Jean-Baptiste Louis Frédéric de La Rochefoucauld de Roye, Duke of Anville (17 August 1707 – 16 September 1746), Marquis of Roucy, who was made the Duke of Anville by King

Louis XV of France 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 ...

and pursued a military career in the

French galley corps French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), a ...

. He is best known for leading the French fleet on the disastrous Duc d'Anville Expedition to

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

Early life

D'Anville was born on 17 August 1707, the son of Marthe Ducasse and Louis de La Rochefoucauld, Marquis de Roye, Lieutenant-General of the Galleys. The Roye

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

had been founded by Charles de La Rochefoucauld, ''known as'' de Roye (d. 1605), a younger son of François III de La Rochefoucauld, Count of La Rochefoucauld, and Charlotte de Roye, Countess of Roucy.

Career

He was an officer in the galley corps (''corps des galères'') before transferring into the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

in 1734, and he was appointed lieutenant general of in January 1745.

Duc d'Anville Expedition

Although he had been appointed lieutenant general of the French navy in January 1745, the duc d'Anville did not have the proper naval training necessary to command the French fleet, which was to take part in the grand expedition the following year. In 1746, the grand expedition was organized in France under the command of the duc d'Anville. The expedition was composed 20 warships, 21 frigates, and 32 transport ships, containing 800 cannons, 3,000 soldiers, and 10,000 marines. The expedition was to retake

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and then

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, then known as

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.ARSENAULT, Bona, Histoire des Acadiens, Bibliothèque nationale du Québec. 1978. Lemaéac p. 140 The crossing was very difficult, and it lasted 86 days. Without enough supplies, hundreds of soldiers and sailors died of scurvy and other epidemics. The French fleet was dispersed by a storm between

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off Nova Scotia to as far away as the Caribbean. Some ships returned to France. Less than half of the total expedition of the duc d'Anville managed to reach Chibouctou Bay. After their arrival, the

Acadiens The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, w ...

helped take care of the soldiers. However, 1,200 men died during the crossing, and more than 1,000 died of typhoid after their arrival at Chibouctou. The duc d'Anville was not spared, and died of a terrible epidemic, on 27 September 1746. He was buried on Georges' Island, in the Chibouctou Bay, (in front of Halifax). Two days later, vice-admiral d'Estournelles, who was second in command, committed suicide because of high fever. The corpse of the Duke was transported to Louisbourg, Île Royale (

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

) in 1748, and finally to France.

Personal life

On 28 February 1732 La Rochefoucauld married Marie-Louise Nicole de La Rochefoucauld (1716–1797), eldest daughter of Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld, 5th Duke of La Rochefoucauld and Élisabeth Bermond du Caylard, in February 1732. As his father-in-law had no surviving sons, he was granted permission by the Pope and by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

of the French King to transmit the ducal title to the male issue through the female line on the condition that his daughter marry a member of the La Rochefoucauld family. Jean-Baptiste de La Rochfoucauld de Roye was created Duke of Anville on 15 February 1732, a few days before the marriage. Together, Jean Baptiste and Marie-Louise-Nicole had three daughters and one son, including: * Élisabeth-Louise de La Rochefoucauld (1740–1786), who married Louis-Antoine-Auguste de Rohan-Chabot, 6th Duke of Rohan, son of Guy Auguste de Rohan-Chabot and Yvonne Sylvie du Breil de Rays, in 1757. * Louis-Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld (1743–1792), a member of the

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, and the

Assembly of notables An Assembly of Notables () was a group of high-ranking nobles, ecclesiastics, and state functionaries convened by the King of France on extraordinary occasions to consult on matters of state. Assemblymen were prominent men, usually of the aristo ...

in 1787, deputy of the nobility at the

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of 1789; he married Pauline de Gand de Mérode in 1762. After her death, he married his niece, Alexandrine Charlotte de Rohan-Chabot (daughter of his sister, Élisabeth-Louise de La Rochefoucauld, and Louis Antoine, Duke of Rohan) in 1780. Upon his death in 1746, his son Louis Alexandre succeeded to the title Duke of Anville. On his father-in-law's death in 1762, his son also became the 6th Duke of La Rochefoucauld. When his son was killed during the

September massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings and summary executions of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792 from 2 September to 6 September during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by ''sans-culottes'' ...

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without heir, the title passed to son's his first cousin (the Duke of Anville's nephew).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Rochefoucauld de Roye, Jean-Baptiste Louis Frederic 1707 births 1746 deaths New France Acadian history French Navy admirals House of La Rochefoucauld