Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, vol 1 | Page 7

in the army of the

king under Marshal d'Aumont, de Saint Luc, and Marshal de Brissac,
distinguished officers of the French army, who had been successively
in command in that province for the purpose of reducing it into
obedience to Henry IV.
Marshal d'Aumont [14] took command of the army in Brittany in 1592.
He was then seventy years of age, an able and patriotic officer, a
moderate Catholic, and an uncompromising foe of the League. He had
expressed his sympathy for Henry IV. a long time before the death of
Henry III., and when that event occurred he immediately espoused the
cause of the new monarch, and was at once appointed to the command
of one of the three great divisions of the French army. He received a
wound at the siege of the Château de Camper, in Brittany, of which he
died on the 19th of August, 1595.
De Saint Luc, already in the service in Brittany, as lieutenant-general
under D'Aumont, continued, after the death of that officer, in sole
command. [15] He raised the siege of the Château de Camper after the
death of his superior, and proceeded to capture several other posts,
marching through the lower part of the province, repressing the license
of the soldiery, and introducing order and discipline. On the 5th of
September, 1596, he was appointed grand-master of the artillery of
France, which terminated his special service in Brittany.
The king immediately appointed in his place Marshal de Brissac, [16]
an officer of broad experience, who added other great qualities to those
of an able soldier. No distinguished battles signalized the remaining
months of the civil war in this province. The exhausted resources and
faltering courage of the people could no longer be sustained by the
flatteries or promises of the Duke de Mercoeur. Wherever the
squadrons of the marshal made their appearance the flag of truce was
raised, and town, city, and fortress vied with each other in their haste to
bring their ensigns and lay them at his feet.
On the seventh of June, 1598, the peace of Vervins was published in
Paris, and the kingdom of France was a unit, with the general
satisfaction of all parties, under the able, wise, and catholic sovereign,
Henry the Fourth. [17]

ENDNOTES:
1. The following from Marshal de Montluc refers to Brouage in 1568.
Speaking of the Huguenots he says:--"Or ils n'en pouvoient choisir un
plus à leur advantage, que celui de la Rochelle, duquel dépend celui de
Brouage, qui est le plus beau port de mer de la France." Commentaires,
Paris, 1760, Tom. III., p. 340.
2. "La Riviere Puitaillé qui en étoit Gouverneur, fut chargé de faire
travailler aux fortifications. Belarmat, Bephano, Castritio d'Urbin, & le
Cavalier Orlogio, tous Ingénieurs Italiens, présiderent aux
travaux."--Histoire La Rochelle, par Arcere, à la Rochelle, 1756, Tom.
I., p. 121.
3. _Histioire de la Saintonge et de l'Aunis_, 1152-1548, par M. D.
Massion, Paris. 1838, Vol. II., p. 406.
4. The King of Navarre "sent for Monsieur de Mirabeau under colour
of treating with him concerning other businesses, and forced him to
deliver up Brouage into his hands, a Fort of great importance, as well
for that it lies upon the Coast of the Ocean-sea, as because it abounds
with such store of salt-pits, which yeeld a great and constant revenue;
he made the Sieur de Montaut Governour, and put into it a strong
Garrison of his dependents, furnishing it with ammunition, and
fortifying it with exceeding diligence."--_His. Civ. Warres of France_,
by Henrico Caterino Davila, London, 1647, p. 455.
5. "The Duke of Mayenne, having without difficulty taken
Thone-Charente, and Marans, had laid siege to Brouage, a place, for
situation, strength, and the profit of the salt-pits, of very great
importance; when the Prince of Condé, having tryed all possible means
to relieve the besieged, the Hugonots after some difficulty were brought
into such a condition, that about the end of August they delivered it up,
saving only the lives of the Souldiers and inhabitants, which agreement
the Duke punctually observed."--_His. Civ. Warres_, by Davila,
London, 1647, p. 472. See also Memoirs of Sully, Phila., 1817, Vol. I.,
p. 69.

"Le Jeudi XXVIII Mars. Fut tenu Conseil au Cabinet de la Royne mère
du Roy [pour] aviser ce que M. du Maine avoit à faire, & j'ai mis en
avant l'enterprise de Brouage."--Journal de Henri III., Paris, 1744,
Tom. III., p. 220.
6. "The Prince of Condé resolved to besiege Brouage, wherein was the
Sieur _de St. Luc_, one of the League, with no contemptible number of
infantry and some other gentlemen of the Country. The Rochellers
consented to this Enterprise, both for their profit, and reputation which
redounded by it; and having sent a great many Ships thither, besieged
the Fortress by Sea, whilst the