Richelieu, Louis-François-Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, duke de

(1696-1788)

   marshal of France

   Born in Paris, Louis-François-Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, duke de Richelieu was the great nephew of Cardinal richelieu. He was at first duke de Frosnac. Married at age 15 to a daughter of the duke de noailles, Anne Catherine, who was older than he, he continued his escapades and was confined for his affair with the duchess of Burgundy (1711), then for fighting a duel (1716), and finally for his part in the cellamare plot (1719). Ambassador to Austria (1725-1728), thanks to the influence of Mme de prie, he sought a rapprochement between Austria and France. After having fought in the Wars of the Polish and Austrian Successions (he served with distinction at Dettingen, Bavaria, and Fontenoy, Belgium, and took Genoa, italy, in 1747), Marshal Richelieu directed the occupation of Minorca (1756) during the seven years' war; seized Port-Mahon (1756), invaded Brunswick and Hanover, and received the capitulation of the Anglo-Hanoverian forces at Kloster Zeven in Lower Saxony (1757). He was recalled, however, because of the pillaging that he allowed in the defeated areas. Marshal Richelieu then took up the life of a great lord and, libertine and elegant, was quite representative of his era. He was a correspondent and patron of voltaire and was elected into the Académie Française in 1720.