Portrait of Pierre-Victoire, Baron of Besenval Hermitage

Pierre Victor, baron de Besenval de Brünstatt (born Peter Joseph Viktor Besenval von Brunnstatt; 14 October 1721 – 2 June 1791) was Swiss military officer in French service.

Biography

Besenval was born in

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

, Switzerland, to and Katarzyna Bielińska. His father was a colonel of the regiment of Swiss Guards in the pay of France. Through his mother, Besenval was the grandson of Polish politician Kazimierz Ludwik Bieliński. In 1731, Besenval joined the Swiss Guards as cadet. He was promoted to ensign in 1733 and became the commander of the regiment's Besenval company in 1738. In the French army, he was promoted to brigadier in 1747, '' maréchal de camp'' in 1758, and lieutenant-general in 1762, the same year he was appointed inspector-general of the Swiss troops in French service. Besenval served at first as '' aide-de-camp'' to Victor François de Broglie during the campaign of 1748 in Bohemia, then as ''aide-de-camp'' to the Duke of Orléans during 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 ...

. In the early 1760s, Besenval played a key role in the

Duke of Choiseul Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

's reform of the army. After being appointed military governor of Haguenau, he was made lieutenant-colonel of the Swiss Guards in 1767. After the accession of King

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 ...

, Besenval became a

favorite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated si ...

of Queen Marie Antoinette.

French Revolution

When 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 ...

broke out, Besenval remained firmly attached to the royal court and was given command of the troops which the king had concentrated 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 ...

in July 1789, a move which led to the

Storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...

on 14 July 1789. Besenval showed incompetence in the crisis, and attempted to flee to his home country in late July. He was arrested and tried by the tribunal of the Châtelet in November 1789, on charges of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, but was acquitted on 1 March 1791. He died in Paris 2 June 1791.

Works

Besenval authored moral-philosophical essays, novels and poetic epistles. He is principally known as the author of his ''Mémoires'', which were published in 1805 to 1807 by the vicomte de Ségur, who was said to be his actual son, in which are reported many scandalous tales, true or false, of the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The authenticity of these memoirs is not absolutely established.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Besenval De Brunstatt, Pierre Victor, Baron De 1722 births 1794 deaths People from Solothurn Swiss mercenaries Swiss people of Polish descent French military personnel of the Seven Years' War 18th-century Swiss military personnel