François Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux (; 5 May 1734, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

– 24 October 1788, in Paris), was a military officer who served during the War of American Independence as a major general in the French expeditionary forces led by general Comte de Rochambeau. Being on general Rochambeau's staff for the duration of the war, Chastellux acted as the principal liaison officer between the French commander in chief and

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

. However the Chevalier de Chastellux was also widely recognized, at the time of his campaigns in America, as a highly talented man of letters and a member of the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

Early literary career

He first became known as a writer, historian and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. He was the third member elected to occupy Seat 2 of the Académie française in 1775.

Military career in America

After arriving in America in July 1780, Chastellux participated to the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

as Major General in the French expeditionary force led by general Rochambeau. During the following year, he was third in command of the French forces engaged at the decisive

Siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

in 1781 where the British were ultimately defeated. Major General de Chastellux was fluent in English and with his strong ideological support of the American cause, he served the alliance well. During the latter part of the campaign he was the principal liaison officer between George Washington and French general Rochambeau. Thereafter, Chastellux remained a personal friend of

for life. Furthermore, the College of William and Mary and the University of Pennsylvania also awarded Chastellux with honorary degrees. After his return to France, Chastellux also remained in contact with

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, now the American representative in Paris, whom he had previously visited on his Virginia estate at

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

. He was elected both a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

, and of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1781 (the latter honorary membership in the same year was bestowed upon

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

and

François Barbé-Marbois François Barbé-Marbois, marquis de Barbé-Marbois (31 January 1745 – 12 February 1837) was a French politician. Early career Born in Metz, where his father was director of the local mint, Barbé-Marbois tutored the children of the Marquis d ...

, both of whom were fellow friends to the American Revolutionary cause).

His late literary career

Major General de Chastellux placed on record and published in 1786 his complete recollections of the American War of Independence. This included a description of his travels in America after the war had ended. Chastellux described

as an effective yet profoundly humane leader in wartime.

Bibliography

* ''Essai sur l'union de la poésie et de la musique'' (1765). Réédition : Slatkine, Genève, 1970. * ''De la Félicité publique, ou Considérations sur le sort des hommes, dans les différentes époques de l'histoire'' (1772). Réédition : Publications de la Sorbonne, Paris, 1989. * ''Iphigénie en Aulide, opéra'' (1773) * ''Éloge de M. Helvétius'' (1774) * ''Voyages de M. le Marquis de Chastellux dans l'Amérique septentrionale, dans les années 1780, 1781 et 1782'' in two volumes,chez Prault,Imprimeur du Roi (1788). Modern réédition : Tallandier, Paris, 1989. An English translation by Howard C.Rice was published in 1963 under the title:" Travels in North America in 1780,1781 and 1782" * "Chevalier de Chastellux at the Battle of Yorktown" in: "Yorktown Battlefield-Chevalier de Chastellux" (U.S.National Park Service) * ''Travels in North America in the Years 1780-81-82'' Marquis de Chastellux. BiblioBazaar LLC, Charleston, SC 2009 * Iris de Rode, ''François-Jean de Chastellux (1734–1788). Un soldat-philosophe dans le monde atlantique à l'époque des Lumières.'' Paris, H. Champion, 2022.

References

*Paul Mesnard. ''Histoire de l'académie française depuis sa fondation jusqu'en 1830''. Charpentier, Paris 1857. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chastellux, Francois Jean De 1734 births 1788 deaths Writers from Paris Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights French people of the American Revolution Members of the Académie Française French military personnel of the Seven Years' War Knights of the Order of Saint Louis