Portrait of the Marquis de Contades-Gizeux, by Louis-Léopold Boilly, c. 1790

Louis Gabriel de Contades, Marquis de Contades-Gizeux (11 October 1759 – 18 June 1825) was a French aristocrat, soldier, and politician.

Early life

Contades was born on 11 October 1759 in Angers, the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department.[1] He was the second son of Julie Victoire Constantin de La Lorie, Dame du Plantis (1739–1828) and Georges-Gaspard de Contades, Marquis de Contades (1726–1794), a member of the Académie des sciences. Among his siblings were Erasmus-Gaspard de Contades and François-Jules de Contades, Vicomte de Contades.[2]

His paternal grandfather was Louis Georges Érasme de Contades, Marquis de Contades, a prominent battlefield commander during the Seven Years' War who was made a Marshal of France.[3]

Career

He began as a Midshipman in the French Navy before becoming Second Lieutenant in the Royal Corps of Artillery on 20 April 1776, before being made Captain of the Piémont in April 1778. In 1780, he was made a Lieutenant-Colonel, followed by Colonel in the Gendarmerie in January 1784. He was presented to the King at Versailles in 1787 under the title of Marquis de Gizeux. In March 1782, he was made second colonel of the Anjou-infantry regiment before becoming a colonel of the regiment in May 1791.[2]

In 1791, during the French Revolution, he joined the Armée des Émigrés, a counter-revolutionary armies raised outside France by and out of royalist émigrés, with the aim of overthrowing the French Revolution, reconquering France and restoring the monarchy. He took part in the campaign of 1792. In 1794, he emigrated to Santo Domingo, where he commanded a legion of the Royal Army (supported by Great Britain). He was promoted to Maréchal de camp on 27 December 1795.[4]

First French Empire

Contades became Chamberlain to Emperor Napoleon and was made Baron of the Empire in 1813. He served as Lieutenant-General of the King's Armies and mayor of Gizeux. He was general councilor of Indre-et-Loire before becoming president of the general council of Indre-et-Loire on 26 July 1815.[4]

Personal life

Contades' Château de Gizeux

On 17 October 1786, Contades married Périne-Julie Constantin de La Lorie (1767–1840). The Marquis owned the Château de Gizeux, in Gizeux in the Indre-et-Loire département, but had to flee in 1789, returning to Gizeux in 1801. Together, they were the parents of four children, three daughters and one son:[2]

  • Julie Louise Marie de Contades-Gizeux (1787–1860), who married René de la Rue du Can, Baron de Champchevrier of the Château de Champchevrier.[4]
  • Henriette de Contades-Gizeux (1789–1840),[5] who married Alexandre Nicolas Bunault, Comte de Montbrun.[6][7]
  • Camille-Auguste de Contades-Gizeux (1791–1861), a Captain of Chasseurs who married Elisa du Fou in 1818.[4][8]
  • Aimé de Contades-Gizeux (1802–1802), who died in infancy.[4]

Contades died in Gizeux on 18 June 1825, and was buried in the Cemetery of the Church of Gizeux. His widow died in Tours in 1840.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Annuaire de la noblesse de France et des maisons souveraines de l'Europe (in French). Champion. 1854. pp. 201–203. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 États détaillés des liquidations faites par la Commission d'Indemnité, à l'époque du 31 décembre 1827, en exécution de la loi du 27 avril 1825, au profit des anciens propriétaires ou ayant-droit des anciens propriétaires de biens-fonds confisqués ou aliénés révolutionnairement: Contenant, par ordre alphabétique, depuis le Département des Landes jusques et y compris celui des Pyrénées-Orientales (in French). Impr. Royale. 1828. p. 30. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  3. ↑ Capeille, Jean (1914). Dictionnaire de biographies rousillonnaises (in French). J. Comet. p. 421. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Busserolle, Jacques Xavier Carré de (1880). Dictionnaire géographique, historique et biographique d'Indre-et-Loire et de l'ancienne province de Touraine (in French). Impr. Rouillé-Ladevès. p. 209. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Touraine, Société Archéologique de (1866). Mémoires de la Société Archéologique de Touraine: Série in 8°. ... (in French). p. 208. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "Recherche - Base de données Léonore". www.leonore.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  7. ↑ Callaway, Hannah (2015). "Revolutionizing Property: The Confiscation of Émigré Wealth in Paris and the Problem of Property in the French Revolution" (PDF). harvard.edu. Harvard University. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  8. ↑ Couturié, Sylvia (2001). No Tears in Ireland: A Memoir. Simon and Schuster. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7432-0193-3. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
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