Marquis de Mores
Encyclopedia
Marquis de Morès was a famous duelist, frontier
ranchman in the Badlands
of Dakota Territory
during the final years of the American Old West
era, a railroad pioneer in Vietnam
, and an anti-Semitic politician in his native France
.
De Morès began life as a soldier, graduating in 1879 from St. Cyr
, the leading military academy
of France. Among his classmates was Philippe Pétain
, famous French
general of World War I
and the ill-fated future leader of the Vichy
France government in World War II
.
After St. Cyr, he entered Saumur
, France's premier cavalry
school, where he trained to be an officer. He was later sent to Algiers
, helping to put down an uprising. It was while in Algiers that he had his first duel
, starting his career as the most celebrated duelist of his day.
business.
He tried to revolutionize the ranching industry by shipping refrigerated meat to Chicago
by railroad, thus bypassing the Chicago stockyards. He built a meat-packing plant for this purpose in Medora, North Dakota
, the town he founded in 1883 and named for his wife.
"The railroads, undoubtedly working hand in glove with the Chicago beef trust , refused to grant him the same rebates on freight rates they gave his competitors, adding to his costs. And range-fed—grass—beef turned out to be less popular with consumers than beef that had been fattened—on corn—in the stockyards of Chicago. The marquis's
father-in-law withdrew his financial backing and soon the packing plant closed. Not long after, just as winter was settling in on the Bad Lands in 1886, de Mores and his wife left Medora for good. The short-lived reign of the Emperor of the Bad Lands was over."
Footnote:
"Back in France, the Marquis claimed the Chicago beef trust was dominated by Jews and announced himself the victim of "A Jewish Plot." Turning to politics, he organized a movement that mixed
socialism with rabid anti-semitism
that fed the mania which led to the Dreyfus affair
. In 1896 (after ten years), he was killed by
North African tribesmen while carrying out a wild scheme to unite the Muslims in a Holy War against the British and the Jews."
He became famous in the West as a rancher and gunslinger, getting arrested for murder
a few times. He was always acquitted. Known as an adventurer, he was quick to anger and engaged in numerous duels throughout his life; he notoriously sent Theodore Roosevelt
what the latter interpreted as a challenge to a duel, though nothing came of it.
Outlaw
s were very numerous in the Badlands, and cattle and horse rustling had become unbearably common. Frontiersman Granville Stuart organized a vigilance committee to fight the rustlers. De Morès told Roosevelt of the plan, and the two offered their services to be vigilantes. Stuart declined, stating that de Morès and Roosevelt were well known and their presence could ruin the element of surprise. Stuart's vigilantes, called The Stranglers, struck viciously against the rustlers, greatly weakening their power in the Badlands.
By 1885 it became obvious that de Morès' business was failing. He was losing a business war against the beef trust
, and the enterprise collapsed. He would later sell the ranch and other assets in the Badlands.
, from the Chinese
frontier to the Gulf of Tonkin
, and arrived in Asia
to lead railroad construction in the fall of 1888. He observed the Vietnamese people
, and cautioned the French to be kind to them. He wrote, "The colonization of Tonkin will not be accomplished with rifles, but with public works."
He believed a railroad was needed there, and hoped to have one extending all the way to Yunnan Province in China
. This was partly a reaction to a British
railroad being built from Burma to China.
Political intrigue, being notorious in France in that day, impeded construction of the railroad. A prime minister
was deposed, which led to a new undersecretary of the navy, Jean Constans, who opposed de Morès' plan from the start. The Marquis was recalled to France in 1889, and the railroad project was ruined.
He started by attacking Constans, enlisting the aid of Georges Clemenceau
, but failed to unseat him in the next election. His politics became overtly anti-Semitic, and he challenged Ferdinand-Camille Dreyfus
, a Jewish member of the Chamber of Deputies
, to a duel after Dreyfus wrote an article attacking him. De Morès said he wanted Gaul
for the Gauls, and Dreyfus replied by writing that de Morès had a Spanish
title, a father with an Italian
title, and an American
wife who was neither Christian
nor French. At the duel Dreyfus fired first and missed, and the Marquis wounded his opponent in the arm.
