Gaspard de Clermont-Tonnerre

Who was Gaspard de Clermont-Tonnerre?

Gaspard de Clermont-Tonnerre, was a French noble, descendant of a family which traced its origins to the 12th century. His chief title was that of Marquis of Cruzy and Vauvillers, later 1st Duc de Clermont-Tonnerre, a new creation which elevated him to the Peerage of France. He was Constable, hereditary Grand-Master of Dauphiné and Marshal of France.

He had a successful military career in the armies of Louis XV, notably at defeat of Cumberland's Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian forces at Battle of Fontenoy in 1745 alongside Marshal de Saxe. Clermont-Tonnerre led the decisive cavalry charge which defeated the tenacious but ill-led allied forces. After the Battle of Lauffeld in 1747 he was named Marshal of France.

In 1718 he had married Antoinette Potier de Rovion. They had three children:

Jules Charles Henri, 2nd Duc de Clermont-Tonnerre.

Madeleine-Louise Jeanne.

François Joseph, Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre.

He remarried in 1756 with Marguerite Pauline de Prondre.

Between 1715 and 1723 the château of Vauvillers was built for him. It was his principal residence between campaigns. In later years he worked to improve the economy of his domain, opening a forge. A new church was built in Vauvillers in 1773 and remains largely unchanged today.