Traitté des siéges et de l'attaque des places ; Traitté de la deffense des places

Sébastien Vauban (1633-1707) was the premier military engineer of his age and revolutionized siege warfare. Vauban's manuscript dates towards later in his life and his work to better fortify a number of French cities, from around 1700-1707. The title of the manuscript Traitté des siéges et de l'attaque des places: Traitté de la deffense des places roughly translates to Treatise of sieges and the attack of places: Treatise of the defense of places. The manuscript contains a letter from Vauban to the Duke of Burgundy, and is divided into two parts with the first on attack of places and the second on defense of places. After the second part, there are a number of hand-painted illustrations of fortifications and attack plans.

Vauban was born in Saint-Léger-de-Foucheret in the Burgundy region of France. His birthplace was renamed Saint-Lége-Vauban in 1867 to honor him. He grew up in poverty, ending up in an orphanage. His luck changed when he was taken under the care of a Carmelite prior who provided him with a good education. While he was at one time a rebel against the king, Vauban was persuaded to change sides and went on to advise Louis XIV on how to consolidate France's borders along with designing fortification upgrades for close to 300 cities in France between 1667 and 1707. In addition, Vauban fought in the king's regiment and was instrumental in several campaigns with his plans of attack and fortification designs.

Transcription (not translation) courtesy Smithsonian Transcription Center https://transcription.si.edu/project/6876 and digital volunteers.