The Prince de Joinville has died

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 June 16, 1900


The Prince de Joinville died today in Paris, as the result of pneumonia, according to the New York Times. Prince Francois Ferdinand Philippe Louis Marie of Orleans, Prince de Joinville, was the third son of Louis Philippe, King of the French and Princess Marie Amelie of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He was born at Neuilly on August 14, 1818.

Prince Francois was "educated for naval service.: In 1826, he received a commission as a Lieutenant in the French Navy. His first distinction was received two years later when he served with French naval forces during the war with Mexico. In this war, the prince "showed great skill and daring" in several battles including the attack on Vera Cruz. With his own hands, he took with his own hands the Mexican general Vista, for which he received the cross of the Legion of Honor. He was also promoted to the rank of Captain.

In 1840, Prince Francois received a commission to bring back Napoleon's bones from St. Helena. Three years later, he traveled to Rio de Janeiro, where he married Princess Francisca, the daughter of Pedro I. He remained in the French navy and was raised to the rank of Rear Admiral. In 1848, the prince, then serving in Algiers, was forced to resign his commission after his father's abdication. He joined the rest of his family in exile at Claremont in England.
When the American civil war broke out in 1861, the Prince came to New York with his son, Prince Pierre, the Duke de Penthrievre, and his two nephews, the Count of Paris and the Duke de Chartres. He "offered their services to President Lincoln. Prince Pierre received an appointment to the Naval Academy, and Francois' two nephews "received commissions under Gen. McClellan.

After the French army suffered several defeats in 1870 against the Prussians, Prince Francois "asked vainly of the Emperor to accept his services under any title whatever." It was only after the fall of the empire that the Prince, using an American pseudonym, Colonel Leithrod, served in the army of the Loire. He was also elected to the French Assembly, representing Haut-Marne and La Manche.
A well-known writer on naval topics, Prince Francois retired from public life in 1876. He remained "upon the roster of the French Army with the rank of Vice-Admiral," but when he reached the Navy's retirement age, he "passed into the ranks of the reservists."

The Princess de Joinville died in 1898. The Prince is survived by his son, Pierre, who is unmarried, and his daughter, Princess Francoise, who is married to Prince Robert, the Duke of Orleans.