Jacques Eléonor Rouxel de Grancey

Jacques Eléonor Rouxel de Grancey, Count of Médavy (31 May 1655 – 6 November 1725) was a French military officer and Marshal of France who fought in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession.

Early life

Jacques Eléonor Rouxel de Grancey, born on 31 May 1655 at Chalancey, was the son of Pierre Rouxel (1626-1704), Count of Grancey and of Médavy, and Henriette de La Palud. His paternal grandfather was Marshal Jacques Rouxel de Grancey.

He was made a brigadier in 1688 and a Maréchal de camp in 1692. He served in this capacity at the Battle of Marsaglia, where he was severely wounded.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, he served mainly in Italy under the duc de Vendôme, taking part in most of the battles in that theatre. When Vendôme returned to France in July 1706, Médavy was left in command of Lombardy and defeated a Hessian corps at Castiglione in September.

Personal life In June 1685, he married Marie-Thérèse Colbert, a niece of Jean-Baptiste Colbert.Together, they had three daughters, all of whom died before their father. He also had an illegitimate son Claude Rouxel de Blanchelande, who served in the French military, and who would be the father of Philibert François Rouxel de Blanchelande, who captured Tobago in 1781.

Between 1705 and 1725, he built the Château de Grancey-le-Château-Neuvelle on the site of an existing medieval fortress, which is still used.