Henri de Massue, 2nd Marquis de Ruvigny, Earl of Galway, (9 April 16483 September 1720) was a French Huguenot soldier and diplomat who was influential in the English service in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

and the War of the Spanish Succession.

Biography

Massue was born in Paris. He was the son of the 1st Marquis de Ruvigny, a distinguished French diplomat, and a nephew of Rachel, the wife of Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton. He was a soldier and served in the French army under Turenne, who thought very highly of him. Probably on account of his English connections he was selected in 1678 by Louis XIV to carry out the secret negotiations for a

compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...

with Charles II, a difficult mission which he executed with great skill. He succeeded his father as general of the Huguenots, and refused Louis's offer, at the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, to retain him in that office. In 1690, having gone into exile with his fellow Huguenots, he entered the service of William III of England as a major-general, thereby forfeiting his French estates. In July 1691 he distinguished himself at the Battle of Aughrim, and in 1692 he was for a time commander-in-chief in Ireland. In November of that year he was created Viscount Galway and Baron Portarlington, and received a large grant of seized estates in Ireland. The title had previously belonged to Ulick Burke, 1st Viscount Galway, a Jacobite officer who had been killed at Aughrim. In 1693 he fought at

Neerwinden Neerwinden is a village in Belgium in the province of Flemish Brabant, a few miles southeast of Tienen. It is now part of the municipality of Landen. The village gave its name to two great battles. The Battle of Neerwinden (1693), first battle w ...

and was wounded. In 1694, with the rank of lieutenant-general, he was sent to command a force in English pay that was to assist the

Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a Duchy of Sav ...

against the French, and at the same time to relieve the distressed Vaudois. In 1695 Savoy changed sides, the Italian peninsula was neutralised, and Galway's force was withdrawn to the Netherlands. From 1697 to 1701, a critical period of Irish history, the Earl of Galway (he was advanced to that rank in 1697) was practically in control of Irish affairs as Lord Justice of Ireland. After some years spent in retirement, he was appointed in 1704 to command the allied forces in Portugal, a post which he sustained with honour and success until the

Battle of Almanza The Battle of Almansa took place on 25 April 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was fought between an army loyal to Philip V of Spain, Bourbon claimant to the Spanish throne, and one supporting his Habsburg rival, Archduke Charle ...

in 1707, in which Galway, in spite of care and skill on his own part, was decisively defeated by the Duke of Berwick. His aide de camp was

Hector Francois Chataigner de Cramahé In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, son in law of

Jacques de Belrieu, Baron de Virazel Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

. Galway scraped together a fresh army, and, although infirm, was reappointed to his command by the home government. He took part in one more campaign, and distinguished himself by his personal bravery in action.

Marquis de Bay 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 wi ...

defeated him at the Battle of La Gudina. After this, he retired from active life. His last service was rendered in 1715, when he was sent as one of the lords justices to Ireland during the Jacobite insurrection. As most of his property in Ireland had been restored to its former owners, and all his French estates had long before been forfeited, Parliament voted him pensions amounting to 1500 pounds a year. He died unmarried. The Irish peerage died with him, but not the French marquisate. The French Hospital was incorporated under the Great Seal in 1718, with Galway as its governor.

Biography

References

Further reading