Charles Malo François Lameth (5 October 1757 – 28 December 1832) was a French politician and soldier.

Early life

Charles Malo François Lameth was born on 5 October 1757 in

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 ...

.Lameth (Charles Malo François, comte de)
''Histoire de France'', Paris: Larousse, 2005. His father was Louise Charles de Lameth and his mother, Marie Thérèse de Broglie.
GeneaNet His mother was the sister of the Marshall de Broglie and a favourite of Marie Antoinette.Chronicle of the French Revolution, Longman 1989 p.35

Career

He was in the retinue of the

comte d'Artois Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

(future

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

), and became an officer in a

cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adop ...

regiment. He served in the American War of Independence, and was a hero of the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. He was a Knight of the Order of Malta and a Knight of the Order of Saint Louis. Although he married a rich heiress from

Saint Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to re ...

, he was a founding member of the

Society of the Friends of the Blacks The Society of the Friends of the Blacks (''Société des amis des Noirs'' or ''Amis des noirs'') was a French abolitionist society founded during the late 18th century. The society's aim was to abolish both the institution of slavery in the F ...

in 1788. He was deputy to the

Estates-General of 1789 The Estates General of 1789 was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). It was the last of the Estates General of the Kingdom o ...

, for the nobility, and was one of the first aristocrats to renounce his privileges on the night of 4 August 1789. He continued to serve in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

and National Constituent Assembly and in January 1791 repaid to the Treasury the 60,000 francs it had cost

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

to provide him and his brothers with an education at the

École Militaire École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savo ...

. In November 1790 he fought a duel with the Duc de Castries. The duke wounded him and it was briefly feared that he had tipped his sword with poison. Lameth was so popular that a mob stormed Castries' house in revenge. As the Assembly began to divide into factions, Lameth, a

constitutional monarchist A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

, was identified with the Feuillants and he was arrested in Rouen on 12 August 1792 for protesting against the Attack on the Tuileries. Since the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

moved toward a Republic, he

emigrated 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 ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He returned to France under the

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...

, was appointed

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in 1809 and fought in the Spanish War,Chronicle of the French Revolution, Longman 1989 p.668 and was appointed governor of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

(in the Duchy of Würzburg) under the

First Empire First Empire may refer to: * First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 * First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes u ...

. In 1814, he rose to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

. Like his brother Alexandre Lameth (but unlike his other one, Théodore de Lameth), Charles joined the Bourbon camp after the Restoration, succeeding Alexandre as deputy in 1829. In the final years of his life, he was nonetheless a noted supporter of the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...

Personal life

He married Marie Anne Picot. They had two children. They resided at the Château d'Hénencourt in Hénencourt, Somme. He died on 28 December 1832.

References

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lameth, Charles Malo Francois 1757 births 1832 deaths First French Empire French generals Politicians from Paris People of the French Revolution Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Order of Saint Louis recipients Counts of France Jacobins Feuillants Members of the National Constituent Assembly (France) French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe