Philippe Henri, marquis de Ségur
Encyclopedia
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
.
Born in Paris, son of Henri François, comte de Ségur, and his wife Philippe Angélique de Froissy
Angélique de Froissy
Philippe Angélique de Froissy was an illegitimate daughter of Philippe II Charles, duc d'Orléans, the nephew and son-in-law of Louis XIV of France...
, he was appointed to the command of an infantry regiment at eighteen, and served under his father in Italy and Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. He was wounded at Roucoux
Battle of Rocoux
The Battle of Rocoux was a French victory over an allied Austrian, British, Hanoveran and Dutch army outside Liège during War of the Austrian Succession.-Preliminary maneuvers:...
in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
in October 1746, and lost an arm at Lauffeld
Battle of Lauffeld
The Battle of Lauffeld, also known as the Battle of Lafelt or Battle of Maastricht, also Battle of Val, took place on 2 July 1747, during the French invasion of the Netherlands. It was part of the War of the Austrian Succession...
in 1747. In 1748 he succeeded his father as lieutenant-general of Champagne
Champagne (province)
The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name...
and Brie
Brie
Brie is a historic region of France most famous for its dairy products, especially Brie cheese. It was once divided into two sections ruled by different feudal lords: the western Brie française, corresponding roughly to the modern department of Seine-et-Marne in the Île-de-France region; the...
; he also received in 1753 the governorship of the county of Foix
Foix
Foix is a commune, the capital of the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is the least populous administrative centre of a department in all of France, although it is only very slightly smaller than Privas...
.
During the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
he fought at Hastenbeck
Battle of Hastenbeck
The Battle of Hastenbeck was fought as part of the Invasion of Hanover during the Seven Year's War between the allied forces of Hanover, Hesse-Kassel and Brunswick and the French...
(1757), Krefeld
Battle of Krefeld
The Battle of Krefeld was a battle fought on 23 June 1758 between a Prussian-Hanoverian army and a French army during the Seven Years' War.-Background:...
(1758) and Minden
Battle of Minden
The Battle of Minden—or Thonhausen—was fought on 1 August 1759, during the Seven Years' War. An army fielded by the Anglo-German alliance commanded by Field Marshal Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of France Louis, Marquis de Contades...
(1759). In 1760 he was taken prisoner at Kloster Kampen
Battle of Kloster Kampen
The Battle of Kloster Kampen was a tactical French victory over a British and allied army in the Seven Years' War. The Allied forces were driven from the field.-Prelude:...
.
The ability which he showed in the government of Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
in 1775 led in 1780 to his appointment as minister of war under Necker
Necker
-People:*Jacques Necker , French statesman*Louis Albert Necker , Swiss crystallographer*Albertine Necker de Saussure , Swiss writer and educationalist*Evelyn Necker, a fictional character from the Marvel UK imprint of Marvel Comics...
. He created in 1783 the permanent general staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
, and made admirable regulations with regard to barracks and military hospitals; and though he was officially responsible for the reactionary decree requiring four quartering
Quartering
Quartering may refer to:* dividing into four parts:** Hanged, drawn and quartered, quartering as a punishment** Quartering...
s of nobility as a condition for the appointment of officers, the scheme is said not to have originated with him and to have been adopted under protest. On 13 June 1783 he became a marshal of France. He resigned from the ministry of war in 1787.
During the Terror he was imprisoned in La Force
La Force Prison
La Force Prison was a French prison located in the Rue du Roi de Sicile, what is now the 4th arrondissement of Paris.Originally the private residence of the Duke of la Force, the structure was converted into a prison in 1780....
, and after his release was reduced to considerable straits until in 1800 he received a pension from Napoleon. He died in Paris the next year.
He married in Paris on 3 February 1749 Louise Anne Madeleine de Vernon (Paris, 1729 - Paris, 12 March 1778), daughter of Alexandre de Vernon and Anne du Vivier, and had two sons:
- Louis Philippe, comte de SégurLouis Philippe, comte de SégurLouis Philippe, comte de Ségur was a French diplomat and historian.-Life:He was born in Paris, the son of Philippe Henri, marquis de Ségur and Louise Anne Madeleine de Vernon....
(Paris, 10 December 1753 – Paris, 27 August 1830), diplomat and historian - Joseph Alexandre Pierre, vicomte de SégurJoseph Alexandre Pierre, vicomte de SégurJoseph Alexandre Pierre, vicomte de Ségur was a French poet, songwriter and playwright.-Life:He was born in Paris, as the son of Philippe Henri, marquis de Ségur and Louise Anne Madeleine de Vernon...
(Paris, 14 April 1756 - Bagnères-de-BigorreBagnères-de-BigorreBagnères-de-Bigorre is a French commune in the south-western Hautes-Pyrénées department, of which it is a sub-prefecture.-Notable people:Bagnères-de-Bigorre was the birthplace of:*Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke...
, 27 July 1805), poet, songwriter and playwright; he was actually the son of his best friend Pierre Victor, baron de Besenval de Brünstatt