Albert Jean Michel de Rocca (1788 – 31 January 1818) was a French

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. He was also the second husband of

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

Biography

De Rocca was born in Geneva, Republic of Geneva, in 1788. He served in the French army during the

Peninsular war The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

and was seriously injured. After returning to Geneva, he had an affair with

Germaine de Staël Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein (; ; 22 April 176614 July 1817), commonly known as Madame de Staël (), was a French woman of letters and political theorist, the daughter of banker and French finance minister Jacques Necker and Suzan ...

, who, exiled from Paris by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, lived in her castle at nearby

Coppet Coppet is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Coppet is first mentioned in 1294 as ''Copetum''. In 1347 it was mentioned as ''Copet''. Geography Coppet has an area (), of . Of this area, ...

. The lady bore a son on 7 April 1812, whose father legitimated as Louis-Alphonse Rocca. They separated when Madame de Staël started on a European tour, to reach London through Vienna, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Stockholm. Later they married and moved together to Paris after Waterloo and Napoleon's second abdication. On 5 January 1817 Germaine de Staël suffered a seizure left her

paralysed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

. De Staël subsequently died on 14 July 1817, soon followed by de Rocca, who died in

Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered arou ...

on 31 January 1818. De Rocca left two descriptions of the military events in which he was involved: "Mémoire sur la guerre des Français en Espagne" and "La campagne de Walcheren et d'Anvers" (a failed landing by the British in

Kingdom of Holland The Kingdom of Holland ( nl, Holland (contemporary), (modern); french: Royaume de Hollande) was created by Napoleon Bonaparte, overthrowing the Batavian Republic in March 1806 in order to better control the Netherlands. Since becoming Empero ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

)". His portrait as Hussard de Chamborant, with his horse "Sultan", an oil on cloth by , still decorates Madame de Staël's bedroom in Coppet. His son Louis-Alphonse married Marie Louise Barthelot de Rambuteau, daughter of

Claude-Philibert Barthelot, comte de Rambuteau Claude-Philibert Barthelot, comte de Rambuteau () (Mâcon, 9 November 1781 – Château de Rambuteau, 11 April 1869) was a French senior official of the first half of the 19th century. He was Préfet of the former Départment of the Seine, w ...

Sources

* André Palluel-Guillard, L'aigle et la croix : Genève et la Savoie, 1798-1815, Yens-sur-Morges, Éditions Cabedita, 1999, 662 pages, p. 618 rchive(). * J. Christopher Herold, Mistress to an Age : A Life of Madame de Stael, Grove Press, 2002, 512 pages (). * Pauline Laure Marie de Broglie Pange, Le dernier amour de Madame de Staël d'après des documents inédits, Genève, La Palatine, 1944, 255 pages, p. 159.

External links

* http://viaf.org/viaf/107596338/ * http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb13007161r * http://www.idref.fr/076577805 * http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no99017606.html * https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=idn%3D140897003 * http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-no99-017606/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocca, Albert Jean Michel De Military personnel from the Republic of Geneva French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars 1788 births 1818 deaths