Louis-Antoine-Auguste de Rohan-Chabot, 6th Duke of Rohan (20 April 1733 – 29 November 1807),

Prince A prince is a 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, in some European states. The ...

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and Baron of Léon, Duke of Chabot, ''then'' 6th

Duke of Rohan Duke of Rohan is a title of French nobility, associated with the Breton region of Rohan, Morbihan, Rohan. Duke of Rohan House of Rohan House of Chabot House of Rohan-Chabot ''The title ''prince de Léon'' is used a courtesy title until the ...

in 1791, was a French aristocrat and general officer.

Early life

Rohan-Chabot was born on 20 April 1733. He was the son of Guy Auguste de Rohan-Chabot, Viscount of Bignan, Lieutenant General of the King's Armies (), and, his first wife, Yvonne Sylvie du Breil de Rays (1712–1740). In 1726, his father became famous for an altercation with

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

. From his parents' marriage, he had an elder sister, Marie Sylvie Alias Charlotte de Rohan-Chabot (who married Jean Baptiste Louis de Clermont d'Amboise, Marquis de Reynel and Marquis de Montglas), and a younger brother, Charles Rosalie de Rohan-Chabot, Count of

Jarnac Jarnac (; ; Saintongese: ''Jharnat'') is a commune in the Charente department, southwestern France. After his mother's death in 1740, his father married Lady Mary Apolonia Scolastica Stafford-Howard (the daughter of William Stafford-Howard, 2nd Earl of Stafford, ''de jure'' 3rd Baron Stafford). His paternal grandparents were Louis de Rohan-Chabot, 3rd

, and Marie Élisabeth du Bec-Crespin de Grimaldi, Marquise de Vardes. His maternal grandparents were Charles du Breil, Marquis de Rays and Sylvie de La Boissiere de Brantonnet.

Career

He began serving in the King's Armies at the age of fourteen. In 1748, he served in the Flanders campaigns as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

. In 1749, he became Colonel in the Grenadier Regiment and ''

mestre de camp Mestre de camp or Maître de camp (; "camp-master") was a military rank in the Ancien Régime of France, equivalent to colonel. A mestre de camp commanded a regiment and was under the authority of a Colonel General, who commanded all the regiments ...

'' of the Royal Foreign Cavalry Regiment in 1756, which he commanded at the Battle of Hastembreke, the capture of Minden, Hanover (1757), the

Battle of Krefeld The Battle of Krefeld (sometimes referred to by its French name of Créfeld) was fought at Krefeld near the Rhine on 23 June 1758 between a Prussian- Hanoverian army and a French army during the Seven Years' War. Background The Hanoverian ...

(1758),

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

(1759), Kloster Kampen (1760), and the

Battle of Warburg The Battle of Warburg was fought on 31 July 1760 during the Seven Years' War. The battle was a victory for the Hanoverians and the British against a slightly larger French army. The victory meant the Anglo-German allies had successfully defen ...

. He conducted himself admirably in 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 ...

, which earned him the nickname "the young hero" by Marshal Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, Duke of Belle-Isle. In 1763, he was promoted to

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

of Cavalry, to ''

Maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général'') ...

'' in 1772, and to

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in 1781. In 1769, he inherited the estate of his cousin, Henriette Charlotte de Chabot, widow of Charles-Hannibal de Rohan-Chabot, including the Château de Marouatte.

French revolution

In 1791, he inherited the estate of his first cousin, Louis Marie de Rohan-Chabot, 5th Duke of Rohan, and Peer of France, who also died without surviving issue. In the midst of French Revolution, he became the 6th Duke of Rohan and head of the

House of Rohan-Chabot The House of Rohan-Chabot () is a French noble family. It was established as a result of the marriage in 1645 between Henri Chabot and Marguerite de Rohan, the sole heir of the Duchy of Rohan. The Rohan-Chabot family is the eldest branch of t ...

. An

emigrant Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

from 1790 to 1792, he maintained correspondence with

Madame du Barry Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry (; 28 August 1744 – 8 December 1793) was the last ''maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution on accusations of treason—particularly being ...

in 1793 and was convinced of having received a loan of 200,000 pounds from her to support the

War in the Vendée The War in the Vendée () was a counter-revolutionary insurrection that took place in the Vendée region of French First Republic, France from 1793 to 1796, during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately so ...

