Esprit Victor Elisabeth Boniface de Castellane, ''comte de Castellane'' (21 March 178816 September 1862), was a French military officer and ultimately a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

Early life

He was a son of Boniface Louis André de Castellane (1758–1837) and Adélaïde Louise Guyonne de Rohan-Chabot (1761–1805), who was also known as Mademoiselle de Jarnac. After his mother's death, his father remarried, in 1810, to Alexandrine Charlotte de Rohan-Chabot (whose husband, Louis Alexandre, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, was killed during the

September Massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings and summary executions of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792 from 2 September to 6 September during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by ''sans-culottes'' ...

of the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

). His paternal grandparents were Esprit François Henry, Marquis de Castellane and Louise Charlotte Armande Charron de Ménars. His maternal grandparents were Charles Rosalie de Rohan-Chabot, Lord of Clion, Maroite and Brassac, joint-Lord of the castellanies of Montagrier and Chapdeuil,

Maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général'') ...

(a son of Guy Auguste de Rohan-Chabot) and the former Guyonne Hyacinthe de Pons Saint-Maurice. His maternal uncle, Major-General Louis Guy Charles Guillaume de Rohan-Chabot married Lady Isabella FitzGerald (the youngest daughter of William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster) and were the parents of Philippe de Rohan-Chabot, vicomte de Chabot and comte de Jarnac who served as the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1871.

Career

Boniface de Castellane entered the French army on the day of the coronation of Napoléon I of France (December 2, 1804) as an enlisted soldier in the 5th Light Infantry Regiment. In February 1806 he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant in the 7th Dragoons. The same month he was transferred to the 24th Dragoons with whom he served in the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

. In 1808 de Castellane followed general

Georges Mouton Georges Mouton, comte de Lobau (; 21 February 1770 – 27 November 1838) was a French soldier and political figure who rose to the rank of Marshal of France. Biography Born in Phalsbourg, Lorraine, he enlisted in the French Revolutionary A ...

into Spain as an '' aide-de-camp''. When Napoléon returned to Germany in 1809, de Castellane followed and he fought in that campaign at

Abensberg Abensberg () is a town in the Lower Bavarian Districts of Germany, district of Kelheim (district), Kelheim, in Bavaria, Germany, lying around southwest of Regensburg, east of Ingolstadt, northwest of Landshut and north of Munich. It is situa ...

, Eckmühl, Ratisbon, Aspern-Essling and

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) north ...

. Promoted to captain in 1810, he further served Mouton, by now count of Lobau, as ''aide-de-camp'' and he accompanied him into Russia where he served at

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

and

Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. T ...

. In October 1812 he was made ''aide-de-camp'' of general

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

and was present at Krasnoi and the crossing of the Beresina. Promoted to major, he served in the personal protection detail of the emperor during the retreat. De Castellane was promoted to command of the 1st Regiment Garde d'Honneur in June 1813. During the German campaign he fought at

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Restoration and July Monarchy

In 1822 de Castellane was given command of a regiment of hussars of the Royal Guard. In 1823 he was serving in Spain but he was recalled in 1827 for his opposition to

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

's politics of revenge. In 1824 he was made

maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général'') ...

(major general). In 1829 he was made an inspector-general of infantry. De Castellane was part of the French army sent to secure Belgium's new found independence. In this campaign he commanded the 1st brigade of the 2nd division. He served in the siege of Antwerp in 1832. In 1833 de Castellane was promoted lieutenant-general and given command of the division of the Pyrénées-Orientales and in 1835 of the 21st military division. Appointed a

Peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

in 1837, de Castellane was sent to

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

as inspector-general. In 1838 he returned to his old post in the Pyrenees.

