Louis Gabriel de Contades, Marquis de Contades-Gizeux (11 October 1759 – 18 June 1825) was a French aristocrat, soldier, and politician.

Early life

Contades was born on 11 October 1759 in Angers, the prefecture of the

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indre-e ...

department. He was the second son of Julie Victoire Constantin de La Lorie, Dame du Plantis (1739–1828) and Georges-Gaspard de Contades, Marquis de Contades (1726–1794), a member 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 ...

. Among his siblings were Erasmus-Gaspard de Contades and François-Jules de Contades, Vicomte de Contades. His paternal grandfather was

Louis Georges Érasme de Contades Louis Georges Érasme, marquis de Contades (1704–1795) was the 6th Marquis de Contades and Seigneur de Montgeoffroi. He was a Marshal of France and a major battlefield commander during the Seven Years' War. He notably commanded the French fo ...

, Marquis de Contades, a prominent battlefield commander during 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 (1754� ...

who 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 (1 ...

Career

He began as a

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

in the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

before becoming

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Royal Corps of Artillery on 20 April 1776, before being made

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Piémont in April 1778. In 1780, he was made a Lieutenant-Colonel, followed by Colonel in the

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

in January 1784. He was presented to the King at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

in 1787 under the title of Marquis de Gizeux. In March 1782, he was made second colonel of the Anjou-infantry regiment before becoming a colonel of the regiment in May 1791. In 1791, during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, he joined the Armée des Émigrés, a

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

armies raised outside France by and out of

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

émigrés, with the aim of overthrowing the

, reconquering France and restoring the monarchy. He took part in the campaign of 1792. In 1794, he emigrated to

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, where he commanded a legion of the Royal Army (supported by

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

). He was promoted to

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 27 December 1795.

First French Empire

Contades became Chamberlain to Emperor

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and was made

Baron of the Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that th ...

in 1813. He served as Lieutenant-General of the King's Armies and mayor of

Gizeux Gizeux () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population The inhabitants are called ''Gizellois''. See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Indre-et-L ...

. He was general councilor of

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it ...

before becoming president of the general council of Indre-et-Loire on 26 July 1815.

Personal life

On 17 October 1786, Contades married Périne-Julie Constantin de La Lorie (1767–1840). The Marquis owned the

Château de Gizeux The Château de Gizeux is an important edifice, dating from the Middle Ages and much altered over the centuries, notably during the French Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment. The Château de Gizeux in located in the ''commune'' of Gizeux i ...

, in

in the

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

, but had to flee in 1789, returning to Gizeux in 1801. Together, they were the parents of four children, three daughters and one son: * Julie Louise Marie de Contades-Gizeux (1787–1860), who married René de la Rue du Can, Baron de Champchevrier of the Château de Champchevrier. * Henriette de Contades-Gizeux (1789–1840), who married Alexandre Nicolas Bunault, Comte de Montbrun. * Camille-Auguste de Contades-Gizeux (1791–1861), a Captain of Chasseurs who married Elisa du Fou in 1818. * Aimé de Contades-Gizeux (1802–1802), who died in infancy. Contades died in Gizeux on 18 June 1825, and was buried in the Cemetery of the Church of Gizeux. His widow died in

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

in 1840.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Contades, Louis Gabriel De 1759 births 1825 deaths Marquesses of Contades Barons of the First French Empire Order of Saint Louis recipients French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars