François-Gaston de Lévis, 1st Duke of Lévis (20 August 1719 – 20 November 1787), styled as the Chevalier de Lévis until 1785, was a

French Royal Army The French Royal Army () was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude from 1792 to 1814 and another du ...

officer. He served with distinction in the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...

and the

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. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, he was second-in-command to Louis-Joseph de Montcalm in the defense of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

and then, after the surrender of New France in 1760, he served in Europe. After the war, he was appointed Governor of

Artois Artois ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: ...

, and in 1783 he was made a Marshal of France.

North American military service

In 1756, the

Marquis de Vaudreuil The Marquis de Vaudreuil may refer to: * Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil (1643–1702), governor of Montréal then of New France * Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil (1698–1778), last governor-general of New France * Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis o ...

was informed that King

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 ...

was sending the Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm to take over French forces in North America, with Lévis as second in command. Vaudreuil wrote back that there was no need to send another general, as Vaudreuil disliked the tactics of most "municipal" French generals. When Montcalm arrived despite Vaudreuil's protest, the two men developed a dislike for each other. Lévis led the vanguard of the French expedition to Fort William Henry in 1757, and laid

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

to it until Montcalm's arrival. During French planning for the 1758 campaign in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

the disputes between Vaudreuil and Montcalm continued. Vaudreuil prevailed, and Montcalm was sent to Fort Carillon to defend it against an expected British attack. Lévis was initially slated to lead an expedition to the western forts, leading about 500 French metropolitan troops and a large seasoned French-Canadian militia. Vaudreuil, however, had second thoughts, and dispatched Lévis and his metropolitan troops to support Montcalm at Carillon. Lévis arrived at Carillon on the evening of July 7, as a British army led by James Abercrombie was arriving before the fort. In the ensuing Battle of Carillon, Abercrombie's troops were defeated, with Lévis leading the defense on the French right flank. General Levis encouraging his French army at the battle of Sainte-Foy

General Levis encouraging his French army at the battle of Sainte-Foy

When the forces of James Murray arrived to begin the Siege of Quebec, Lévis participated in the early defenses, including the

Battle of Beauport The Battle of Beauport, also known as the Battle of Montmorency, fought on 31 July 1759, was an important confrontation between the British and French armed forces during the Seven Years' War (also known as the French and Indian War and the War ...

. He was then sent to organize the defense of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and so was not present when Quebec fell. Following Montcalm's death in the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe the North American theatre). The battle, which took place on 13 Sept ...

, Lévis was appointed commander of French forces in North America. Wintering at Montreal, Lévis managed to rally his troops and train them for a spring offensive to recapture Quebec in 1760. Marching downstream with the first breaking of the ice, Lévis met the forces of James Murray at the Battle of Sainte-Foy, where Lévis' army won a victory in one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on Canadian soil. This forced Murray to retreat behind Quebec's walls and a siege began. The lack of artillery and siege equipment precluded any assault on the fortifications of Quebec and Lévis held back, awaiting reinforcements from Europe. With the arrival of a British squadron which then destroyed his support ships on the Saint Lawrence, Lévis was obliged to retreat to Montreal, where Vaudreuil eventually surrendered New France to Amherst's army, which had advanced down the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

that summer, in early September. His various letters for this period were later collected and published by Beauchemin in 1889; letters to him for this period were published by the Abbe Casgrain, a professor at Universite Laval, in 1895; Casgrain had already published in 1891 ''Les français au Canada : Montcalm et Lévis''.gallica.bnf.fr: "Les français au Canada : Montcalm et Lévis / par l'abbé H.-R. Casgrain"
/ref>

Retirement

Lévis returned to France on parole, and was released for service in Europe by William Pitt. He served in the German campaigns of 1762, and retired from active military service when the war ended in 1763 with the Peace of Paris. He was appointed governor of

in 1765. He was promoted to Marshal of France in 1783, and was raised to the inheritable title Duc de Lévis in 1784. He died in 1787 in

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

, France, and was succeeded as duke of Lévis by his son Pierre-Marc-Gaston, who escaped to England during the French Revolution. In 1794 his widow and two of his three daughters were sent to the

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

during the French Revolution. He left his name to Lévis, Quebec, across the river from

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

References

Bibliography

*''Carillon 1758'', Osprey Publishing *''Quebec 1759'', Osprey Publishing

External links

*
1759 From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham (Virtual exhibition)

Lettre du Maréchal de Lévis à A M. le Maréchal de Belle-Isle

Lévis, François-Gaston de, duc de Lévis

Lévis, François-Gaston de, duc de Lévis
* François-Gaston, duc de Lévis Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. * Archives of François Gaston de Lévi
(Fonds François Gaston de Lévis, R6935)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levis, Francois-Gaston 1719 births 1787 deaths People from Aude Marshals of France French people of the French and Indian War French nobility Francois-Gaston