Aboville, François Marie, Comte D'
Aboville, François Marie, Comte D'
ABOVILLE, FRANÇOIS MARIE, COMTE D'. (1730–1817). French officer. Aboville began his military career in 1744 under an uncle who was an artillery officer. Distinguishing himself in the Seven Years' War, he was promoted to captain en second in 1759 and was made a chevalier in the Order of St. Louis in 1763. He became chef de brigade in 1776 and lieutenant general in 1778. Commander of French artillery in Rochambeau's force, his efforts at Yorktown led to a personal acknowledgment from Washington, which earned him the rank of brigadier of infantry on 5 December 1781. Promoted to brigadier general in 1788, he commanded artillery of the French army in the north under Rochambeau in 1792 and became lieutenant colonel that year. Retired in 1802, he was named grand officer of the Legion of Honor in 1804 and a hereditary peer four years later. He was confirmed a peer during the Bourbon restoration.
SEE ALSO Yorktown Campaign; Yorktown, Siege of.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Balteau, J. et al, eds. Dictionnaire de Biographie Française. 19 vols. to date. Paris: Librairie Letouzey et Ané, 1933–.
Contenson, Ludovic de. La Société des Cincinnati de France et la Guerre d'Amérique. Paris: Editions Auguste Picard, 1934.
revised by Robert Rhodes Crout