Camille d'Hostun de la Baume, duc de Tallard (14 February 1652 – 20 March 1728) was a French

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, diplomat and military commander, who became a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

Military career

Tallard was granted a commission in the French army at the age of 15.Falkner: ''Blenheim 1704: Marlborough's Greatest Victory,'' p. 104 He later served under the

prince de Condé A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and from 1674, under

Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne (), was a French general and one of only six marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of th ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. He was promoted ''maréchal de camp'' in 1678, and served in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

(1688–1697). His friendship with

King Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...

ensured a position of authority. After the war he served for two years as ambassador to the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's serves as the official royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The court formally receives all ambassadors accredited to the United Kingdom. Likewise, ambassadors representing the United Kingdom are formally a ...

, where his exceptional knowledge of European political affairs proved highly valuable. When

King James II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

died in September 1701, King Louis recognised James's

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

as his successor to the throne of England. Consequently,

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

expelled Tallard from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1702. Tallard's military career reached its height during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. On 7 September 1703 the

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

and Tallard took the town of

Breisach Breisach am Rhein (, ; formerly Alt-Breisach, , in contrast to " New Breisach"; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach''), commonly known as Breisach, is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the di ...

. Tallard proceeded to attack

Landau Landau (), officially Landau in der Pfalz (, ), is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990), a long ...

in mid October. A relief force under the Prince of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) was roundly defeated by Tallard's force at the

Battle of Speyerbach The Battle of Speyerbach took place on 15 November 1703 during the War of the Spanish Succession, near Speyer in the modern German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. A French army commanded by Camille de Tallard defeated an Allied force under F ...

on 15 November. As a result, Landau fell two days later. Shortly after, Tallard was created

. In 1704, Tallard was sent to reinforce

Maximilian II Emanuel Maximilian II (11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726), also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spanish Netherlands and Duke ...

's and Marshal Marsin's Franco-Bavarian army on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, which was under threat from the

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was a British army officer and statesman. From a gentry family, he ...

's and Prince Eugene's allied army. Tallard set out on 1 July from

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, but although the six day siege of

Villingen Villingen-Schwenningen (; Low Alemannic: ''Villinge-Schwenninge'') is a city in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in southern Baden-Württemberg, in south-western Germany. It had 89,743 inhabitants as of September 2024. History In the Middle Ages, ...

proved abortive, (abandoned on 22 July), the French Marshal was able to bring 34,000 men through the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

, reaching

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

on 5 August. Tallard was placed in overall command of the combined Franco-Bavarian army, but the subsequent

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (; ; ) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, thus preventing the collapse of the reconstituted G ...

on 13 August 1704 resulted in complete destruction of his forces. Decisively beaten, he was captured and taken back to England and housed on parole in

Chatsworth, Derbyshire Chatsworth is a civil parish in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire ...

and Newdigate House

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. The writer

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

reported that his ''small, but beautiful parterre, after the French fashion'' was one of the beauties of Nottingham. During his stay in Britain, he is credited with introducing

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'' Dulce Group or ''Apium graveolens'' var. ''dulce'') is a cultivated plant belonging to the species ''Apium graveolens'' in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times. The original wild ...

English cuisine English cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with England. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but is also very similar to wider British cuisine, partly historically and partly due to the import of i ...

Later life

On his release in 1711 he returned to France.Tincey: ''Blenheim 1704: The Duke of Marlborough's Masterpiece,'' p. 88 Despite the calamity of Blenheim, Louis appeared to bear the Marshal no ill will. Tallard was made a duke in 1712 and became a

Peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

in 1715. In King Louis XIV's testament, Tallard was appointed to the Council of Regency but the duc d'Orléans had the testament nullified. He was elected president of the

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

in 1724 and, in 1726, he became a French minister of state. He died in 1728.

Family

He married Marie-Catherine de Grolée de Viriville-La Tivolière and had one son; # Marie ''Joseph'' d'Hostun de La Baume-Tallard, Duke of Hostun, Duke of Tallart, (b.1683 - ?) he married

Marie Isabelle de Rohan Marie may refer to the following. People Given name * Marie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** List of people named Marie * Marie (Japanese given name) Surname * Jean Gabriel-Marie, French compo ...

, daughter of Hercule Mériadec, Duke of Rohan-Rohan and

Anne Geneviève de Lévis Anne Geneviève de Lévis (February 1673 – 20 March 1727) was a French noblewoman. She was Princess of Turenne by her first marriage and Duchess of Rohan-Rohan, Princess of Soubise by her second marriage. Anne Geneviève was the only child ...

, daughter of

Madame de Ventadour Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour (Charlotte Eléonore Madeleine; 1654–1744) was a French office holder of the French Royal Court. She was the governess of King Louis XV of France, great-grandson of King Louis XIV. She ...

. The couple had no children; Marie Isabelle was the Governess to the children of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

from 1735-1754.

Notes

References

* Chandler, David G. ''Marlborough as Military Commander.'' Spellmount Ltd, (2003). * Churchill, Winston. '' Marlborough: His Life and Times, Bk. 1, vols. i & ii''. University of Chicago Press, (2002). * Falkner, James. ''Blenheim 1704: Marlborough's Greatest Victory''. Pen & Sword Books Ltd, (2004). * Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714.'' Longman, (1999). * Tincey, John. ''Blenheim 1704:The Duke of Marlborough's Masterpiece.'' Osprey Publishing Ltd, (2004).

External links

Tallard in Nottingham
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tallard, Camille dHostun 1652 births 1728 deaths Hostun, Camille d' Marshals of France French military personnel of the Nine Years' War French army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Members of the French Academy of Sciences 18th-century French people 17th-century French people 18th-century peers of France Peers created by Louis XIV People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans