AUTOGRAPH OF MARSHAL DUKE OF RICHELIEU 1786. REVOLUTIONARY NAPOLEONIC WARS.

Description: Autograph of Louis-Francois- Armand, 3d Duke of Richelieu (1696-1788), Marshal of France (and Minister of Foreign Affairs during the later years of Louis XV’s reign), had a key part in French victories at Dettingen (1743) and Fontenoy (1745) during the War of Austrian Succession. During the Seven Years War (1756-1763) he initially captured the island of Menorca from the British but his part was more controversial during the Invasion of Hanover. In fact, Marshal Duke of Richelieu was more famous for his dissolute private life, to the extent that he is said to have been the model of the character Valmont in the “Liaisons Dangereuses”, a novel by Choderlos de Laclos. This letter was dictated to his secretary and addressed to Lieutenant-Commander Baron d’Imbert in Marseilles, approving a leave of absence. Dated 31 August 1786, 31 cm x 20. 5 cm. In very good condition, except for a 1.5 cm-long tier on the right border. NB. Interestingly, the recipient of this letter, Xavier Lebret Baron d’Imbert (1761-1844) would, in 1793, as a Navy Captain, have an important role in the “Siege of Toulon”, a key episode in the royalist counterrevolutionary upheavals of 1793. Under these circumstances, Captain d’Imbert actually handed over the strategic naval base of Toulon to the British and Spanish Naval Forces. Napoleon Bonaparte who happened to pass by on his way to take a new military appointment in Nice, was enrolled by the besieging French forces and, after reorganizing the French artillery, took back the forts from the British who had then to re-embark, together with Xavier d’Imbert and around 500 other royalist rebels. Napoleon Bonaparte‘s abilities had been plain to see during the Siege of Toulon (he was subsequently promoted to Major General) and this episode is generally deemed to have been the starting point of his carrier.

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Location: Taipei

End Time: 2024-12-25T02:30:04.000Z

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