Fontanges, François, Vicomte de

FONTANGES, FRANÇOIS, VICOMTE DE. (1740–1826). French major general. Born at the Château de la Fauconnière at Gannat, he became a lieutenant in the Poitou Regiment in 1756. He fought in Germany and was promoted to captain in 1758. In 1775 he transferred to the Regiment of Cap Français in Saint Domingue, where he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1778. In 1777 he became a chevalier in the Order of Saint Louis. In July 1779 he was named major general of the troops of debarkation for Estaing's assault on Savannah, where he was seriously wounded in October 1779. He returned to Saint Domingue as major general of militia in 1780, was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the Regiment of Cap Français in October 1780, and subsequently was elevated to colonel in 1784 and maréchal de camp in 1789. He resigned on 18 April 1790 because of differences with the colonial assembly. He arrived in England in 1795. In 1811 he returned to France and became a lieutenant general on 13 August 1814. During the Restoration in France, he was made commander in the Order of Saint Louis.

SEE ALSO Estaing, Charles Hector Théodat, Comte d'.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bodinier, André. Dictionnaire des officiers de l'armée royale qui ont combattu aux Etats-Unis pendant la guerre d'Indépendance 1776–1783. Vincennes, France: Service historique de l'armée, 1982.

Contenson, Ludovic de. La Société des Cincinnati de France et la Guerre d'Amérique. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1934.

                           revised by Robert Rhodes Crout