John Gaspar Ferdinand de Marchin, or Marsin, Comte de Granville (1601–1673) was a Walloon military commander from the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

Life

At the age of thirteen Marchin was enlisted in the regiment of the Count of Tilly and fought many battles in the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

. He later served under

Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

. By 1647, he was lieutenant general and in command of the Army in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

. During the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition ...

he sided with the Great Condé against 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 List of longest-reign ...

. He was imprisoned in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

for 13 months. When the peace was signed on 30 July 1653, Marchin, like Condé, refused the amnesty and went to Spain where Philip IV appointed him company commander in his army. In 1658

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

made him a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

. He participated in the disastrous campaign in the

Portuguese Restoration War The Restoration War (), historically known as the Acclamation War (''Guerra da Aclamação''), was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a forma ...

under

John of Austria John of Austria (, ; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V recognized him in a codicil to his will. John became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Phi ...

(1663–1664). He also led the Spanish troops against the French in the north of France, where he was defeated in 1667 by

François de Créquy François de Blanchefort de Créquy, later Marquis de Marines (2 October 1629 – 3 February 1687), was a 17th-century French noble and soldier, who served in the wars of Louis XIV of France. He came from a powerful and well-connected family, ...

. Marchin then retired to his estate at

Modave Castle Modave (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Modave had a total population of 3,722. The total area is 40.37 km2 which gives a populati ...

, where he spent his entire fortune on its restoration, which took 15 years.

Family

Marchin married Marie de Balzac d'Entragues, daughter of the Marquis de Clermont, counsellor to the King of France. They had two children : * Ferdinand de Marsin (1651–1706),

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) ...

, killed in the

Battle of Turin The siege of Turin took place from June to September 1706, during the War of the Spanish Succession. A French army led by Louis de la Feuillade besieged the Savoyard capital of Turin, whose relief by Prince Eugene of Savoy has been called th ...

. * Agnes de Marsin, died young.

Sources

Modave Castle official website

Eupedia: Modave Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchin, John Gaspar Ferdinand De 1601 births 1673 deaths e South Netherlandish people of the Thirty Years' War Prince-Bishopric of Liège military personnel Knights of the Garter Imperial Army personnel of the Thirty Years' War Military personnel of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)