Nicolas-Louis d'Assas (1733–1760), also known as Louis d'Assas du Mercou and Chevalier d'Assas, was a captain of the French

Régiment d'Auvergne The Régiment d'Auvergne was a regiment of the French army during the ancien régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** A ...

, whose celebrity depends on a single act of defiance. He was born in Le Vigan, Languedoc, France. Having entered a wood to reconnoitre it the night before the battle of Kloster Kampen in 1760, he was suddenly surrounded by enemy British soldiers. With

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

s at his breast, he cried out, "To me, Auvergne! Here is the enemy!" He was killed instantly, but in calling out defiantly he saved his countrymen.

Memory

The ''

rue d'Assas Rue d'Assas is a street in the 6th ''arrondissement'' of Paris, named after Nicolas-Louis d'Assas. Features * Musée Edouard Branly (at #21) * Musée "Bible et Terre Sainte" (at #21) * Main campus of Panthéon-Assas University (at #92) * Zadki ...

'' in the 6th ''arrondissement'' of Paris was named after him.Armorial des rues de Paris
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References

1733 births 1760 deaths People from Le Vigan, Gard French Army soldiers French military personnel killed in the Seven Years' War {{france-mil-bio-stub