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Henry II, Duke of Montmorency Biography

Henry II, Duke of Montmorency Image

HENRY II, fourth Duke of Montmorency (1595-1632), was the grandson of the Constable Anne de Montmorency and was born at Chantilly. When he was 17 years of age Louis XIII made him Admiral of France and Viceroy of Canada, and in 1613 he became Governor of Languedoc. When the Huguenot wars broke out afresh he fought successfully for the King and in 1625 took the islands of Ré and Oléron during the siege of La Rochelle. He afterward gained other victories, and in 1630 received the chief command of the French troops in Piedmont during the War of the Mantuan Succession. He defeated the Spaniards and received the marshal's baton. Having espoused, in 1632, the cause of Gaston, Duke of Orleans, brother of King Louis XIII, and opponent of Richelieu, he was declared guilty of high treason, and Marshal Schomberg defeated him at Castelnaudry (1632 ) and took him prisoner. He was carried to Toulouse and there sentenced to death through the influence of Richelieu. This sentence was summarily executed; in spite of powerful intercession on his behalf by various rulers, he was beheaded Oct. 30, 1632.

The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XVI (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 210.