User:Coldstreamer20/François Gaston de Lévis

François-Gaston de Lévis, 1st Duke of Lévis (20 August 1719 – 20 November 1787), styled as the Chevalier de Lévis until 1785, was a French Royal Army officer and nobleman. He served with distinction in the War of the Polish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession. During the Seven Years' War, he was second-in-command to Louis-Joseph de Montcalm in the defense of New France and then, after the surrender of New France in 1760, he served in Europe. After the war, he was appointed Governor of Artois, and in 1783 he was made a Marshal of France.

Early service

At the age of 16, de Lévis joined the Régiment de La Marine (Navy Regiment) as a lieutenant in 1735. For 20 years after, he took part in all military operations of that regiment including those along the eastern border of France. After taking part in the War of the Polish Succession, he was promoted to the rank of Captain at age 17. In 1741, Lévis served in the French auxiliary corps which supported the Bavarian army during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was during this same period that he took part in the Siege of Prague in 1742. In the same year, he took part in the Battle of Dettingen and served with the Navy Regiment in Upper Alsace under Marshal François de Franquetot de Coigny. During numerous battles and sieges, he was noted by his superiors as a distinguished officer in the campaigns in south-eastern Germany.

Two years later, he served in the Army of the Lower Rhine under the command of Louis-François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti. In 1746, while attached to the Army of Italy, Levis served as assistant major general of the quartermaster corps, commanded by his cousin Gaston-Pierre de Lévis-Mirepoix, who had been promoted to lieutenant general. Though in only a supporting role, Lévis still distinguished himself during the Battle of Montalban, where he was at the front and took part in the complete destruction of the Piedmontese centre. He was involved in the sieges of Valence, Cazal, Ville-France, and the Château de Vintimille. A year later, he was involved in the siege of Provence, but resigned his command in exchange for a brevet of supernumerary colonel, and continued until the end of the war as assistant major general of the headquarters. In 1746, during the Battle of Piacenza, his horse will killed from under him, and later during the Battle of Bieglis, a musketball hit him in the head. However, because of his numerous exploits, he was granted an officially Colonelcy in 1746, and became a Knight of the Order of Saint Louis in 1748.

North American military service

In 1756, the Marquis de Vaudreuil was informed that King Louis XV was sending the Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm to take over French forces in North America, with Lévis as second in command. Vaudreuil wrote back that there was no need to send another general, as Vaudreuil disliked the tactics of most "municipal" French generals. When Montcalm arrived despite Vaudreuil's protest, the two men developed a dislike for each other.

Lévis led the vanguard of the French expedition to Fort William Henry in 1757, and laid siege to it until Montcalm's arrival.

During French planning for the 1758 campaign in the French and Indian War the disputes between Vaudreuil and Montcalm continued. Vaudreuil prevailed, and Montcalm was sent to Fort Carillon to defend it against an expected British attack. Lévis was initially slated to lead an expedition to the western forts, leading about 500 French metropolitan troops and a large seasoned French-Canadian militia. Vaudreuil, however, had second thoughts, and dispatched Lévis and his metropolitan troops to support Montcalm at Carillon. Lévis arrived at Carillon on the evening of July 7, as a British army led by James Abercrombie was arriving before the fort. In the ensuing Battle of Carillon, Abercrombie's troops were defeated, with Lévis leading the defense on the French right flank.

General Lévis encouraging his French army at the battle of Sainte-Foy

When the forces of James Murray arrived to begin the Siege of Quebec, Lévis participated in the early defenses, including the Battle of Beauport. He was then sent to organize the defense of Montreal, and so was not present when Quebec fell. Following Montcalm's death in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, Lévis was appointed commander of French forces in North America. Wintering at Montreal, Lévis managed to rally his troops and train them for a spring offensive to recapture Quebec in 1760. Marching downstream with the first breaking of the ice, Lévis met the forces of James Murray at the Battle of Sainte-Foy, where Lévis' army won a victory in one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on Canadian soil. This forced Murray to retreat behind Quebec's walls and a siege began. The lack of artillery and siege equipment precluded any assault on the fortifications of Quebec and Lévis held back, awaiting reinforcements from Europe. With the arrival of a British squadron which then destroyed his support ships on the Saint Lawrence, Lévis was obliged to retreat to Montreal, where Vaudreuil eventually surrendered New France to Amherst's army, which had advanced down the Saint Lawrence River that summer, in early September.

His various letters for this period were later collected and published by Beauchemin in 1889; letters to him for this period were published by the Abbe Casgrain, a professor at Universite Laval, in 1895; Casgrain had already published in 1891 Les français au Canada : Montcalm et Lévis.

Europe

Upon returning to France in 1761, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Général des Armées du Roi (Lieutenant General of the King's Armies) and was informed he was assist the Army of the Lower Rhine, commanded by Charles de Rohan, Prince of Soubise. However, de Lévis not very entheuseastic about this position did not present himself to the proper authorities until early December 1761. On Christmas Eve of the same year, he left his camp in Germany for Paris to marry Gabrielle-Augustine de Doulon, daughter of Gabriel Michel de Doulon the Treasurer-General of the Artillery and Director of the Companie des Indies. Subsequently, de Lévis returned to the front and distinguished himself for leading troops to capture British cannons during the Battle of Nauheim.

Retirement

François Gaston de Lévis sculpture in front of Parliament Building (Quebec)

When the Seven Years' War ended in 1763, de Lévis left the active army and, in 1765 was appointed Governor of Artois. This lead him to gain a seat in the Estates of Artois. Upon becoming governor, Lévis became Seigneur of Torcy. In 1771, he was appointed commander of one of the four companies of the Gardes du Corps de Monsieur (Monsieur's Bodyguards). During this period, he took great interest in the development of Artois, including the building of a canal between Béthune and Lys and large roads, including one between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Saint-Omer. On 26 May 1776, he was created a Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit at the Palace of Versailles. In 1783, he was elevated posthumously to the rank of Maréchal de France (Marshal of France), and a year later was created Duc de Lévis (Duke of Lévis) for Avesnes-le-Comte in Artois.

During the American War of Independence, the duke corresponded often with his former enemy, General James Murray, whom he provided payment for British officers returning through France to England on parole. While presiding over the Estates of Artois, he died on 26 November 1787 in Arras and was succeeded as Duke of Lévis by his son Pierre-Marc-Gaston, who escaped to England during the French Revolution. In 1794 his widow and two of his three daughters were sent to the guillotine during the French Revolution.

He left his name to Lévis, Quebec, across the river from Quebec City. At some point during his life, the Duke was created a Chevalier of the Royal Military and Hospitaller Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem United.

Armorial

The armorial of Lévis as duke was as follows: Or with three sable chevrons. Template:Infobox COA wide

References

Bibliography

• Carillon 1758, Osprey Publishing
• Quebec 1759, Osprey Publishing

External links

• Template:Cite DCB
• 1759 From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham (Virtual exhibition)
• Lettre du Maréchal de Lévis à A M. le Maréchal de Belle-Isle
• Lévis, François-Gaston de, duc de Lévis
• Lévis, François-Gaston de, duc de Lévis Archived 14 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
• François-Gaston, duc de Lévis Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
• Archives of François Gaston de Lévis (Fonds François Gaston de Lévis, R6935) are held at Library and Archives Canada Template:In lang

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