Jean-Philippe-Eugène, Count de Mérode, 5th Marquess of Westerloo (22 June 1674 in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

– 12 September 1732 in Merode castle) was a soldier and ''

Feldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several List of states in the Holy Roman Empire, German states and the Holy ...

'' of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and a prominent member of the

House of Merode The House of Merode is one of the most prominent families of the Belgian nobility. It originates from the village of Merode, which is now in the municipality of Langerwehe in Germany. Over the past five centuries, different branches bore noble t ...

. In Flemish and Dutch sources, he is known as Jan Filip van Merode-Westerloo.

Biography

Jean-Philippe-Eugène de Mérode was the only surviving child of Maximilian de Mérode-Pietersheim (1627-1675) and his wife and cousin, Isabella-Margaretha de Mérode-Westerloo (1649–1701).https://gw.geneanet.org/azerty7?lang=en&pz=eloi&nz=lecomte&p=jean+philippe+eugene&n=de+merode&oc=3 His father died one year after his birth and his mother remarried with the Joachim Ernest II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Rethwisch. He was an army commander who guided Jean-Philippe towards a military career. At the age of five Jean-Philippe was already present at the siege of

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

in North Africa. During the consecutive wars which raged in the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

, Jean-Philippe switched sides a few times to maintain his possessions. First, he and his ''Regiment of Westerloo'' served the anti-French coalition under King

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

and King

Charles II of Spain Charles II (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, he died without an heir, leading to a European Great Power conflict over the succ ...

. In 1694 he was made Knight in the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

. During the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

he served the new

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon, a beer produced by Brasseries de Bourbon * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * Bourbon coffee, a type of coffee ma ...

King

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

and fought on the side of the French and Bavarians under

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian II (11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726), also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Electorate of Bavaria, Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spani ...

, new governor of the Southern Netherlands. He played an important role in the Battle of Eckeren in 1703. The next year he fought in the

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (; ; ) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, thus preventing the collapse of the reconstituted G ...

on the side of the French under

Tallard Tallard (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Location Tallard is to the south of Gap, close to the road from Gap to Marseille. The motorway A51 ends just to the ...

and Marsin. The battle was a great defeat and Mérode narrowly escaped death. After the battle, Mérode retired to his castles in

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...

, Pietersheim and

Merode Merode may refer to: People * House of Merode, a princely dynasty belonging to the Belgian nobility ** Jean Philippe Eugène de Mérode (1674–1732), Imperial Field Marshal ** Félix de Mérode (1791–1857), Belgian politician ** Xavier de Méro ...

. From then on, he served the new rulers of the Southern Netherlands: the Austrian Emperors

Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 *Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) * Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...

and Charles VI. In 1717 he was rewarded with the title of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

. Mérode had a difficult character and had personal conflicts with

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

and the

Marquis de Prié A marquess (; ) 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 with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

Marriage and children

He married first in 1701 in Bayonne in 1701 with Maria-Theresia de Aragon y Pignatelli (1682-1718), the daughter of Nicolas

Pignatelli Pignatelli () is an Italian surname which may refer to: People * House of Pignatelli, an aristocratic family of Naples * Fabio Pignatelli (born 1953), an Italian musician * Luca Pignatelli (born 1962), an Italian artist * William Pignatelli (born 1 ...

, Duke de Monteleone and

Viceroy of Sardinia This is a list of viceroys of Sardinia. Aragonese Viceroys From 1418 to 1516 Sardinia was ruled by viceroys from the Crown of Aragon, which merged into the Monarchy of Spain in 1516. * Lluís de Pontons (1418-1419) * Joan de Corbera (1419-1420) ...

. They had three children of whom only Isabella-Marie (1703-1780) survived infancy, marrying both times a Count Czernin von und zu Chudenitz. Maria-Theresia died of

Smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

on 9 August 1718. Mérode married again on 29 September 1721 with Princess Charlotte Wilhelmine Amalie Alexandrina of

Nassau-Hadamar Nassau-Hadamar is the name of two side lines of the Ottonian main line of the House of Nassau. The older line of the counts of Nassau-Hadamar existed from 1303 to 1394; the younger line existed from 1607 to 1711 and received the hereditary title o ...

(1703–1740), daughter of

Francis Alexander, Prince of Nassau-Hadamar Francis Alexander von Nassau-Hadamar (27 January 1674 in Hadamar – 27 May 1711, ibid.) was the last prince of Nassau-Hadamar. Life Francis Alexander was the son of prince Maurice Henry, Prince of Nassau-Hadamar, Maurice Henry of Nassau-Hadam ...

. Children : * Jean-Guillaume-Augustin (16 June 1722 - 7 January 1763), married Princess Eléonore de Rohan (1728-1792), daughter of Charles de Rohan, Prince of Rochefort (1728-1792), * Johanna-Christina (7 May 1724 - ?), a nun in

Maubeuge Maubeuge (; historical or ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and ab ...

. * Marie-Elisabeth-Félicité (2 July 1728 - ?), a nun in

Thorn Abbey Thorn Abbey or the Imperial Abbey of Thorn was an Princely abbeys and imperial abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire, imperial abbey of the Holy Roman Empire in what is now the Netherlands. It was founded in the 10th century and remained independent un ...

. * Philippe-Maximilien (4 July 1729 - 25 January 1773), married Marie Catherine de Merode-Montfort (1743-1794), had offspring. ** His grandson was Werner de Merode-Westerloo (1797-1840), whose daughters were ***

Antoinette Antoinette is a given name, that is a diminutive feminine form of Antoine and Antonia (from Latin ''Antonius''). People with the name include: Nobles * Antoinette de Maignelais, Baroness of Villequier by marriage (1434–1474), mistress of ...

(1828–1864), who married

Charles III, Prince of Monaco Charles III (Charles Honoré Grimaldi; 8 December 1818 – 10 September 1889) was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 20 June 1856 to his death. He was the founder of the famous casino in Monte Carlo, as his name in Monegasque and I ...

*** Louise, mother of

Maria Vittoria del Pozzo della Cisterna Maria Vittoria Carlotta Enrichetta Giovanna dal Pozzo, 6th Princess of Cisterna d'Asti and of Belriguardo (9 August 1847 – 8 November 1876), was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen of Spain from 16 November 1870 until 11 February 1873 as the wif ...

, Queen consort of Spain (1870-1873) * Maria-Theresia (8 June 1730 - ?) * Maria-Josepha (21 February 1730 - ?)

Memoirs

Jean-Philippe-Eugène de Merode-Westerloo is best remembered for his memoirs, which were published by his great-grandson Henri de Merode, and which are a valuable source of information on the

, as seen from the side of the defeated. * Jean-Philippe-Eugène de Merode-Westerloo: ''Mémoires du Feld-Maréchal Comte de Mérode-Westerloo, Chevalier de la Toison d'Or, Capitaine de Trabans de l'Empereur Charles VI''. - 2 volumes, Brussels, 1840.

Literature

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merode-Westerloo, Jean-Philippe-Eugene de 17th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire Austrian army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Knights of the Golden Fleece Field marshals of Austria 1674 births 1732 deaths

Jea JEA is a municipal utility providing safe, reliable and affordable services to more than one million residents across four Northeast Florida counties. JEA is not owned by investors and does not earn a profit. It was created by the City of Jacks ...

Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Spanish army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession