Louis-Victor-Léon de Rochechouart
| Louis-Victor-Léon de Rochechouart | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 14 September 1788 Paris |
| Died | 1858 Jumilhac-le-Grand |
| Allegiance |
Kingdom of France, Imperial Russia, Kingdom of France |
| Rank | Maréchal de camp |
| Battles/wars |
War of the Oranges, Napoleonic Wars (Berezina, Leipzig, Brienne, Paris) |
| Awards |
Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur Order of the Sword |
| Other work |
Military governor of Paris Chef d'Etat major du ministère de la Guerre |
Louis-Victor-Léon de Rochechouart (14 September 1788, in Paris – 1858, in Jumilhac-le-Grand) was a French general of the House of Rochechouart fighting in the Royalist, Imperial Russian and Bourbon armies of the Napoleonic Wars.
The son of Jules de Rochechouart and Elisabeth-Armide Durey de Morsan, Louis-Victor-Léon de Rochechouart was born in Paris on 14 September 1788, only a few months before the outbreak of the French Revolution. A younger brother and thus likely destined for a career in the church, he had to flee Paris in 1794 (aged 6) due to his mother's activities in attempting to arrange for the escape of queen Marie-Antoinette. Pursued by gendarmes come to arrest her, she, Louis-Victor-Léon and his brother Louis managed to escape, though his 10-year-old sister Cornélie was not so lucky - chased by the authorities, and on her own, she died of exhaustion after 3 days wandering Paris. Forced to leave France, the countess of Rochechouart left her two young sons in a house in Caen owned by a couple who exploited the situation. Housed in terrible conditions and deprived of food, the two brothers became the couple's servants. After a year they were found by a relative and freed from service. They reached Fribourg in Switzerland in 1796, where they hoped their still-exiled mother would join them but she was prevented from doing so. Thus the two brothers were generously housed by a citizen of that town until revolutionary French troops entered it in 1798 and forced them to flee once more. They finally caught up with their mother in Antwerp, before moving on with her to Rotterdam, London and Hamburg. Her implication in plots to restore the monarchy lost her her fortune, brought her many political problems and leave several refuge countries. Without a sou, she and her two children finally took refuge in Germany, where they were forced to make and sell bags to survive. He later wrote of this period "This kind of life gave me good sad reflections. Misery is a terrible thing. Nobody can get a full idea of it who has not suffered it himself. This evil can happen to anyone, imprison anyone." Aged 11, Louis-Victor-Léon de Rochechouart thus decided to embark for Hamburg to join the émigré regiment commanded by his uncle the duke of Mortemart and intended for Portugal. After many adventures, leading him through the Netherlands, England and Spain, he finally arrived in Lisbon in 1800.
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