Sébastien Le Prestre, Marquis of Vauban
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Sébastien Le Prestre, seigneur de Vauban, later styling himself as the marquis de Vauban, commonly referred to as Vauban, was a French military engineer and Marshal of France who worked under Louis XIV. He is generally considered the greatest engineer of his time, and one of the most important in European military history.
Maréchal Vauban, by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 17th century
Château de Bazoches, acquired by Jacques Le Prestre in 1570, purchased by Vauban in 1675
Louis XIV at Maastricht, 1673; sieges conducted by Vauban provided him an easy way to win military prestige.
Vauban, painted near the end of his life in 1703
Marshal of France
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Marshal of France is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) and for a period dormant (1870–1916). It was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration, and one of the Grand Dignitaries of the Empire during the First French Empire.
Terror belli
...decus pacis
Modern-day baton, belonging to one of the four Marshals of France during World War II (Leclerc, de Lattre, Juin, and Kœnig)
Charles de Schomberg