Henri II de La Ferté-Senneterre (1599 – 27 September 1681) was 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 (1 ...

and governor of

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

Life

The son of Henri I de La Ferté-Senneterre, a minister from an old knightly family in the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

, Henri II was destined for a military career and fought for the first time under

Maurice of Nassau Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was '' stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince ...

, leader of the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

against Spain. On returning to France, he distinguished himself (as a captain in a regiment paid for by his father) in the siege of the Calvinist city of

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

, begun in 1627–28 by Richelieu to put the rebel city back under the French king's control. In 1632 the French army invaded Lorraine and Henri II found himself before Nancy in 1633. On 25 September

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

and Richelieu broke into Nancy and its 16,000 inhabitants were evacuated by the marquis de Mouis and his Lorrainian garrison. Becoming ''mestre de camp'' (equivalent to the modern rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

), Henri II gained glory fighting the Spaniards at

Hesdin Hesdin (; vls, Heusdin) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic flo ...

on 29 June 1639 and, as a reward, Louis XIII made him ''

maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général''). Se ...

''. On 19 May 1643, five days after Louis XIII's death, Henri II fought in the victory at

Rocroi Rocroi () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. The central area is a notable surviving example of a bastion fort. Population History Rocroi was fortified by Francis I of France and expanded by Henry II of France. Bec ...

against the Spaniards, as second in command of the French left wing, being wounded four times. Henri II's father was a favourite of queen

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unti ...

(regent of the kingdom of France on Louis XIII's death) and so Henri II was made governor of the

duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following t ...

in 1643 to replace Lenoncourt. In 1644, he led to Nancy 23 infantry companies, a Swiss old guard, seven new city infantry companies and cavalry. He became lieutenant general in 1648 and marshal on 5 January 1651, remaining faithful to Anne and Mazarin during the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...

. Despite his brutal interventions to reestablish discipline among his troops (ever eager to plunder), he was not so disciplined with himself and lived off the country. Taken prisoner at

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

in 1656, he was ransomed by

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

. In reward for his good and loyal services, the

marquisate A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

of La Ferté-Senneterre was promoted to a duché-pairie by Louis XIV in November 1665. Henri II de la Ferté-Senneterre died on 27 September 1681.

Sources

*Manuel Bazaille : "1643 : Le retour d'Attila"; ''La Revue Lorraine Populaire''; n°180; October 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferte 1599 births 1681 deaths Marshals of France 17th-century peers of France Peers created by Louis XIV Military personnel of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)