Francesco Maria de Reggio, known in French as François Marie, Chevalier de Reggio (

Alba, Italy Alba (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of Piedmont, Italy, in the Province of Cuneo. It is one of the main cities in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato. The town is famous for its white tr ...

, 1698 –

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 1787) was an Italian

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 ...

who was a member of the

House of Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

. He was a distinguished commander in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

, and an influential government official in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Biography

François Marie was born in

Alba, Piedmont Alba (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of Piedmont, Italy, in the Province of Cuneo. It is one of the main cities in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato. The town is famous for its white t ...

, in 1698. He was nephew to the reigning Duke of Modena and Reggio,

Francesco III d'Este Francesco III d'Este (Francesco Maria; 2 July 1698 – 22 February 1780) was Duchy of Modena and Reggio, Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1737 until his death. Biography He was born in Modena, the son of Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena, and Duche ...

. His mother was Felicite De Canapan, and his father was Rinaldo de Reggio, Chevalier de Reggio, who was the brother of Duke Francesco, and son of Duke Rinaldo d'Este. When his father died, Francois himself became the Chevalier de Reggio. He ruled his lands strongly for many years, but fell victim to boredom. Looking for excitement, Francois moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, joined the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, and fought in the

with his close friend, the

Duke of Richelieu Duke of Richelieu () was a title of French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (known as Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a Catholic clergyman, had no issue to pass it down to. It instead passed to hi ...

. He proved to be an excellent soldier, and went on to distinguish himself greatly at the Siege of Bergen op Zoom. 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 ...

was so impressed by the Chevalier's valour during the siege, that he gave him a

captaincy A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish colonies, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule admin ...

in the French army, and promoted him to the rank of Captain general. Soon after his promotion in 1747, the king sent Marie to

, which was a French colony at the time. François held the title of Captain-General of Louisiana until 1763, when the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

took over the French colony. The Chevalier was well liked by the new Spanish officials, and was given a new title in the government of

Spanish Louisiana Louisiana (, ), was a province of New Spain from 1762 to 1801. It was primarily located in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of the Mississippi River plus New Orleans. The area had originally been claimed and controlle ...

: First Justiciary of the Estates and Property of the Crown. While holding this position, he met a young woman, by the name of Fleuriau. They married, and had many children. In his old age, Francois retired, and died in

, in 1787.

Famous descendants

Francois Marie, Chevalier de Reggio was the great-grandfather of

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

General

P.G.T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 – February 20, 1893) was an American military officer known as being the Confederate general who started the American Civil War at the battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is comm ...

, one of the most famous generals in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

.Old Families of Louisiana - Page 412 Stanley Clisby Arthur - 1999 "She married first Daniel Fagot de la Garcinière (q. v.), and at his death in 1776, married a second time Charles Antoine de Reggio, son of François Marie de Reggio and Helene Fleuriau" Among his descendants is also director

Godfrey Reggio Godfrey Reggio (born 1940) is an American director of experimental documentary films. Life Reggio was born in New Orleans in 1940 to a Catholic family. He left home at age 14 to join the Catholic Christian Brotherhood. He became a monk, and spe ...

Notes

References

*Reggio Ancestor Report Page: kjunkutie.tripod.com/reggio.htm *files.usgwaracrchives.net/la/stbernard/bios/beaurega.txt *''The military operations of General Beauregard in the war between the states'' by Alfred Roman *http://www.lagenealogy.net/Pages/Beauregard.aspx {{DEFAULTSORT:Francois Marie, Chevalier De Reggio 1698 births 1787 deaths French Army officers House of Este Italian nobility