d'Espinassy was born August 13, 1757 in Marseille, and baptized at Notre-Dame des Accoules, to Lady Marie Magdeleine Garoutte and General Cesar Antoine d'Espinassy de Venel. He came from a very ancient noble family of Provence. His father was a 6-Generation separation from Louis Capet XVI of France descending from King Henry IV of France. His mother's Maternal grandfather was the baron Henri de Lascour or d'Lascour abbreviated, the 1st cousin of Louis Bourbon the King of France, and, she was a Lady-in-Waiting to the Throne of France, her being a Lady de la Maison de la Reine which was a Lady of the House of the Queen, she waited on and was favored by the Queen of FranceMarie Antoinette. d'Espinassy's sister was the Lady Claire Charlotte d'Espinassy, the author of the famous book Essai Sur L'éducation Des Demoiselles, or Essay on the Education of Young Ladies. d'Espinassy's mother's family were members of the first nobility of south eastern France. His father belonged to a cadet branche of the d'Espinassy, Var, Kingdom of France, he was a Knight of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, once Captain of a French war vessel named Great Saint Simon and later became a General in the Royal French Army. In 1770 the Garoutte and d'Espinassy Families owned properties in Marseille, Kingdom of France, and they additionally owned businesses in arms manufacturing that armed American Rebels in the American Revolution.
Military career
d'Espinassy came into early service in the French Colonial Army as a Captain of the Artillery and when he showed great enthusiasm for this and after coming up with brilliant ideas he was then elected to the Legislative Assembly on September 12, 1791. He was reelected to the Convention on September 5, 1792. He was sent on a mission to Perpignan on September 22, 1792 with his colleagues Aubry and Carnot the elder and on November 23, 1792 he announced to the Convention Sospello's decision and informed the Convention about the deprevation of the troops. In the Trial of Louis XVI in January 1793, he voted for the death, dismissing the appeal to the people and the stay. He was then sent on another mission to the Army of the Alps where he joined with General Brunet and went on a mission to Barras, Freron, and Salicetti. He was accused of having abandoned his post in Nice and was escorted to a Public Committee in Paris where they recognized his innocence. He was one of the 73 Signers of the Gironde Party Protest on May 31, 1793 and he withdrew to the south. He was recalled to the Convention on December 8, 1794 and on this occasion he wrote to his colleagues the following letter: "Espinassy, Representative of the people to his colleagues: Fellow citizens, your virtues have never shone with more luster than when you were reminded of your unfortunate colleagues. Our innocence demands justice! I will join with you and continue our work, spend the rest of my days with you in the happiness of my country, and die if necessary to fulfill this sacred duty. Hi and Fraternity, - Despinassy." He was then appointed Colonel of the Artillery Regiment on May 21, 1795. On May 30, 1795 he was sent on a mission to Toulon and on June 12, 1795 he was sent to Lyon to appease the religious passions that were aroused in Gevaudan. He was called back to the Convention on October 16, 1795 and he resumed his place there on October 26, 1795. On May 20, 1797 he entered the Council of Five Hundred as ex-Conventional. He was promoted to General on April 28, 1797 and he retired by Lyon on April 1, 1811. After the Restoration of the Bourbons he and his family became Enemies of the State for their support and actions in the French Revolution, they fled to Lausanne, Switzerland and they changed their name to de Fontanelle, the name of Joseph's wife to evade any detection and capture by King Louis XVIII.
Personal details
D'Espinassy was described by his peers as a classical scholar and an upright and amiable man. It would seem d'Espinassy was partial to the Girondins, a party that sought to abolish the French monarchy and institute a republic, but was quick to restore order when the French Revolution spiraled out of control. The nobles of Provence had resisted the expansion of the Bourbons for a century and had their own aristocracy of Gallo-Roman stock and culture. D'Espinassy married Lady Marie Guillaume de Tholomé de Fontanelle, who was the only child of the Marquis de Fontanelle, thus starting the D'Espinassy de Fontanelle branch of the D'Espinassy family. Their eldest son inherited the Marquisate of Fontanelle and title of Marquis. When he was exiled from France he was known as the "exiled French regicide". His sons married into the Essex family of England, after meeting daughters of Arthur Capell, 6th Earl of Essex at a ball in Brussels the night before the Battle of Waterloo. His descendants included Alfred David Augustus d'Espinassy de Fontanelle, the 5th Marquis.
