Henry II, Duke of Montmorency, Admiral of France

Duke Henri II de Montmorency (1595 - 1632) - grandson of the constable Anne de Montmorency, son of the constable Henri de Montmorency, the last representative of the famous Montmorency family from Chantilly.
Godson of King Henry IV, the future Duke of Montmorency was named after him. Already at the age of 17 he received the rank of admiral. In 1625, the fleet under his command cleared the Ile de Ré and Oleron of the Huguenots. Later, he was awarded the title of Marshal of France - for the victories over the Huguenots of Henri de Rogan in Languedoc, where he replaced his father as a governor with very broad powers. In 1629-30. he successfully operated against the Savoyans in Piedmont, captured the commander Doria and took Saluzzo (once promised by the king to his father). In 1632, the king's brother, Gaston d'Orléans, rebelled against Cardinal Richelieu. Despite the admonitions of his wife, an Italian from the Orsini family (and cousin of Queen Maria de Medici), Montmorency joined the rebels and gave the rebellious Gaston refuge in Languedoc. In September, he was defeated in half an hour by Marshal Schomberg, loyal to the king, at Castelnaudary. In this battle, Montmorency was wounded and taken prisoner by the royal troops. The Toulouse Parliament found him guilty of insulting the majesty and sentenced him to death. The real reason for the royal wrath was Montmorency's ill-concealed desire to form an independent principality on the Italian-French border. The sentence was executed at Toulouse; all titles and possessions of Montmorency were confiscated (later his brother-in-law, the Prince of Condé, begged for them). The massacre of Montmorency marked the offensive in France of the era of absolutism.
The name of Henri de Montmorency is borne by the waterfalls discovered by Champlain in Canada when the duke was governor of New France (1620-25).