Revolution, Republic and Second Empire

In February 1850, de Castellane was given command of the 42nd military division at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. To this was added the 44th and 45th divisions centered at

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

and

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. Later that year, he was sent to the 6th military division at

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. In January 1852, he was named a senator and governor of Lyon. In December of that year, he was given the dignity of

Personal life

In 1813, he married Louise Cordélia Eucharis Greffulhe (1796–1847), the younger sister of French banker and politician Jean-Henry-Louis Greffulhe (father of Henri Greffulhe and Louis-Charles Greffulhe). Together, they were the parents of: * Henri de Castellane (1814–1847), who married

Pauline de Talleyrand-Périgord Joséphine Pauline de Talleyrand-Périgord, Marquise de Castellane (29 December 1820 12 October 1890) was a French noblewoman. Early life Joséphine Pauline was born in Paris on 29 December 1820. She was the third legitimate child of the Edmo ...

(1820–1890), the third child of Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord and

Princess Dorothea of Courland Dorothea von Biron, Princess of Courland, Duchess of Dino, Duchess of Talleyrand and Duchess of Sagan, known as Dorothée de Courlande or Dorothée de Dino (21 August 1793 – 19 September 1862), was a Baltic German noblewoman, and the ruling ...

, in 1839. *

Sophie de Castellane Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

(1818–1904), who married Érasme Henri de Contades, Marquis de Contades (1814–1858), a descendant of Louis Georges Érasme de Contades in 1836. After his death, she married Victor de Beaulaincourt, Comte de Beaulaincourt de Marles (1820–1860) in 1859. * Rachel Elisabeth ''Pauline'' de Castellane (1823–1895), who married Maximilian Friedrich Karl Franz von Hatzfeldt zu Trachenberg (1813–1859), a son of Franz Ludwig von Hatzfeldt and sister of

Sophie von Hatzfeldt Sophie Gräfin von Hatzfeldt, born Gräfin von Hatzfeldt-Schönstein zu Trachenberg (10 August 1805 in Żmigród, Trachenberg (Lower Silesia) – 25 January 1881 in Wiesbaden) was active in the German working-class movement and partner and con ...

, in 1844. After his death, she married Louis de Talleyrand-Périgord, duc de Valençay, 3rd duc de Talleyrand-Périgord (1811–1898), in 1861. Louis, the older brother of Henri's wife Pauline, was the father of Boson de Talleyrand-Périgord from his first marriage to Anne Louise Charlotte de Montmorency. * Pierre de Castellane (1824–1883), who married Hedwige Sapia and traveled to

to be a soldier under

Patrice de MacMahon Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893), was a French general and politician who served as President of France from 1873 to 1879. He was elevated to the dignity of Marshal ...

during the

French conquest of Algeria The French conquest of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Regency of Algiers, and the French consul (representative), consul escalated into a blockade, following which the Jul ...

. Marshal de Castellane died in Lyon on September 16, 1862.

Descendants

Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather of Marie Dorothée Élisabeth de Castellane (1840–1915), who married Prince Antoni Fryderyk Wilhelm Radziwiłł (a grandson of Prince

Antoni Radziwiłł Prince Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł (; 13 June 1775 – 7 April 1833) was a Polish and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian szlachta, noble, magnate, aristocrat, musician, and politician. Initially a hereditary Duke of Nesvizh, Nieśwież and Olyka, Oł ...

and Princess Louise of Prussia) and Antoine de Castellane, Marquis de Castellane (1844–1917), who married Madeleine Le Clerc de Juigné. Through his youngest daughter Pauline's first marriage, he was a grandfather of Margarete von Hatzfeldt (1850–1923) (wife of

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Anton Saurma von der Jeltsch), Louise von Hatzfeldt (1852–1909) (wife of Bernhard von Welczeck), Franz Ludwig Hermann Karl von Hatzfeldt, and Hélène Boniface Pauline Luise von Hatzfeldt (wife of Georg von Kanitz, ''aide de camp'' to Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia). Through her second marriage, he was posthumously a grandfather of Marie Dorothée Louise Valençay de Talleyrand-Périgord (1862–1948), who married Karl Egon IV, the Prince of Furstenberg (1852–1896) in 1881. After his death, she married her much older cousin

Antoine Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada ...

's son,

Jean de Castellane Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

(1868–1965), in 1898.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castellane, Boniface de 1788 births 1862 deaths French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars French senators of the Second Empire Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Marshals of France Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Peers of France

Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...