A French royal claimant who fought for the Union in the American Civil War
In short: Prince Philippe, the Count of Paris, was a man of two worlds. Though he spent his life as a pretender to the French throne, he also served as a captain in the American Civil War, eventually authoring a definitive historical account of the conflict that remains a standard reference today.
Born in 1838, Prince Philippe was the grandson of King Louis Philippe I. His life was defined by the volatility of 19th-century French politics. Following the 1848 Revolution, which saw his grandfather abdicate, Philippe and his family fled into exile in England. For a brief window in 1848, there were efforts to install the young prince as Louis-Philippe II, but these failed, leading to the proclamation of the French Second Republic.
In 1861, Philippe sought a different kind of duty. Alongside his brother, the Duke of Chartres, he traveled to the United States to join the Union Army. Commissioned as a captain and assistant adjutant general, he served on the staff of Major General George B. McClellan during the Peninsular Campaign. His time in America was not merely military; he later produced a comprehensive history of the Civil War, a work still cited by historians. His connection to the conflict remained formal, as he was later inducted into a prestigious society for Union veteran officers.
Returning to France in 1871 after the fall of Napoleon III, Philippe attempted to bridge the divide between rival monarchist factions. He famously withdrew his own claims to the throne in 1873 to support the legitimist claimant, the Count of Chambord, hoping to unify the royalist cause. This effort collapsed when Chambord refused to accept the French tricolor flag. Upon Chambord's death in 1883, Philippe was recognized by many as the rightful heir, styled Philippe VII. However, his political life ended in a second exile in 1886, leading him back to England, where he resided at Stowe House until his death in 1894.
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