Jacques François de Chastenet de Puységur

A painting of Jacques François de Chastenet de Puységur by an unknown artist. His wife Jeanne de Fourcy in 1726, by Nicolas de Largillière. Jacques-François de Chastenet, Marquis de Puységur (August 13, 1656 - August 15, 1743) was a French military and nobleman, who fought in all the French Wars between 1667 and 1734. He was a member of the War Council during the period of the Polysynody (1715-18) and was raised to the dignity of Marshal of France by King Louis XV in 1734 .

Biography He was a son of Jacques de Chastenet de Puységur, Viscount of Buzancy (1600-1682), and his first wife, Antoinette de Varlet.

He first saw action in 1677, fighting in Flanders against the Spanish during the Franco-Dutch War as a lieutenant in the King's Regiment. He participated in the Siege of Valenciennes (1676–1677) and Cambrai, and the following year in the captures of Ghent (March 9) and Ypres (April 8), and the Battle of Saint-Denis near Mons (August 14).

Military theorist Jacques François de Chastenet de Puységur was during his lifetime a logistics specialist, he was regularly consulted by Louis XIV on this matter. . He was also a theorist, who thought extensively about the evolution of warfare, particularly as a result of the rise in the power of firearms and the introduction of the bayonet.

He wrote a treatise called L’Art de la guerre ("The art of war") at the end of his life, based on various memoirs and notes he had written throughout his career, outlining the state of the art of war during his time. The manuscript, containing his principles and rules of warfare, was published in France by his son in 1749, six years after his death. The work was translated into German by Georg Rudolph Fäsch (1710–1787).

Marriage and children He married Jeanne de Fourcy (1692-1737), daughter of Henri de Fourcy, Count of Chessy, on September 23, 1714. They had 3 daughters and 1 son, François-Jacques (1716-1782), who became a lieutenant-général. Through his son, he was the grandfather of Amand-Marie-Jacques de Chastenet, Marquis of Puységur, an expert in hypnotism.