130 - BOURBON (Henri II de), Prince of Condé (1588–1646).

BOURBON (Henri II de), Prince of Condé (1588–1646). Letter from the author: “Your good father Henry de Bourbon,” Paris, July 7, 1644, 1 p. in-4, to his son Louis II de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien, the future Grand Condé (addressed “To my son / Monsieur le Duc d’Anguien, General of the King’s Army”), with traces of a black wax seal bearing a coat of arms. A fine military and family letter to the young victor of Rocroi. Condé rejoices at his son’s safe return and informs him that the Chevalier de Chabot is sending a horse as a gift. Above all, he is working to reinforce the troops at his disposal: “I am constantly pressing for the matter of Stenay,” which is intended to provide him with a pretext to send him ten companies of fifty men each, five of which are to be attached to the Enghien regiment and five to the Conti regiment for the campaign. He finally plans to formally establish, as early as the following January, “your son’s regiment as a corps.” The letter was written during the campaign of 1644, one year after the resounding victory at Rocroi, which had established the Duke of Enghien’s military reputation. At that time, the Duke was operating in the east, while his father was using his influence at court to advance his military interests and those of the House of Condé. The town of Stenay, an important stronghold on the Meuse River, was then at the heart of the military theater in Champagne and Lorraine. This is a very interesting illustration of the Condé family’s dynastic strategy, with Henri II working simultaneously to strengthen his son’s army and to establish the military standing of the next generation. The “regiment […] of your son” refers to the regiment assigned to the very young Henri-Jules de Bourbon (1643–1709), son of the Grand Condé and future Prince of Condé, who was only one year old at the time.