Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix de Castries, marquis de Castries, baron des États de

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

, comte de Charlus, baron de Castelnau et de Montjouvent, seigneur de

Puylaurens Puylaurens (; oc, Puèglaurenç) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. The poet Suzon de Terson was born here in 1657. See also *Communes of the Tarn department The following is a list of the 314 communes of the Tarn de ...

et de Lézignan (25 February 1727,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

– 11 January 1801,

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

) was a French marshal. He was the son of Joseph François de La Croix de Castries, marquis de Castries, and his second wife, Marie-Françoise de Lévis de Charlus.

Military career

Entering the régiment du Roi-Infanterie in May 1739, he became a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 23 August 1742. In parallel, he was lieutenant du Roi (king's lieutenant) in Languedoc and governor of Montpellier and Sète (from 1 December 1743). He fought with distinction in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

and all

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), 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 ...

's campaigns. "

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 regimen ...

" of the régiment du Roi-Cavalerie from 26 March 1744, he was maréchal de camp and commandant général of the cavalry from 1748. In 1756, he commanded the expeditionary force sent to

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

, and the Carenage quarter of the island was renamed Castries after him. He next distinguished himself in the

Battle of Rossbach The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the Seven Years' War) near the village of Rossbach (Roßbach), in the Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at, Re ...

(5 November 1757), in which he was wounded twice. Becoming lieutenant général (on 28 December 1758), he became maître de camp général of the cavalry on 16 April 1759. At the Battle of Clostercamp (16 October 1760), through his sang-froid he saved a situation when all seemed lost. He was made knight of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit on 30 May 1762. Shortly after the peace of 1763, he was named governor of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and Hainaut. Next, he was made capitaine lieutenant of the company of Gendarmes écossais and commandant of the Gendarmerie from 1770 until his retirement in 1788.

Secretary of the Navy

He was named Secretary of State of the Navy on 13 October 1780 on the recommendation of his friend

Jacques Necker Jacques Necker (; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a Genevan banker and statesman who served as finance minister for Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innovations sometimes caused great discontent. Necker was a constitutional monarchi ...

. He remained in this post until 24 August 1787. In 1783, he was made a

marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

. He reorganised the fleet and had a new naval strategy adopted by the

Grand Conseil The term Grand Conseil () or Great Council refers two different institutions during the Ancien Régime in France. It also is the name of parliaments in several Swiss cantons. Ancien Régime France Part of the King's Council Starting in the 13 ...

, that the navy's ships of the line should be kept at sea whilst a flotilla blockaded the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and kept it in port. This strategy that led to French naval successes in the American War of Independence. He also made a very important legislative effort, simplifying the navy's hierarchy and reorganising its recruitment. de Castries deeply studied the dossiers sent him, and was highly energetic in these roles - hence his saying "I would like to sleep more quickly" ("Je voudrais dormir plus vite"). In politics, nevertheless, his views were rather conservative, if one judges by his "Réflexions sur l'esprit public", addressed to the King in 1785 - for him, monarchy's difficulties were summed up as a problem of authority; it was enough to show firmness and everything would be back in order.

French Revolution

In 1787, he participated in the

Assembly of Notables An Assembly of Notables (French: ''Assemblée des notables'') was a group of high-ranking nobles, ecclesiastics, and state functionaries convened by the King of France on extraordinary occasions to consult on matters of state. Assemblymen were ...

. On July 13, 1789, pressed to re-accept the ministry of the Navy by the king, he refused it. He emigrated on October 20 and took advantage of the hospitality of

Coppet Coppet is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Coppet is first mentioned in 1294 as ''Copetum''. In 1347 it was mentioned as ''Copet''. Geography Coppet has an area (), of . Of this area, ...

. In 1792, at the time of the Prussian invasion of the

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

, he and the marshal of Broglie commanded a corps in the princes' army. He continued to serve as principal secretary to the

count of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

. He died in 1801 at the home of his old enemy

Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick Charles William Ferdinand (german: Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand; 9 October 1735 – 10 November 1806) was the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a military leader. His titles are usually shortened to Duke of Brunswic ...

, now his friend. He possessed a property at Antony where Parc Heller now is, as well as a castle at Ollainville, which he enlarged in 1782. In Paris, he installed himself in the hôtel de Castries in 1743, at 72 rue de Varenne, and in 1761 redecorated it out of a large inheritance from his uncle, the marshal of Belle-Isle.

Descendants

On 19 December 1743, he married Gabrielle Isabeau Thérèse de Rozet de Rocozel de Fleury, daughter of the duc de Fleury, and they had two children: * Charles de La Croix de Castries (1756–1842) ; *Adélaïde Marie de La Croix de Castries, who married the vicomte de Mailly in 1767. He showed himself an unfaithful husband, cheated frequently on his wife.

External links

Genealogy

Bibliography

* René de Castries, Le Maréchal de Castries, Paris, Flammarion, 1956. {{DEFAULTSORT:Castries, Charles 1727 births 1801 deaths Counts of France Politicians from Paris House of Castries Secretaries of State of the Navy (France) Members of the French Academy of Sciences Garde Écossaise officers