Philippe de Rullecourt
Philipe de Rullecort | |
---|---|
Born | 9 July 1744 |
Died | 7 January 1781 Jersey | (aged 36)
Allegiance | Kingdom of France |
Service | French Army |
Rank | General |
Battles / wars | Franco-Dutch Invasion of Jersey Battle of Jersey |
Awards | Baron of Rullecourt |
Philipe Charles Félix Macquart, Baron de Rullecourt was a French soldier who became a general of the Kingdom of France. In 1781, he was mortally wounded commanding the attempted invasion of Jersey at the Battle of Jersey.
Biography
[edit]Philipe Charles Félix Macquart was born in Artois in a wealthy family originating in Orléans. His title "Baron de Rullecourt" was self-bestowed, and was a soldier for hire. He was placed in command of French troops during the 1779 failed invasion of Jersey, as second-in-command to the Prince of Nassau-Siegen.
Two years later, he launched another invasion attempt on Jersey. His second-in-command Mir Sayyad advised him to ransack the island and to kill all civilians, but instead the commander captured the governor Moses Corbet, and used him as a tool to try and engineer a British surrender. But the British soldiers on the island refused to surrender, and Philippe was mortally wounded in the following battle in which the British outnumbered the French. Rullecourt died a day later of his wounds, in the modern-day Peirson Pub. He had failed in his attempt to bluff the British into surrender.