Military officer; born in
Vendome, France, July 1, 1725; entered the army at the age of sixteen years, and in 1745 became aid to
Louis Philippe,
Duke of
Orleans.
He afterwards commanded a regiment, and was wounded at the battle of Lafeldt.
He was distinguished in several battles, especially at
Minden.
When it was
[
450]
resolved by the
French monarch to send a military force to
America,
Rochambeau was created a lieutenant-general and
placed in command of it. He arrived at
Newport, R. I., in July, 1780, and joined the
American army under
Washington, on the
Hudson, a few miles above New York.
He led his army to the
Virginia peninsula, and assisted in the capture of Cornwallis at
Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1781, when he was presented with one of the captured cannon.
In 1783 he received the decoration of Saint Esprit, and in 1791 was made a marshal of
France.
Early in 1792 he was placed in command of the Army of the
North, and narrowly escaped the guillotine when the Jacobins wielded supreme power in
Paris.
Bonaparte gave him a pension in 1804, and the Cross of Grand
Officer of the Legion of Honor.
He dictated
Memoirs (2 volumes,
Paris, 1809). He died in Thore, May 10, 1807.
