René de Froulay, Comte de Tessé (14 May 1648 – 30 March 1725) was a French soldier and diplomat during the reign of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

and the 1715-1723 Regency.

Early life

René de Froulay, Comte de Tessé was born at the family home of the Chateau de Vernie, near

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

on 14 May 1648, son of René, Comte de Tessé (1600-1659) and Madeleine de Beaumanoir de Lavardin (1618-1682); his younger brother Philibert-Emmanuel de Froulay (1651-1701) was also a soldier. His maternal grandfather

Jean de Beaumanoir Jean, or Jehan de Beaumanoir, marshal of Brittany for Charles of Blois, and captain of Josselin, is remembered for his share in the famous Combat of the Thirty during the War of Breton Succession (1341–1364) between the warring parties of com ...

, Marquis de Lavardin (1551-1610) was born a Protestant but like many in that period changed sides and religions when needed and ended his career as a trusted advisor of Henry IV. René married Marie Françoise Auber d'Aunay on 10 June 1674 and they had seven children, four of whom survived childhood. He was succeeded by his eldest son René-Mans de Froulay (1681-1746) who married Marie Elisabeth Bouchu in April 1706. His grandson and namesake René de Froulay, Comte de Tessé and Marquis de Lavardin (1736–1814) married Adrienne Catherine de Noailles (1741-1813). She was later famous as a patron of the composer

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

and friend and correspondent of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

when he was US Ambassador to France between 1784 and 1789.

Career

Like many of his contemporaries, de Tessé played an active role in the wars of Louis XIV; in 1669, he was appointed to the staff of Marshall

François de Créquy François de Blanchefort de Créquy, later Marquis de Marines, 2 October 1629 to 3 February 1687, was a 17th-century French noble and soldier, who served in the wars of Louis XIV of France. He came from a powerful and well-connected family, hi ...

and raised a regiment of dragoons which took part in the

Franco-Dutch war The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...

of 1672–78. After the

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without s ...

in 1685, he carried out the so-called

dragonnade The ''Dragonnades'' were a French government policy instituted by King Louis XIV in 1681 to intimidate Huguenot (Protestant) families into converting to Catholicism. This involved the billeting of ill-disciplined dragoons in Protestant households ...

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

in the

Principality of Orange The Principality of Orange (french: la Principauté d'Orange; oc, Principat d'Aurenja) was, from 1163 to 1713, a feudal state in Provence, in the south of modern-day France, on the east bank of the river Rhone, north of the city of Avignon, an ...

and was military commander of the

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

and

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

provinces in 1686. Heidelberg - castle 3

At the start of 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 ...

in 1688, he was part of the army under Montclar that invaded the Rhineland. When France withdrew in 1689, Louis XIV ordered a scorched-earth policy; de Tessé commanded operations in the Palatinate, including the burning of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and destruction of over 20 substantial towns and villages. He later fought in Northern Italy against

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

, commanding the garrison of the strategic town of

Pinerolo Pinerolo (; pms, Pinareul ; french: Pignerol; oc, Pineròl) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary be ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. Starting in 1693, he acted as Louis' representative in secret negotiations with Victor Amadeus that led to the 1696 Treaty of Turin between France and Savoy. When the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

began in 1701, de Tessé commanded the French garrison at

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

; he was wounded several times, his brother Philibert-Emmanuel dying of dysentery at

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

the same year. He was appointed

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 ...

in 1703 and in 1704 Commander-in-Chief of Bourbon troops in Spain, replacing the Duke of Berwick. In this role he became close to the young King

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...

. In 1706, de Tessé commanded Bourbon forces besieging

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

but they were over-stretched; British control of the seas made it impossible to prevent the city being resupplied and the Bourbon army was forced to retreat. Despite this, in 1707 he commanded the field army that prevented Prince Eugene taking the key French naval base of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. This appears to have been his last active military command. In 1708, he acted as French Ambassador in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, then Spain in 1723, when he persuaded Philip V to resume the Spanish throne after the death of his eldest son

Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ( ...

. He was also Governor General of the

Perche Perche () (French: ''le Perche'') is a former province of France, known historically for its forests and, for the past two centuries, for the Percheron draft horse breed. Until the French Revolution, Perche was bounded by four ancient territorie ...

and his home province of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. He died in 1725 at the

Camaldolese The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona ( la, Congregatio Eremitarum Camaldulensium Montis Coronae), commonly called Camaldolese is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermita ...

monastery in Grosbois.

Footnotes

References

Sources

* Comte de Tessé; ''Mémoires Et Lettres Du Maréchal De Tessé'': * Kamen, Henry; ''Philip V of Spain: The King Who Reigned Twice;'' (Yale University Press, 2001); * Lynn, John; ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714;'' (Longman, 1999); * Symcox, Geoffrey; ''Absolutism in the Savoyard State 1675-1730;'' (University of California Press, 1983); {{DEFAULTSORT:Tesse, Rene de Froulay de 1648 births 1725 deaths People from Le Mans Counts of Tessé Marshals of France French military personnel of the Nine Years' War French army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain French military personnel of the Franco-Dutch War