Camille d'Hostun, duc de Tallard
Encyclopedia
Camille d'Hostun de la Baume, duc de Tallard (14 February 1652 – 20 March 1728) was a French
noble, diplomat and military commander, who became Marshal of France.
in the Netherlands
, and from 1674, under Turenne
in Alsace
. He was promoted maréchal de camp in 1678, and served in the Nine Years' War (1688–1697).
His friendship with King Louis XIV
ensured a position of authority. After the war he served for two years as ambassador to the Court of St. James's
, where his exceptional knowledge of European political affairs proved highly valuable. When King James II
died in September 1701, King Louis recognised James’s son
as his successor to the throne of England. Consequently, King William III
expelled Tallard from London
in 1702.
Tallard’s military career reached its height during the War of the Spanish Succession
. On 7 September 1703 the duc de Burgundy and Tallard took the town of Breisach
. Tallard proceeded to invest Landau
in mid October. A relief force under the Prince of Hesse-Kassel
(or Hesse-Cassel) was roundly defeated by Tallard’s force at the Battle of Speyerbach
on 15 November. As a result Landau fell two days later. Shortly after, Tallard was created Marshal of France
.
In 1704, Tallard was sent to reinforce Maximilian II Emanuel
's and Marshal Marsin
's Franco-Bavarian army on the Danube
, which was under threat from the Duke of Marlborough
's and Prince Eugene
's allied army. Tallard set out on 1 July from Strasbourg
, but although the six day siege of Villingen
proved abortive, (abandoned on 22 July), the French Marshal was able to bring 34,000 men through the Black Forest
, reaching Ulm
on 5 August.
Tallard was placed in overall command of the combined Franco-Bavarian army, but the subsequent Battle of Blenheim
on 13 August 1704 resulted in complete destruction of his forces. Decisively beaten, he was captured and taken back to England and housed on parole in Nottingham
.
The writer Daniel Defoe
reported that his small, but beautiful parterre, after the French fashion was one of the beauties of Nottingham.
in 1715. In King Louis XIV's testament, Tallard was appointed to the Council of Regency but the duc d'Orléans
had the testament nullified. He was elected president of the Académie des Sciences
in 1724 and, in 1726, he became a French minister of state. He died in 1728.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
noble, diplomat and military commander, who became Marshal of France.
Military career
Tallard was granted a commission in the French army at the age of 15. He later served under the prince de CondéLouis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé
Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé was a French general and the most famous representative of the Condé branch of the House of Bourbon. Prior to his father's death in 1646, he was styled the Duc d'Enghien...
in the Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
, and from 1674, under Turenne
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne,often called simply Turenne was the most illustrious member of the La Tour d'Auvergne family. He achieved military fame and became a Marshal of France...
in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
. He was promoted maréchal de camp in 1678, and served in the Nine Years' War (1688–1697).
His friendship with King Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
ensured a position of authority. After the war he served for two years as ambassador to the Court of St. James's
Court of St. James's
The Court of St James's is the royal court of the United Kingdom. It previously had the same function in the Kingdom of England and in the Kingdom of Great Britain .-Overview:...
, where his exceptional knowledge of European political affairs proved highly valuable. When King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
died in September 1701, King Louis recognised James’s son
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
as his successor to the throne of England. Consequently, King William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
expelled Tallard from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1702.
Tallard’s military career reached its height during the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
. On 7 September 1703 the duc de Burgundy and Tallard took the town of Breisach
Breisach
Breisach is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway between Freiburg and Colmar — 20 kilometres away from each — and about 60 kilometres north of Basel near the...
. Tallard proceeded to invest Landau
Landau
Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...
in mid October. A relief force under the Prince of Hesse-Kassel
Frederick I of Sweden
Frederick I, , was a prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and a King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730...
(or Hesse-Cassel) was roundly defeated by Tallard’s force at the Battle of Speyerbach
Battle of Speyerbach
The Battle of Speyerbach took place on 15 November 1703 in the War of the Spanish Succession. A French army besieging Landau surprised and defeated a German relief army near Speyer.- Prelude :...
on 15 November. As a result Landau fell two days later. Shortly after, Tallard was created Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
.
In 1704, Tallard was sent to reinforce Maximilian II Emanuel
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II , also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and duke of Luxembourg...
's and Marshal Marsin
Ferdinand de Marsin
Ferdinand, comte de Marsin was a French general and diplomat, who was Marshal of France.-Biography:...
's Franco-Bavarian army on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, which was under threat from the Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
's and Prince Eugene
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
's allied army. Tallard set out on 1 July from Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, but although the six day siege of Villingen
Villingen-Schwenningen
Villingen-Schwenningen is a city in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It has 80,941 inhabitants .-History:...
proved abortive, (abandoned on 22 July), the French Marshal was able to bring 34,000 men through the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
, reaching Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
on 5 August.
Tallard was placed in overall command of the combined Franco-Bavarian army, but the subsequent Battle of Blenheim
Battle of Blenheim
The Battle of Blenheim , fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement...
on 13 August 1704 resulted in complete destruction of his forces. Decisively beaten, he was captured and taken back to England and housed on parole in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
.
The writer Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
reported that his small, but beautiful parterre, after the French fashion was one of the beauties of Nottingham.
Later life
On his release in 1711 he returned to France. Despite the calamity of Blenheim, Louis appeared to bear the Marshal no ill will. Tallard was made a duke in 1712 and became a Peer of FrancePeerage of France
The Peerage of France was a distinction within the French nobility which appeared in the Middle Ages. It was abolished in 1789 during the French Revolution, but it reappeared in 1814 at the time of the Bourbon Restoration which followed the fall of the First French Empire...
in 1715. In King Louis XIV's testament, Tallard was appointed to the Council of Regency but the duc d'Orléans
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
had the testament nullified. He was elected president of the Académie des Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
in 1724 and, in 1726, he became a French minister of state. He died in 1728.
Family
He married Marie-Catherine de Grolée de Viriville-La Tivolière and had one son;- Marie Joseph d'Hostun de La Baume-Tallard, Duke of Hostun, Duke of Tallart, (b.1683 - ?) he married Marie Isabelle de RohanMarie Isabelle de RohanMarie Isabelle de Rohan was a French noblewoman and grand daughter of Madame de Ventadour. Marie Isabelle was the governess of the children of Louis XV and his consort Marie Leszczyńska.-Biography:Born in Paris the fourth child of five...
, daughter of Hercule Mériadec, Duke of Rohan-RohanHercule Mériadec, Duke of Rohan-RohanHercule Mériadec de Rohan styled the Duke of Rohan-Rohan was a member of the House of Rohan. He married twice and was the grandfather of the Maréchal de Soubise. His first wife was the daughter of Madame de Ventadour...
and Anne Geneviève de LévisAnne Geneviève de LévisAnne Geneviève de Lévis was a French noblewoman. She was Duchess of Rohan-Rohan and Princess of Soubise by marriage. Anne Geneviève was the only child of Madame de Ventadour, governess of the young Louis XV. She married twice and had children with her second husband...
, daughter of Madame de VentadourMadame de VentadourCharlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour was the governess of King Louis XV of France, great-grandson of King Louis XIV. She is credited with saving Louis XV from the ministrations of the royal doctors when he was ill as a child...
. The couple had no children; Marie Isabelle was the Governess to the children of Louis XV from 1735-1754.