu, and had 5 children:

• Charles Frédéric de Montmorency-Luxembourg (1662–1726), duc de Piney-Luxembourg, father of Charles II Frédéric (1702–1764) Marshal of France (1757) ;
• Pierre Henri de Montmorency-Luxembourg (1663–1700), abbot of Saint-Michel d'Orcamp ;
• Paul Sigismond de Montmorency-Luxembourg (1664-?), duc de Châtillon, comte de Luxe and baron d'Apremont ;
• Angelique Cunegonde de Montmorency-Luxembourg (1666–1736), mademoiselle de Luxembourg ; married Louis Henri de Bourbon, bâtard de Soissons, illegitimate son of Louis de Bourbon and had issue; had two children;
• Christian Louis de Montmorency-Luxembourg (1675–1746), prince de Tingry, comte de Luxe, pair de France, Marshal of France (1734).

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Charles II François Frédéric de Montmorency-Luxembourg

Charles II François Frédéric de Montmorency-Luxembourg

Charles II François Frédéric de Montmorency, was the eighth Duke of Piney-Luxembourg and the second Duke of Montmorency (Beaufort), prince of Aigremont and of Tingry, count of Bouteville, of Lassé 1, of Dangu and of Luxe, peer of France, marshal of France in 1757 and the governor of Normandy in 1762. He was the son of Charles I Francois Frederic de Montmorency-Luxembourg and grandson of Marshal François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg. His mother was Marie-Gilonne Gillier de Clérembault, daughter of René.

Marshal of France

Marshal of France

Marshal of France is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) and for a period dormant (1870–1916). It was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration, and one of the Grand Dignitaries of the Empire during the First French Empire.

Louis, Count of Soissons

Louis, Count of Soissons

Louis de Bourbon, Comte de Soissons, May 1604 – 6 July 1641, was the son of Charles de Bourbon, Count of Soissons and Anne de Montafié. A second cousin of Louis XIII of France he was a prince du Sang, those considered part of the Royal family. Part of the faction who opposed Cardinal Richelieu and his policy of war with Spain, he was killed leading a revolt at the Battle of La Marfée in 1641.

Christian Louis de Montmorency-Luxembourg

Christian Louis de Montmorency-Luxembourg

Christian de Montmorency-Luxembourg, prince of Tingry, count of Beaumont and count of Luxe, was a marshal of France (1734).