François de Beaumont, baron des Adrets

François de Beaumont, baron des Adrets (2 February 1587), was a Provençal military leader. He fought for the Valois monarchy during the Italian Wars distinguishing himself under Marshal Brissac. He fought against the crown for the Huguenot rebels during the first French Wars of Religion. Conducting himself with great brutality in his campaigns, he supported the crown in the subsequent civil wars. Having retired, he died on his estates in 1587.

Biography

Early life He was born in 1512 or 1513 at the château of La Frette (Isère). He was the son of Georges de Beaumont, baron des Adrets, and Jeanne Guiffrey. As a young man he forcibly rescued his sister from a convent, that she had been sent to against her will. He married Claude Gumin with whom he had several children. None of his sons survived him, with one being killed at the siege of La Rochelle in 1573. His two girls had only one offspring.

During the reign of Henry II of France he served with distinction in the royal army and became colonel of the legions of Dauphiné, Provence and Languedoc. From 1525 to 1559, he waged war in Italy, where he distinguished himself by his bravery under the orders of Marshal Brissac. He was taken prisoner in 1558 by the Spaniards in Moncalvo and had to pay a ransom for his freedom. He blamed the desertion of the Vidame d'Amiens on the field for his capture, and bore a grudge against him. Seeking redress for this, he brought the issue to the court; however, d'Amiens was a client of the powerful Guise, so nothing came of it.

First French War of Religion

His campaign against the Catholics in 1562 achieved great success. Following the defeat of the Protestant armies in Cahors, Amiens, Sens and the massacre of Wassy by the Duke of Guise in March 1562, he took command in April of Protestants of Provence, and entered Valence with 8000 men. Capturing the governor La Motte-Gondrin here, he allowed his followers to hang him. He committed a massacre in Lyon, in 'revenge' for the massacres of the Huguenots at Orange on 6 May 1562. After Feurs in Forez, on 3 July, he marched on Montbrison at the head of four thousand, and seized the town on 14 July 1562. Here he forced eighteen prisoners to throw themselves from the top of the keep. In every town he conquered he proscribed Catholicism, and compelled the church to sell off their property.

In November, he met the Duke of Nemours, besieged in Vienne, who offers him the title of governor of Dauphiné. In December Condé had him dismissed from this post.

His brutal style of warfare alienated even many Huguenot supporters of the rebellion against the crown, and he was informed of intercepted letters between Coligny and Soubise, criticising his conduct. Two years later he returns to the country, but his foot was crushed in Selongey. Finally, in the Trièves, he won his last battle against Lesdiguières. He died in bed on 2 February 1587 in his castle of La Frette. The place of his burial is not known.