Philippe Marquis de Villette-Mursay (1627 – 25 December 1707) was a French naval commander.

Biography

He was born in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

as the son of Benjamin de Villette (1582–1661) and Louise Arthémise d’Aubigné.
Françoise d'Aubigné, the future marquise de Maintenon and second wife 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 ...

, was his cousin.
She lived in his parents' house, the Château de Mursay, and received a Calvinist upbringing until the age of seven. After a disappointing career in the Army, Villette-Mursay chose a career in the young French Navy under Colbert. In 1672 he was promoted to captain and received in 1674 command of his own ship : ''l'Apollon''. He first distinguished himself on 8 January 1676 in the Battle of Stromboli against De Ruyter commanding ''L'Assuré''.
He again fought in a pitched battle a few months later near Agosta. In 1680 he sailed to the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

as captain of ''Les Jeux'' (36) in the fleet of

Jean II d'Estrées Jean, Comte d'Estrées, (3 November 1624 in Solothurn, Switzerland – 19 May 1707 in Paris), was a Marshal of France, and an important naval commander of Louis XIV. He was born into a noble family from Picardy. His aunt was Gabrielle d'Es ...

. On his return in March 1681, he learned, to his fury, that his children had been converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

under influence of

Madame de Maintenon Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

.
He himself remained

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

, which did his career no good. Finally, the pressure became too great and Villette-Mursay converted to Catholicism, with immediate consequences.
In 1686 he was promoted to squadron-leader and in 1689 to lieutenant-general. In 1697 he received the

order of Saint-Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewar ...

. In the

War of the Grand Alliance 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 Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...

, he commanded a squadron in the Battle of Beachy Head where he finished off nine or ten beached Dutch ships. In the

Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with later actions occurring ...

he commanded as vice-admiral a division of 6 ships : ''L'Ambitieux'', ''Le Courageux'', ''La Couronne'', ''Le Maure'', ''Le Henry'' and ''Le Fort''. He was forced to burn ''L'Ambitieux'' and ''Le Fort'' to avoid capture. His last battle was the Battle of Málaga where he commanded the vanguard in direct confrontation with

Cloudesley Shovell Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 or 23 October 1707) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch Wa ...

. Villette's ship ''Le Fier'' caught fire, and had 100 killed and wounded, but was finally saved.

Marriage and children

In 1662, he married Marie-Anne de Chateauneuf, who died in 1691.
In 1695 he married the twenty-years-old Marie-Claire Deschamps de Marsilly, who died in 1750. He had four children with his first wife : *Constance, married 1724 Jean-Baptiste, Marquis de Montmorin-Saint Hérem. *Philippe II (1667–1706), Marquis De Mursay de Villette, married 1695 Marie-Louise Le Moyne de Villiers, killed in the

Siege of Turin The siege of Turin took place from June to September 1706, during the War of the Spanish Succession, when a French army led by Louis de la Feuillade besieged the Savoyard capital of Turin. The campaign by Prince Eugene of Savoy that led to i ...

. *Henri-Benjamin (1670–1692), married Madeleine de Beaumont de Gibaud, died of his wounds after the Battle of Steenkerque. * Marthe (1673–1729), Marquise de Caylus, married 1686 Anne, Comte de Caylus. He wrote his memoirs -: ''Mes campagnes de mer sous

— avec un dictionnaire des personnages et des batailles'' (Tallandier, Paris, 1991)

External links

*
His memoirs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villette-Mursay, Philippe, Marquis De 1627 births 1707 deaths Military personnel from Normandy French Navy admirals Marquesses of Villette-Mursay French naval commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession French Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism Philippe