In 1889 de Morès joined La Ligue antisémitique de France (Antisemitic League of France
) founded by Edouard Drumont
. After more verbal attacks on Jews
, he went to Algeria
to strengthen the French hold there and stop British advances into the interior of Africa. He used anti-Semitic rhetoric to his advantage in Algeria, giving speeches claiming African Jews and the British were conspiring to conquer the entire Sahara Desert. With the British losing in the Sudan
after the death of General Charles George Gordon
, de Morès planned a trip there to meet with the Mahdi
, a powerful Muslim
leader who undermined British hegemony in the region.
Before the Marquis could complete his journey, his caravan was infiltrated by Tuareg tribesmen who were enemies of the French. De Morès was surrounded, attacked by a saber and then killed with rifles. An investigation that followed revealed that his enemies in the French government may have taken part in the assassination
. His wife, the Marquise, sought to expose the conspirators, but no government official was convicted.
MARQUIS de MORES: A biographical masterpiece by Dr D Jerome Tweton entitled the same. This is an excellent source book for the serious reader who wishes to delve into the life and times of this Dakota Rancher and French Nationalist.
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
ranchman in the Badlands
Badlands
A badlands is a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water. It can resemble malpaís, a terrain of volcanic rock. Canyons, ravines, gullies, hoodoos and other such geological forms are common in badlands. They are often...
of Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
during the final years of the American Old West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
era, a railroad pioneer in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, and an anti-Semitic politician in his native France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Early life
Born Antoine-Amédée-Marie-Vincent Manca de Vallombrosa, he was later given the title Marquis de Morès et de Montemaggiore, but he was usually called Marquis de Morès.De Morès began life as a soldier, graduating in 1879 from St. Cyr
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...
, the leading military academy
Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
of France. Among his classmates was Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
, famous French
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
general of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the ill-fated future leader of the Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
France government in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
After St. Cyr, he entered Saumur
Saumur
Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc...
, France's premier cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
school, where he trained to be an officer. He was later sent to Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, helping to put down an uprising. It was while in Algiers that he had his first duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
, starting his career as the most celebrated duelist of his day.
The Badlands
He resigned from the cavalry in 1882 and married Medora von Hoffman, sometimes called the Marquise. Soon thereafter, he would move to the North Dakota badlands to begin ranching, purchasing 44500 acres (180.1 km²) for that purpose. He also opened a stagecoachStagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
business.
He tried to revolutionize the ranching industry by shipping refrigerated meat to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
by railroad, thus bypassing the Chicago stockyards. He built a meat-packing plant for this purpose in Medora, North Dakota
Medora, North Dakota
In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males...
, the town he founded in 1883 and named for his wife.
"The railroads, undoubtedly working hand in glove with the Chicago beef trust , refused to grant him the same rebates on freight rates they gave his competitors, adding to his costs. And range-fed—grass—beef turned out to be less popular with consumers than beef that had been fattened—on corn—in the stockyards of Chicago. The marquis's
father-in-law withdrew his financial backing and soon the packing plant closed. Not long after, just as winter was settling in on the Bad Lands in 1886, de Mores and his wife left Medora for good. The short-lived reign of the Emperor of the Bad Lands was over."
Footnote:
"Back in France, the Marquis claimed the Chicago beef trust was dominated by Jews and announced himself the victim of "A Jewish Plot." Turning to politics, he organized a movement that mixed
socialism with rabid anti-semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
that fed the mania which led to the Dreyfus affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
. In 1896 (after ten years), he was killed by
North African tribesmen while carrying out a wild scheme to unite the Muslims in a Holy War against the British and the Jews."
He became famous in the West as a rancher and gunslinger, getting arrested for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
a few times. He was always acquitted. Known as an adventurer, he was quick to anger and engaged in numerous duels throughout his life; he notoriously sent Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
what the latter interpreted as a challenge to a duel, though nothing came of it.
Outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
s were very numerous in the Badlands, and cattle and horse rustling had become unbearably common. Frontiersman Granville Stuart organized a vigilance committee to fight the rustlers. De Morès told Roosevelt of the plan, and the two offered their services to be vigilantes. Stuart declined, stating that de Morès and Roosevelt were well known and their presence could ruin the element of surprise. Stuart's vigilantes, called The Stranglers, struck viciously against the rustlers, greatly weakening their power in the Badlands.
