Laval

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

Nugent von Westmeath (3 November 1777 – 21 August 1862) was a soldier of Irish birth, who fought in the armies of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and the

Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and land are ...

Biography

Born at Ballinacor House, Clonboy, Co. Westmeath,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, Nugent was the son of Count Michael Anton Nugent von Westmeath, Governor of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. In 1793, he joined the Austrian Army, becoming Colonel in 1807, and Chief of Staff of the Army Corps of

Archduke Johann of Austria Archduke John of Austria (, ; (or simply ''Nadvojvoda Janez''); 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, was an Austrian field marshal and imperial regent (''Reichsverweser'') of the short-lived German Emp ...

in 1809. In 1813, he led the campaign against Viceroy

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French statesman and military officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marriage of his mother, Joséphine de Beauharnais, ...

, separating French units in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

and simultaneously joining the British fleet, thus conquering

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

and the

Po valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...

. In 1815, during the

Neapolitan War The Neapolitan War, also known as the Austro-Neapolitan War, was a conflict between the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples (Napoleonic), Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire. It started on 15 March 1815, when King Joachim Murat declared war on ...

, he commanded the right wing of the Austrian Army in Italy, liberated Rome, and defeated

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

at the Battle of Ceprano and the

Battle of San Germano The Battle of San Germano (or the Battle of Mignano) was the final battle in the Neapolitan War between an Austrian force commanded by Laval Nugent von Westmeath and the King of Naples, Joachim Murat. The battle started on 15 May 1815 and ...

. In 1816, Nugent was given the title of prince by

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

. In 1817, he entered the service of King

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (Italian language, Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand I ...

. He married Countess Giovannina Riario-Sforza who owned property in the small town of

Montepeloso Irsina, until 1895 called Montepeloso (in local dialect: or ), is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former Latin bishopric in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("T ...

(

Irsina Irsina, until 1895 called Montepeloso (in local dialect: or ), is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former Latin bishopric in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("T ...

), in

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

. After the outbreak of the Carbonari rebellion in 1820, he returned to serve in the Austrian Army.Igor Žic
''Zbirka starih majstora Pomorskog i povijesnog muzeja Hrvatskog primorja u Rijeci''
pg. 126, Centar drustvenih djelatnosti mladih (1993), In 1848, he led an Army Corps under

Joseph Radetzky von Radetz Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz (2 November 1766 – 5 January 1858) was a Czech nobleman and Austrian field marshal. He served as chief of the general staff in the Habsburg monarchy during the later period of ...

against the

Piedmontese Piedmontese ( ; autonym: or ; ) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, a region of Northwest Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regarded as an Italian ...

, in the course of the

First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence (), part of the ''Risorgimento'' or unification of Italy, was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other conse ...

, and also against the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

. He received the title of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

in 1849. In recognition of his achievements, he was created in addition to a Roman Prince (above), an Austrian Imperial Count and a Knight of the Golden Fleece. Later, in 1860, he was appointed titular Prior of Ireland of the Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes of Malta. Nugent died on 22 August 1862 in the

Bosiljevo Bosiljevo is a village and municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is located in the Gorski Kotar region, 25 km south-west from Karlovac, on the highways A1 and A6 leading to Zagreb, Rijeka and Split. Settlements The total popula ...

Castle, near

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

, and his body was later transferred to a sarcophagus in the Doric temple "Peace for the Hero", in

Trsat Trsat (, ) is part of the city of Rijeka, Croatia, with a historic castle or fortress in a strategic location and several historic churches, in one of which the Croatian noble Prince Vuk Krsto Frankopan is buried. Trsat is a steep hill, 138 m ...

above

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

, next to the sarcophagus of his wife. An exhibition of his life in terms of his art collecting as well as his military career was curated at the

University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

in 2019.

Sources

*Laval, Graf Nugent von Westmeath. In ''Meyers Konversations-Lexikon''. 5. Auflage, 1896. *Nugent, Laval Graf von. In '' ADB''. Band 24. Duncker & Humblodt, Leipzig 1875-1912. Online

*Nugent-Westmeath, Laval Graf. In Constantin von Wurzbach, ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich''. 20. Band. Wien 1869. Online

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent Von Westmeath, Laval Field marshals of Austria Immigrants to the Austrian Empire 1777 births 1862 deaths 18th-century Irish people 19th-century Irish people People from County Westmeath Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Irish soldiers in the Austrian Army People of the First Italian War of Independence Wild Geese (soldiers) People of the Neapolitan War

Biography

See also

Sources

References