Louis-Auguste-Augustin d'Affry
Louis-Auguste-Augustin d'Affry (Versailles, February 28, 1713 - Saint-Barthélemy, June 10, 1793) was a Swiss field marshal of the French kings Louis XV and Louis XVI.
Biography
Son of Lieutenant General François d'Affry (1667-1734) and Countess Marie de Diesbach-Steinbrugg, he joined the Swiss Guard in 1725 (these were the Swiss Guards in France, the Gardes suisses who fought in wartime at the side of the king), he fought during the battle of Guastalla where he lost his father.[1]
His military career began in 1744 when he was promoted to the rank of brigadier. He married Baroness Marie-Elisabeth d'Alt.
Louis-Auguste-Augustin d'Affry was an ambassador for Louis XV, representing him in the Netherlands between 1755 and 1762.[2]
He served as a commander of the Swiss regiments that had the task of defending Louis XVI, during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792. He was later removed from the army and died in his castle in Canton Vaud.
Louis-Auguste-Augustin d'Affry was a freemason, he had become a member of the Paris freemasonry "La Société olympique" in 1786.
His son was the Swiss general and magistrate Louis Auguste Philippe Frédéric François d'Affry.[3]
Honors
- Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Louis, 1779
- Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit, (1784), Louis-Auguste-Augustin d'Affry is the only Swiss in history to have received this title.[4]
References
- Rose, Hugh James (2010). A New General Biographical Dictionary, Volume 1. BiblioBazaar. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-142-11216-5.
- Poussou, Jean-Pierre; Anne Mézin; Yves Perret-Gentil (2004). L'influence française en Russie au XVIIIe siècle. Presses Paris Sorbonne. p. 66. ISBN 978-2-7204-0392-7.
- Andrey, Georges (2009). Schweizer Geschichte für Dummies. Wiley-VCH. p. 256. ISBN 978-3-527-70440-8.
- Dizionario storico della Svizzera
Bibliography
- Andrey, Georges (2003). Louis d'Affry, 1743-1810, premier Landamman de la Suisse : la Confédération suisse à l'heure napoléonienne. Genève (Suisse): Slatkine. ISBN 9782832101155.