Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix de Castries, marquis de
Castries, baron des États de
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
,
comte de Charlus,
baron de Castelnau et de
Montjouvent, seigneur de
Puylaurens
Puylaurens (; oc, Puèglaurenç) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. The poet Suzon de Terson was born here in 1657.
See also
*Communes of the Tarn department
The following is a list of the 314 communes of the Tarn de ...
et de Lézignan (25 February 1727,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
– 11 January 1801,
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...
) was a French
marshal. He was the son of
Joseph François de La Croix de Castries, marquis de Castries, and his second wife, Marie-Françoise de Lévis de Charlus.
Military career
Entering the régiment du Roi-Infanterie in May 1739, he became a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
on 23 August 1742. In parallel, he was
lieutenant du Roi (king's lieutenant) in Languedoc and governor of
Montpellier and
Sète (from 1 December 1743). He fought with distinction in the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
and all
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 reached ...
's campaigns. "
Mestre de camp
Mestre de camp or Maître de camp (; "camp-master") was a military rank in the Ancien Régime of France, equivalent to colonel. A mestre de camp commanded a regiment and was under the authority of a Colonel General, who commanded all the regimen ...
" of the
régiment du Roi-Cavalerie from 26 March 1744, he was
maréchal de camp and
commandant général of the cavalry from 1748.
In 1756, he commanded the expeditionary force sent to
St Lucia
Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...
, and the Carenage quarter of the island was renamed
Castries after him. He next distinguished himself in the
Battle of Rossbach
The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the Seven Years' War) near the village of Rossbach (Roßbach), in the Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at, Re ...
(5 November 1757), in which he was wounded twice. Becoming lieutenant général (on 28 December 1758), he became
maître de camp général of the cavalry on 16 April 1759. At the
Battle of Clostercamp (16 October 1760), through his sang-froid he saved a situation when all seemed lost.
He was made knight of the
Ordre du Saint-Esprit on 30 May 1762. Shortly after the
peace of 1763, he was named governor of
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
and
Hainaut. Next, he was made capitaine lieutenant of the company of
Gendarmes écossais and commandant of the
Gendarmerie from 1770 until his retirement in 1788.
Secretary of the Navy
He was named
Secretary of State of the Navy on 13 October 1780 on the recommendation of his friend
Jacques Necker
Jacques Necker (; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a Genevan banker and statesman who served as finance minister for Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innovations sometimes caused great discontent. Necker was a constitutional monarchi ...
. He remained in this post until 24 August 1787. In 1783, he was made a
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 ( ...
. He reorganised the fleet and had a new naval strategy adopted by the
Grand Conseil
The term Grand Conseil () or Great Council refers two different institutions during the Ancien Régime in France. It also is the name of parliaments in several Swiss cantons.
Ancien Régime France Part of the King's Council
Starting in the 13 ...
, that the navy's
ships of the line should be kept at sea whilst a flotilla blockaded the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
and kept it in port. This strategy that led to French naval successes in the
American War of Independence. He also made a very important legislative effort, simplifying the navy's hierarchy and reorganising its recruitment. de Castries deeply studied the dossiers sent him, and was highly energetic in these roles - hence his saying "I would like to sleep more quickly" ("Je voudrais dormir plus vite").
In politics, nevertheless, his views were rather conservative, if one judges by his "Réflexions sur l'esprit public", addressed to the King in 1785 - for him, monarchy's difficulties were summed up as a problem of authority; it was enough to show firmness and everything would be back in order.
French Revolution
In 1787, he participated in the
Assembly of Notables
An Assembly of Notables (French: ''Assemblée des notables'') was a group of high-ranking nobles, ecclesiastics, and state functionaries convened by the King of France on extraordinary occasions to consult on matters of state. Assemblymen were ...
. On July 13, 1789, pressed to re-accept the ministry of the Navy by the king, he refused it. He emigrated on October 20 and took advantage of the hospitality of
Jacques Necker
Jacques Necker (; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a Genevan banker and statesman who served as finance minister for Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innovations sometimes caused great discontent. Necker was a constitutional monarchi ...
at
Coppet
Coppet is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.
History
Coppet is first mentioned in 1294 as ''Copetum''. In 1347 it was mentioned as ''Copet''.
Geography
Coppet has an area (), of . Of this area, ...
. In 1792, at the time of the Prussian invasion of the
Champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...
, he and
the marshal of Broglie commanded a corps in the princes' army. He continued to serve as principal secretary to the
count of Provence
The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...
. He died in 1801 at the home of his old enemy
Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick
Charles William Ferdinand (german: Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand; 9 October 1735 – 10 November 1806) was the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a military leader. His titles are usually shortened to Duke of Brunswic ...
, now his friend.
He possessed a property at
Antony where
Parc Heller now is, as well as a castle at
Ollainville, which he enlarged in 1782. In Paris, he installed himself in the
hôtel de Castries in 1743, at 72
rue de Varenne, and in 1761 redecorated it out of a large inheritance from his uncle, the
marshal of Belle-Isle.
Descendants
On 19 December 1743, he married Gabrielle Isabeau Thérèse de Rozet de Rocozel de Fleury, daughter of the
duc de Fleury, and they had two children:
*
Charles de La Croix de Castries (1756–1842) ;
*Adélaïde Marie de La Croix de Castries, who married the
vicomte de Mailly in 1767.
He showed himself an unfaithful husband, cheated frequently on his wife.
See also
*
Castries
*
House of Castries
External links
Genealogy
Bibliography
*
René de Castries, Le Maréchal de Castries, Paris, Flammarion, 1956.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castries, Charles
1727 births
1801 deaths
Counts of France
Politicians from Paris
House of Castries
Secretaries of State of the Navy (France)
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Garde Écossaise officers