![Casimir-de-rochechouart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Casimir-de-rochechouart.jpg)
Casimir de Rochechouart,
11th Duke of Mortemart (''Casimir Louis Victurnien''; 20 March 1787, Paris – 1 January 1875, Neauphle-le-Vieux), prince of Tonnay-Charente, then Baron of Mortemart and of the Empire, 11th duke of Mortemart and peer of France (1814), was a French soldier, diplomat and politician. In 1830
Charles X of France
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...
made him president of the Conseil des ministres.
Biography
He was the son of
Victurnien-Jean-Baptiste de Rochechouart, 10th Duke of Mortemart (1752–1812), and his second wife, and Adélaïde de Cossé (1765–1820), only daughter of
Louis-Hercule-Timoléon de Cossé, duc de Brissac (1734–92), and Adélaïde-Diane-Hortense-Délie Mancini (herself daughter of the
duc de Nivernais). He and his family left France in 1791 and Casimir grew up in England, returning to France with his mother in 1801.
Despite belonging to one of the old noble families of France, he backed the
First French Empire
The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...
, joining the ''gendarmes d'ordonnance'' (commanded by the count of Ségur) in September 1803. He moved to the 1st Dragoon Regiment on 10 February 1806 and took part in the campaigns in Prussia (1806), Poland (1807), Austria (1809) and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
(1812), fighting at Golymin (1806), Pułtusk (1806), Heilsberg and Friedland, where he proved his sang-froid and firmness under fire by beating off Russian attacks.
He was made a member of the Légion d'Honneur on 1 October 1807, a lieutenant in the 25th Dragoon Regiment and ''
aide-de-camp'' to general Nansouty on 2 and 10 March 1809. He finally became a captain in the 25th Dragoon Regiment on the following 26 July.
He fought at Ratisbonne, Essling and
Wagram
Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the states of Austria, state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Morava (river), Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city ...
and was made an officer of the ordinance on 12 February 1811 and put in charge of inspecting the coasts of Holland and Denmark. After his success there he rejoined Napoleon at Posen and took part in the 1812 campaign into Russia, during which he received the title of baron of the empire and a donation of 2,000 francs of revenue from Belgium.
Surviving the disasters of the retreat from Moscow, the baron of Mortemart returned to France with his health ruined – he was thus unable to take part in the last events of the following campaign. He fought at
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
and Hanau – his conduct at the latter gained him promotion to officer of the Légion d'honneur on 30 November 1813. He returned to France with the army.
In the 1814 campaign in France he was put in charge of presenting
Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to:
People
*Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain
*Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...
with the allied colours captured at Champ-Aubert, Nangis and Montereau. He was one of the first to fall out with Napoleon I. After the first
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to:
France under the House of Bourbon:
* Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815)
Spain under the Spanish Bourbons:
* ...
Louis XVIII made de Mortemart a peer of France on 4 June 1814 and captain-colonel of the Cent-Suisses de la Garde, a position also held by his maternal grandfather at the time of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
He was also made a knight of the Order of Saint Louis on 25 August 1814. On 20 March 1815, after Napoleon's return from Elba, de Mortemart escorted the princes as far as Béthune, where the king's military household was licensed. Shortly afterwards he rejoined Louis XVIII at Ghent and returned to France with the king in July.
He became Major-General of the National Guard of Paris in October 1815, Marshal-de-camp in November 1815, Grand Officer of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
in 1822, and
Knight of the Holy Spirit
, status = Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC
, founder = Henry III of France
, head_title = Grand Master
, head = Disputed:Louis Alphonse, Duke of AnjouJean, Count of Paris
...
in 1825.
In April 1828, he was sent as ambassador to Saint Petersburg to replace
le comte de La Ferronays, was promoted to lieutenant-general on the following 24 December and returned to France at the beginning of 1830.
When the
July 1830 Revolution broke out, King Charles X thought he could stop it by making the concession to form a
new government on 29 July led by de Mortemart, but his government was disposed the same day. Having taken the oath to the government of July, de Mortemart continued to sit in senate.
He was again appointed ambassadeur extraordinaire to Saint Petersburg in 1833 and commander of the 19th military Division at
Bourges
Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry.
History
The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...
between 1852 and 1855.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochechouart de Mortemart, Casimir-Louis-Victurnien
1787 births
1875 deaths
Barons of France
19th-century French diplomats
French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Casimir-Louis-Victurnien
Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration
Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy
Politicians from Paris
Officers of the Legion of Honour
8
Ambassadors of France to the Russian Empire