. In 1794, his Château de Pontivy was confiscated and he had to sell several of his properties, Château de Blain, Château de Josselin, Château de Kerguèhennec, to Louis de Janzé during the Revolution. He died in Paris in 1807, before the Restoration, which allowed his son,

Alexandre-Louis-Auguste de Rohan-Chabot Alexandre Louis Auguste de Rohan-Chabot (3 December 1761 – 8 February 1816), Count of Chabot, then Viscounty of Léon, Prince of Leon, 7th Duke of Rohan, Count of Porhoët, was Colonel of the Régiment Royal of the County of Artois, Lieutenant-Ge ...

, to buy back several of the family estates from the Viscount of Janzé in 1814: the châteaux of Pontivy and Josselin, still held by the Dukes of Rohan.

Personal life

On 12 April 1757, he married Élisabeth-Louise de La Rochefoucauld (1740–1786), daughter of

Jean Baptiste de La Rochefoucauld, Duke of Anville 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 and pursued a military career in the French galley ...

, Lieutenant-General of the Naval Armies, and Marie Louise Nicole de La Rochefoucauld, Lady of

La Roche-Guyon La Roche-Guyon () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the , and is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association. The commune g ...

. On the death of his mother-in-law, Marie Louise Nicole de La Rochefoucauld, in 1797, his two surviving children inherited the estate of

. Before her death on 12 December 1786, they were the parents of: *

(1761–1816), who married Anne Louise ''Élisabeth'' de Montmorency, daughter of

Anne Léon de Montmorency Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in t ...

Duke of Montmorency Duke of Montmorency was a title of French nobility that was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, near Paris. History The first creation was in 1551 for Anne de Montmorency, Constable of ...

and Charlotte-Françoise de Montmorency-Luxembourg, ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' 4th Duchess of Montmorency (granddaughter of Charles II de Montmorency-Luxembourg), in 1785. She was sister to

Anne Charles François de Montmorency Anne Charles François de Montmorency, 5th Duke of Montmorency (13 July 1768 – 25 May 1846) was a French soldier and politician. Early life Montmorency was born at the Hôtel de Montmorency at 10 rue Saint-Marc in Paris on 13 July 1768. He was ...

, 5th Duke of Montmorency. * Alexandrine Charlotte de Rohan-Chabot (1763–1839), who married, as his second wife, her maternal uncle

Louis Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld, 6th Duke of La Rochefoucauld Louis Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld, 6th Duke of La Rochefoucauld (4 July 1743 – 4 September 1792) was a French nobleman and politician who was a major lord under the Ancien Régime. He also played a political role in 1789 early on in the Fre ...

(widower of Louise-Pauline de Gand de Mérode), in 1780. After he was executed in September 1792 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'' ...

of the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

, she married ''Boniface'' Louis André de

Castellane Castellane (; Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Castelana'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region ...

, Marquis of Castellane, in 1810. * Armand Charles Just de Rohan-Chabot (1767–1792), who was executed in September 1792 during the

; he died unmarried. On 14 March 1798, he remarried to Adélaïde Suzanne de Vismes, widow of

Jean-Benjamin de La Borde Jean-Benjamin François de la Borde (5 September 1734 – 22 July 1794) was a French composer, writer on music and '' fermier général'' (farm tax collector). Born into an aristocratic family, he studied violin under Antoine Dauvergne and composi ...

(guillotined in 1794), and daughter of Pierre-Martin de Vismes and Marie-Louise Legendre. He did not have any children with his second wife. The Duke died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 29 November 1807 and was buried at the Château de La Roche-Guyon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Antoine, Duke Of Rohan 1733 births 1807 deaths 18th-century peers of France

Louis Antoine Louis Antoine (23 November 1888 – 8 February 1971) was a French mathematician who discovered Antoine's necklace, which J. W. Alexander used to construct Antoine's horned sphere. He lost his eyesight in the first World War, at the age of 29. Ear ...

Nobility from Paris