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Battleline -> Bon Vivant: USA Maj. Gen. Philippe de Trobriand (1/29/2009 9:30:41 PM)
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Maj. Gen. Philippe R.D.dK. de Trobriand (b. 1816, d. 1897) Contender for the prize for longest name of any Civil War general, Philippe Regis Denis de Keredern de Trobriand entered the world June 4, 1816, in Tours, France. His father held a general’s commission and supported the Bourbons in France until his retirement in 1830. The younger de Trobriand excelled in the finer areas of life. He was a lawyer, poet, author and soldier. Ezra Warner defined him as a “bon vivant” in Generals in Blue. In January of 1843, he married American heiress Mary Mason Jones in Paris. After living in Paris and Venice, the couple moved to New York in 1847. There, he edited the Revue de Nouveau Monde and contributed to Le Courier des Etats Unis. At the start of the Civil War, de Trobriand was living in New York. He took out American citizenship and mustered into Federal service as colonel of the 55th New York “Lafayette Guard” regiment. Assigned to the IV Corps, this unit went into action during the Peninsular Campaign. He spent much of the war as a colonel, moving up in the command structure. By the end of 1862, he was commanding a brigade in the III Corps. He led this unit at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. At the latter battle, he led his brigade in the center of Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles’ ill-conceived foray into the Peach Orchard and survived the retreat back into the Federal lines. When III Corps and II Corps were consolidated, de Trobriand was given a division. He received a promotion to brigadier general of volunteers to rank from Jan. 5, 1864. He continued in command of the 3rd Division of II Corps through the end of the war. He received a brevet promotion to major general to date from April 9, 1865, the Army of Northern Virginia’s surrender. In 1866, de Trobriand returned to service with a commission at colonel. However, he was in France then writing the two-volume Quatre Ans a l’Armee du Potomac. Between trips to Europe, de Trobriand served with his regiment on the frontier. In 1874, de Trobriand inherited the title of count. In 1875, he became a Federal representative in New Orleans, helping to smooth over trouble with Reconstruction. After his retirement in 1879, de Trobriand stayed in New Orleans and spent summers on Long Island. He died in Bayport, New York, July 15, 1897, and was buried in St. Anne’s Cemetery in Sayville, New York.
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