By 1885 it became obvious that de Morès' business was failing. He was losing a business war against the beef trust
Union Stock Yards
The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meat packing district in Chicago for over a century starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired swampland, and turned it to a centralized processing area...
, and the enterprise collapsed. He would later sell the ranch and other assets in the Badlands.
Gulf of Tonkin
Subsequently, he left Dakota Territory and returned to France. He was commissioned by the French army to build a proposed railroad in VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, from the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
frontier to the Gulf of Tonkin
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
, and arrived in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
to lead railroad construction in the fall of 1888. He observed the Vietnamese people
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
, and cautioned the French to be kind to them. He wrote, "The colonization of Tonkin will not be accomplished with rifles, but with public works."
He believed a railroad was needed there, and hoped to have one extending all the way to Yunnan Province in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. This was partly a reaction to a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
railroad being built from Burma to China.
Political intrigue, being notorious in France in that day, impeded construction of the railroad. A prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
was deposed, which led to a new undersecretary of the navy, Jean Constans, who opposed de Morès' plan from the start. The Marquis was recalled to France in 1889, and the railroad project was ruined.
France, Algeria, assassination
Upon his return, he would be embroiled in political controversies for the remainder of his life.He started by attacking Constans, enlisting the aid of Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the...
, but failed to unseat him in the next election. His politics became overtly anti-Semitic, and he challenged Ferdinand-Camille Dreyfus
Ferdinand-Camille Dreyfus
Ferdinand-Camille Dreyfus was a French journalist and politician, unrelated to his contemporary Captain Alfred Dreyfus....
, a Jewish member of the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
, to a duel after Dreyfus wrote an article attacking him. De Morès said he wanted Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
for the Gauls, and Dreyfus replied by writing that de Morès had a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
title, a father with an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
title, and an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
wife who was neither Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
nor French. At the duel Dreyfus fired first and missed, and the Marquis wounded his opponent in the arm.
In 1889 de Morès joined La Ligue antisémitique de France (Antisemitic League of France
Antisemitic League of France
The Antisemitic League of France was founded in 1889 by the journalist Edouard Drumont. First known under the name of Ligue nationale antisémitique de France or Ligue antisémite française , this nationalist league was created in the midst of the Dreyfus Affair...
) founded by Edouard Drumont
Edouard Drumont
Édouard Adolphe Drumont was a French journalist and writer. He founded the Antisemitic League of France in 1889, and was the founder and editor of the newspaper La Libre Parole.- Early life :...
. After more verbal attacks on Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, he went to Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
to strengthen the French hold there and stop British advances into the interior of Africa. He used anti-Semitic rhetoric to his advantage in Algeria, giving speeches claiming African Jews and the British were conspiring to conquer the entire Sahara Desert. With the British losing in the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
after the death of General Charles George Gordon
Charles George Gordon
Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
, de Morès planned a trip there to meet with the Mahdi
Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...
, a powerful Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
leader who undermined British hegemony in the region.
Before the Marquis could complete his journey, his caravan was infiltrated by Tuareg tribesmen who were enemies of the French. De Morès was surrounded, attacked by a saber and then killed with rifles. An investigation that followed revealed that his enemies in the French government may have taken part in the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
. His wife, the Marquise, sought to expose the conspirators, but no government official was convicted.
See also
- Chateau de MoresChateau de MoresThe Chateau de Mores is a historic home built by the Marquis de Mores in 1883 as a hunting lodge and summer home for his family and guests. The home is now part of the Chateau de Mores State Historic Site, which also includes Chimney Park and de Mores Memorial Park, in Medora, North...
MARQUIS de MORES: A biographical masterpiece by Dr D Jerome Tweton entitled the same. This is an excellent source book for the serious reader who wishes to delve into the life and times of this Dakota Rancher and French Nationalist.
Source
- NPS: Theodore Roosevelt and the Dakota Badlands
- Antonio Areddu. Il marchesato di Mores. Le origini, il duca dell´Asinara, le lotte antifeudali, l´abolizione del feudo e le vicende del marquis de Morès, Condaghes, Cagliari 2011.