Agénor de Gramont
Duke of Gramont
Antoine XI Alfred Agénor de Gramont, duc de Guiche then 11th duc de Gramont (1880) was born in Paris on 22 September 1851 and died in Paris on 30 January 1925. Son of Agénor de Gramont (1819-1880), 10th Duke of Gramont and the Duchess, born Emma Mac Kinnon, of ancient Scottish nobility, Agénor de Gramont excelled in mathematics and graduated first from the Special military School of Saint-Cyr. He chose the cavalry and became a second lieutenant in the 4th Hussars, a regiment in which he served during the war of 1870. After the defeat, his uncle, General Auguste de Gramont (1820-1877), Duke of Lesparre, refuses to introduce him to the Jockey Club as the son of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to whom the war of 1870 was blamed. On the death of his father, in 1880, he became the 11th Duke of Gramont and then left the army. he then resides at the Château de Mange, in Verneil le Chétif (Sarthe), bequeathed by his father-in-law, the Prince of Beauvau, to his granddaughter, Elisabeth. Having become very rich when his second wife inherits (thanks to an agreement concluded with her brothers and sisters) after the death of his father, in 1886, he conceives the project of having the castle of Bidache restored, but first buys, in 1880, the castle of Crenille in Chaumes-en-Brie, before having the castle of Vallière built in Mortefontaine in 1894 on a vast plot (called Grand Parc) detached from the Mortefontaine estate. From 1890 to 1895, he was general councilor of the canton of Bidache. He married Isabelle de Beauvau-Craon (Paris, November 13, 1852 - Nancy, April 27, 1875) in Paris 8th on April 20 and 21, 1874, whom his presence won over despite the hostility of the
Faubourg Saint Germain, daughter of Prince Marc de Beauvau-Craon (1816-1883) and Marie d'Aubusson de La Feuillade, his first wife. She renounces for him to marry the very rich Count of Gramont d'aster. Both lived apart, the duke being garrisoned in Melun while the duchess resided with her parents in Nancy. She died of puerperal fever a few days after the birth of their only daughter. He remarried in Paris 8th on December 9 and 10, 1878 with Baroness Marguerite de Rothschild (Frankfurt am Rhein, September 19, 1855 - Paris 8th, July 25, 1905), daughter of Baron Mayer Carl von Rothschild and his cousin, Louise von Rothschild. From the so-called "Naples" branch. Marguerite had been disinherited by her father for having converted by marrying a Catholic, the Count of Liedekerke, who died shortly after in a hunting accident, but this will was annulled after her father's death in 1886. They had three children. Widowed a second time, he remarried in Paris 8th on July 31 and August 3, 1907 with Princess Maria Ruspoli (Rome, May 18, 1888 - Aix en Provence, August 6, 1976), daughter of Don Luigi, Prince Ruspoli, and donna Clelia Balboni. Including two children.
The chasseurs alpins (English: Alpine Hunters) are the elite mountain infantry force of the French Army. They are trained to operate in mountainous terrain. France created a mountain corps in the late 19th century to oppose any Italian invasion through the Alps. In 1859–70 the Unification of Italy, forming a powerful state took place. The French army saw this geopolitical change as a potential threat to their Alpine border, especially as the Italian army was already creating troops specialized in mountain warfare (Alpini). On December 24, 1888, the first troupes de montagne (mountain troops) corps were created from 12 of the 31 existing Chasseurs à pied Hunters on Foot/Foot Rifles) battalions. Initially these units were named bataillons alpins de chasseurs à pied (Alpine Battalions of Hunters on Foot/Alpine Foot Rifle Battalions). Later this was shortened to bataillons de chasseurs alpins (Alpine Hunter Battalions/Alpine Rifle Battalions). From their establishment the chasseurs Alpins wore a plain and practical uniform designed to be suitable for mountain service. This comprised a loose-fitting dark blue jacket and blue-grey breeches, together with a large beret carrying the yellow (daffodil) hunting horn insignia of the Chasseur branch. They are believed to have been the first regular military unit to have worn this form of headdress. Chasseurs do not say rouge (red) but bleu-cerise (cherry blue - The color of blood on their blue
uniforms), except when speaking of the color of the lips of a beloved, the red in the Legion of Honour's insignia (including its fourragère which is called la rouge), and the red of the French flag. This stems from the days when Napoleon III tried to impose the wearing of the scarlet pantalons garance. The mountain troops objected, and no longer use the word 'red' as a result. The chasseurs are said to have green blood, after the pun: "Le sang vert, c'est pour la France; Le sang versé pour la France" ("Green blood is for France'; Blood shed, 'poured out', for France"). When marching with the band and horns, the marching pace is 140 steps a minute - faster than most other armed forces units, with the exception of the Italian Bersaglieri, whose pace is 180 steps per minute.
The title of Duke of Gramont (duc de Gramont) is a French dukedom and former peerage. It was created in 1648 for French Marshal Antoine III de Gramont. The family of Gramont was a Navarrese medieval noble house and owned the chateau of Bidache. They held land in Lower Navarre and in neighbouring Gascony, part of the kingdom of France. As their liege lords, the kings of Navarre, they played an active role in French politics. The last heiress of the house, Claire de Gramont (died in 1534) wed Menaut d'Aure and their son Antoine took the name Gramont rather than d'Aure. Antoine de Gramont was a leading noblemen in south-west France during the Wars of Religion. At first, a Calvinist and lieutenant general to Queen Jeanne d'Albret, he switched sides to Catholicism and King Charles IX's service. He was created Count of Guiche in 1563. Antoine de Gramont was also the first Gramont to claim sovereignty over the Principality of Bidache. His grandson, also named Antoine de Gramont, viceroy of Navarra, was created Duke of Gramont in 1643. Another famous member of the ducal house was Philibert de Gramont (1621–1707), younger son of the first Duke.
Awards: Insignia, sash and star of the Royal Military and Hospitaller Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem united (Ordre royal militaire et hospitalier de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel et de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem réuni).
