The Price of Glory: Military Injuries

The vast majority of male aristocrats spent a part of their lives in the king's army; some made it their primary career while others served briefly. The risk attached to that service varied depending on whether France was currently at war. If not, a military service could consist of managing a regiment or a posting to a specific garrison. However, if France was at war the service became far more active - and far more dangerous.

Then, as now, military service inevitably involves the risk of serious personal injury or even death. Naturally, this was the case for the aristocratic sons of France as well although they did not expose themselves to the same amount of danger as the professional soldiers in the front lines. It should be pointed out, though, that in order for a young man to distinguish himself (and potentially be rewarded by the king) he would have to stick his neck out. This would often entail being at the very centre of the action, i.e. by leading cavalry charges.

As could be expected not everyone made it home safe and sound. Some never returned at all while others had to live with the permanent damages. Interestingly enough, the contemporary memoirs rarely mentions such things even when describing men who had spent their entire lives in the army. One exception is the memoir of the Marquis de Dangeau but there was a very clear reason for this: the injured was his own son.

Philippe de Courcillon was 22 years old when he was serving at the Battle of Malplaquet on 11 September 1709. During the battle, the young man was injured in the leg and the wound proved very serious; so serious that the doctors on hand decided to amputate his leg. His father, the famed memoirist, mentions that the amputation had been performed on the thigh. Philippe was sent back to Versailles where the king was kind enough to lend him his personal surgeon, M. Marèchal (his name, not to be confused with the title). The days that it took to bring Philippe back to court had left his wound in a terrible state. 

The surgeon found the patient in such imminent danger that he decided to remove more of the thighbone. The concerned father explained that the surgeon's decision was because the wound had begun to fester and the skin had regrown "too quickly". One can only imagine the pain that Philippe must have been in. Almost miraculously he survived the second operation as well. However, it cannot be ruled out that the trauma had caused irreparable damage to Philippe's body and mind. He died ten years later, at just 32 years of age.

Also at Malplaquet was Pierre Montesquiou d'Artagnan, Comte d'Artagnan, who commanded the right flank of the French forces. As he led his forces, the Comte d'Artagnan (whose name would be immortalised in "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas) was a prime target for musket shots. During the battle three horses were shot from under him and he himself did not go completely unscathed: after the battle, four dents from bullets were found on his cuirass protecting his chest. He was wounded, presumably by just such a musket shot.

Comte d'Artagnan

Of all the men who were wounded at Malplaquet, one of the most distinguished was Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Duc de Villars. Like the Comte d'Artagnan, he was the victim of a musket shot which hit him in the knee. Despite his obviously painful injury, the newly-created Marèchal de France insisted on remaining with his troops and continued giving orders from a litter until he finally fainted. He was then carried back to the French camp. The incident is referred to in his private memoirs. He mentions that he had his wounds dressed "at once" - he also attest to the immense amount of pain he must have been in by writing that once he was insensible he was carried all the way back to Quesnoy without his knowing it. 

It is not surprising that the Marèchal de Villars was a popular man with his troops. Besides this fervent devotion to duty, he had voluntarily made do with the decreased rations of the common soldiery after the disastrous winter of 1709.

Marèchal de Villars

A few decades later, Louis de Brienne de Conflans, Marquis d'Armentières, found himself at the battlefield of Guastalla during the War of the Polish Succession. There, he served under the Marèchal de Coigny when the battle commenced on 19 September 1734. At the time, Louis was 23 years old and had commanded his own regiment since the age of 16. During the battle Louis was wounded by a musket shot which hit him in the neck. Remarkably, Louis survived but he must have had a visible scar which he carried until his death in 1774.

The Battle of Fontenoy was the greatest military triumph of Louis XV's reign but it saw its fair share of death and injury as well. One who experienced just than on his own body was Marc-René de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson, marquis de Voyer and son of the Minister for War. Marc-René was Mestre de Camp of the Berry-regiment which meant that he led the charge against an English detachment. In some manner, he appears to have been knocked unconscious and was dragged back behind French lines. For two hours, he remained unresponsive and was generally believed to be dead. It is not unlikely that he suffered at least a concussion and appears to have made a full recovery. 

Marc-René was wounded again, 13 years later when he partook in the Battle of Crefeld. However, this particular injury is unspecified and does not appear to have been serious either. 

The Battle of Fontenoy

One man who did not sustain his wound on European soil was a man with an impressive amount of first-names: Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector d'Estaing, more commonly referred to as the Comte d'Estaing. He offered his services when France (once again) went head-to-head with England in India. The Comte d'Estaing was posted to the siege of Madras in December 1758. During a minor battle between French and English troops, the Comte d'Estaing found himself in a very unfortunate situation when he was unhorsed by the English troops. Nevertheless, he continued to fight until he was stabbed twice with a bayonet. Only then did he formally surrender.

Rather than shipping him the long way back to France, he was taken into the very city that he was besieging. His wounds were treated but cannot have been particularly bad since he was soon negotiating with the English governor. He was given the opportunity to be released on parole but initially preferred to be kept until an exchange of prisoners could take place - this would also allow him to resume fighting. It was not until the arrival of the English fleet at Madras that the Comte accepted his situation and agreed to the parole. The consequence was that he would only be released - unmolested - if he refrained from further action against the English. 

Comte de Vaux - wounded five times during his career

By the end of his career, Noël Jourda de Vaux, Comte de Vaux, had participated in five major battles, thirty sieges and earned the esteem of two Marèchaux de France: de Broglie and de Saxe.

The Comte de Vaux was wounded no less than five times. In and of itself, such a number might not seem terribly high but considering the non-existing hygiene and dubious medical practices, this is quite impressive. He sustained his first two wounds in the battles of Parma and Guastalla while serving as a captain in 1734. Five years later, he found himself once again engaged on Italian soil - more precisely at Corte. While holding his post in a monastery, he and his troops were set upon by about 2.000 Corsicans. At a disadvantage, he was wounded twice but the French soldiers managed to drive the Corsicans out which left an opportunity for medical treatment. 

His final wound is the only one we know the origin of. At the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom, his division was deployed to the village of Vouet. It was here that an enemy force of 10.000 men descended upon the French soldiers who had to retreat. During the battle, a shell exploded near the Comte which caused his final battle scar.