Jean-Baptiste Louis Frédéric de La Rochefoucauld de Roye
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste Louis Frédéric de La Rochefoucauld de Roye (August 17, 1707 – September 16, 1746) was made duc d'Anville by King Louis XV of France
and pursued a military career in the French navy. He is best known for leading the French fleet on the disastrous Duc d'Anville Expedition
to Acadia
.
and Marthe Ducasse. He married Marie-Louise-Nicole de La Rochefoucauld, daughter of Alexandre, Duke de La Rochefoucauld. Alexandre had no surviving sons and exceptionally gained the permission of the Pope and the French King to hand the ducal title through the female line, but one of the conditions was that his daughter must marry a La Rochefoucauld. Jean-Baptiste de La Rochfoucauld de Roye was created Duc D'Anville on 15 February 1732, a few days before the marriage.He was an officer in the corps des galères, transferring into the Navy in 1734, and he was appointed lieutenant general of naval forces in January 1745.
D'Anville and Marie-Louise-Nicole had three daughters and one son, Louis Alexandre, who succeeded to the title Duc D'Anville in 1746 on his father's death. And on his grand-father's death in 1762, he became Duc de La Rochefoucauld.
In 1746, the grand expedition was organized in France under the command of the duc d'Anville.
The expedition was composed 20 warships, 21 frigates, and 32 transport ships, containing 800 cannons, 3,000 soldiers, and 10,000 marines. The expedition was to retake Louisbourg and then Annapolis Royal
, then known as Port Royal
.
The crossing was very difficult, and it lasted 86 days. Without enough supplies, hundreds of soldiers and sailors died of an epidemic. The French fleet was dispersed by a storm between Sable Island
off Nova Scotia to as far away as the Caribbean. Some ships returned to France.
Less than half of the total expedition of the duc d'Anville managed to reach Chibouctou Bay. After their arrival, the Acadiens helped take care of the soldiers and the marines. However, 1,200 men died during the crossing and more than 1,000 died of typhoid after their arrival at Chibouctou.
The duc d'Anville was not spared, and died of a terrible epidemic, on the 27th of Septembre, 1746. He was buried on Georges island, in the Chibouctou Bay, (in front of Halifax). Two days later, vice-admiral d'Estournelles, who was second in command, committed suicide because of high fever. The body of duc d'Anville was transported to Louisbourg in 1748.
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
and pursued a military career in the French navy. He is best known for leading the French fleet on the disastrous Duc d'Anville Expedition
Duc d'Anville Expedition
The Duc d'Anville Expedition was sent from France to recapture peninsular Acadia . The expedition was the largest military force ever to set sail for the New World prior to the American Revolution. The effort to take the Nova Scotian capital, Annapolis Royal was also supported on land by a force...
to Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
.
Biography
D'Anville was born on 17 August 1709, the son of Louis de La Rochefoucauld, Marquis de Roye, a distant cousin of the Dukes of La RochefoucauldDuc de La Rochefoucauld
The title of Duke de La Rochefoucauld was a French peerage, one of most famous families of French nobility, whose origins go back to lord Rochefoucauld in Charente of the 10th Century - 11th Century...
and Marthe Ducasse. He married Marie-Louise-Nicole de La Rochefoucauld, daughter of Alexandre, Duke de La Rochefoucauld. Alexandre had no surviving sons and exceptionally gained the permission of the Pope and the French King to hand the ducal title through the female line, but one of the conditions was that his daughter must marry a La Rochefoucauld. Jean-Baptiste de La Rochfoucauld de Roye was created Duc D'Anville on 15 February 1732, a few days before the marriage.He was an officer in the corps des galères, transferring into the Navy in 1734, and he was appointed lieutenant general of naval forces in January 1745.
D'Anville and Marie-Louise-Nicole had three daughters and one son, Louis Alexandre, who succeeded to the title Duc D'Anville in 1746 on his father's death. And on his grand-father's death in 1762, he became Duc de La Rochefoucauld.
Duc d'Anville Expedition
Although he had been appointed lieutenant general of the French naval forces in January 1745, the duc d'Anville did not have the proper naval training necessary to command the French fleet, which was to take part in the grand expedition the following year.In 1746, the grand expedition was organized in France under the command of the duc d'Anville.
The expedition was composed 20 warships, 21 frigates, and 32 transport ships, containing 800 cannons, 3,000 soldiers, and 10,000 marines. The expedition was to retake Louisbourg and then Annapolis Royal
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
, then known as Port Royal
Port Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
.
The crossing was very difficult, and it lasted 86 days. Without enough supplies, hundreds of soldiers and sailors died of an epidemic. The French fleet was dispersed by a storm between Sable Island
Sable Island
Sable Island is a small Canadian island situated 300 km southeast of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean. The island is a year-round home to approximately five people...
off Nova Scotia to as far away as the Caribbean. Some ships returned to France.
Less than half of the total expedition of the duc d'Anville managed to reach Chibouctou Bay. After their arrival, the Acadiens helped take care of the soldiers and the marines. However, 1,200 men died during the crossing and more than 1,000 died of typhoid after their arrival at Chibouctou.
The duc d'Anville was not spared, and died of a terrible epidemic, on the 27th of Septembre, 1746. He was buried on Georges island, in the Chibouctou Bay, (in front of Halifax). Two days later, vice-admiral d'Estournelles, who was second in command, committed suicide because of high fever. The body of duc d'Anville was transported to Louisbourg in 1748.