Louis Marie Fouquet, Count of Gisors (27 March 1732 - 26 June 1758) was a French nobleman and soldier. He was born in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

, the only child of the Duke of Belle-Isle, a distinguished general, and his second wife Marie Casimire de Béthune. He was awarded the title

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Gisors (''comte de Gisors''). He was admitted to the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

as a child, but never took his vows because of his age, so allowing him to marry later.

Military activities

At the age of 7, Fouquet was appointed colonel of the royal regiment of the province of

Barrois Barrois () is a (a French territorial division roughly equivalent to a county) in eastern France. In the Middle Ages it was part of the Duchy of Bar, then bordering the Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lot ...

on 1 November 1745. On 1 February 1749, Louis-Marie Fouquet was appointed colonel of the Champagne regiment. Louis Marie Fouquet de Belle-Isle was appointed governor of Metz and the country of Messin in 1756, after the death of his uncle. 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� ...

in the county of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, he distinguished himself at the Battle of Hastenbeck. Promoted to

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 regiment ...

, and then colonel, in 1758 Fouquet commanded the Royal-Carabiniers regiment at the

battle of Krefeld The Battle of Krefeld (sometimes referred to by its French name of Créfeld) was a battle fought at Krefeld near the Rhine on 23 June 1758 between a Prussian- Hanoverian army and a French army during the Seven Years' War. Background The Hano ...

, when he was mortally wounded during a charge. He died in Nuys shortly after. His death was reported in the ''

Gazette de France ''La Gazette'' (), originally ''Gazette de France'', was the first weekly magazine published in France. It was founded by Théophraste Renaudot and published its first edition on 30 May 1631. It progressively became the mouthpiece of one royal ...

''. His funeral oration occurred at Metz Cathedral on 9 August 1758. His widow married

Camille, Prince of Marsan Camille de Lorraine (Louis Camille; 18 December 1725 – 12 April 1780) was a French nobleman and Prince of Lorraine. He was known as the ''Prince of Marsan'' and after the death of his father, was the Count of Marsan. Biography Born the young ...

in 1759.

Marriage

On 23 May 1753, he married Hélène Mancini, ''Mademoiselle de Nevers'' (1740-1780) eldest daughter of Louis Jules Mancini, 10th Duke of Nevers and a niece of

Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, Count of Maurepas Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, Count of Maurepas (9 July 1701 – 21 November 1781) was a French statesman and Count of Maurepas. Biography Early years He was born at Versailles, of a family of administrative nobility, the son of Jérôme Phély ...

. They had no children.

Arms

*''D'argent à l'écureuil rampant de gueules''Gustave Chaix d'Est-Ange, Dictionnaire des familles anciennes ou notables à la fin du XIXe siècle, t. 19, 1927, 427 p. (lire en ligne rchive, p. 110-114.

References and notes

{{reflist fr:Louis-Marie Fouquet de Belle-Isle sco:Louis Marie Fouquet, Coont o Gisors Fouquet family People from Metz 1732 births 1758 deaths French nobility Counts of France French military personnel killed in action