Camille d'Hostun de la Baume, duc de Tallard (14 February 1652 – 20 March 1728) was a French noble, diplomat and military commander, who became Marshal of France.

Military career

Tallard was granted a commission in the French army at the age of 15.Falkner: ''Blenheim 1704: Marlborough's Greatest Victory,'' p. 104 He later served under the

prince de Condé A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and from 1674, under

Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. He was promoted ''maréchal de camp'' in 1678, and served in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

(1688–1697). His friendship with

King Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

ensured a position of authority. After the war he served for two years as ambassador to the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

, where his exceptional knowledge of European political affairs proved highly valuable. When

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

died in September 1701, King Louis recognised James's

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

as his successor to the throne of England. Consequently,

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

expelled Tallard from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1702. Tallard's military career reached its height during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. On 7 September 1703 the duc de Burgundy and Tallard took the town of

Breisach Breisach (formerly Altbreisach; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach'') is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway b ...

. Tallard proceeded to attack

Landau Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...

in mid October. A relief force under the Prince of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) was roundly defeated by Tallard's force at the

Battle of Speyerbach The Battle of Speyerbach took place on 15 November 1703 in the War of the Spanish Succession. A French army besieging Landau surprised and defeated a German relief army near Speyer. Prelude In mid October 1703, the allied armies prepared to ...

on 15 November. As a result, Landau fell two days later. Shortly after, Tallard was created

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') 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 (1 ...

. In 1704, Tallard was sent to reinforce

Maximilian II Emanuel Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459� ...

's and Marshal Marsin's Franco-Bavarian army on the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, which was under threat from the

Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an Engl ...

's and Prince Eugene's allied army. Tallard set out on 1 July from

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, but although the six day siege of Villingen proved abortive, (abandoned on 22 July), the French Marshal was able to bring 34,000 men through the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

, reaching

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

on 5 August. Newdigate House, Castle Gate, plaque - geograph

Tallard was placed in overall command of the combined Franco-Bavarian army, but the subsequent

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (german: Zweite Schlacht bei Höchstädt, link=no; french: Bataille de Höchstädt, link=no; nl, Slag bij Blenheim, link=no) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied v ...

on 13 August 1704 resulted in complete destruction of his forces. Decisively beaten, he was captured and taken back to England and housed on parole in

Chatsworth, Derbyshire Chatsworth is a civil parish in Derbyshire, England, within the area of the Derbyshire Dales and the Peak District National Park. The population is largely in and around Chatsworth House and is considered to be too low to justify a parish counc ...

and

Newdigate House Newdigate House is a Grade II* listed building on Castle Gate, Nottingham. The house was built for Thomas Charlton the younger, of Chilwell. He sold it in 1683 to Samuel Staples of Nottingham who leased it to Camille d'Hostun, duc de Tallard, who ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. The writer

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

reported that his ''small, but beautiful parterre, after the French fashion'' was one of the beauties of Nottingham. During his stay in Britain, he is credited with introducing

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'') is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, lea ...

English cuisine English cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with England. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but also shares much with wider British cuisine, partly through the importation of ingredients and ideas ...

Later life

On his release in 1711 he returned to France.Tincey: ''Blenheim 1704: The Duke of Marlborough's Masterpiece,'' p. 88 Despite the calamity of Blenheim, Louis appeared to bear the Marshal no ill will. Tallard was made a duke in 1712 and became a

Peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

in 1715. In King Louis XIV's testament, Tallard was appointed to the Council of Regency but the duc d'Orléans had the testament nullified. He was elected president of the

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...

in 1724 and, in 1726, he became a French minister of state. He died in 1728.

Family

He married Marie-Catherine de Grolée de Viriville-La Tivolière and had one son; # Marie ''Joseph'' d'Hostun de La Baume-Tallard, Duke of Hostun, Duke of Tallart, (b.1683 - ?) he married

Marie Isabelle de Rohan Marie Isabelle de Rohan (Marie Isabelle Gabrielle Angélique; 17 January 1699 – 5 January 1754) was a French noblewoman and grand daughter of Madame de Ventadour. Marie Isabelle was the governess of the children of Louis XV and his consort ...

, daughter of

Hercule Mériadec, Duke of Rohan-Rohan Hercule Mériadec de Rohan (8 May 1669 – 26 January 1749), styled Duke of Rohan-Rohan (from 1717), was a member of the princely House of Rohan. He married twice and was the grandfather of the Maréchal de Soubise. His first wife was the da ...

and

Anne Geneviève de Lévis Anne Geneviève de Lévis (February 1673 – 20 March 1727) was a French noblewoman. She was Princess of Turenne by her first marriage and Duchess of Rohan-Rohan, Princess of Soubise by her second marriage. Anne Geneviève was the only child o ...

, daughter of

Madame de Ventadour Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour (Charlotte Eléonore Madeleine; 1654–1744) was a French office holder of the French Royal Court. She was the governess of King Louis XV of France, great-grandson of King Louis XIV. She ...

. The couple had no children; Marie Isabelle was the Governess to the children of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

from 1735-1754.

Notes

References

* Chandler, David G. ''Marlborough as Military Commander.'' Spellmount Ltd, (2003). *

Churchill, Winston Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

. '' Marlborough: His Life and Times, Bk. 1, vols. i & ii''. University of Chicago Press, (2002). * Falkner, James. ''Blenheim 1704: Marlborough's Greatest Victory''. Pen & Sword Books Ltd, (2004). * Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714.'' Longman, (1999). * Tincey, John. ''Blenheim 1704:The Duke of Marlborough's Masterpiece.'' Osprey Publishing Ltd, (2004).

External links

Tallard in Nottingham
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tallard, Camille dHostun 1652 births 1728 deaths Hostun, Camille d' Marshals of France French military personnel of the Nine Years' War French army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Members of the French Academy of Sciences 18th-century French people 17th-century French people 18th-century peers of France Peers created by Louis XIV People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans People of the Ancien Régime